Document DMn1naZVbgDGzbqYxpGvKKqbn

lf/tj lrr-a~' 1 /#/<* ;9i" Belleville News-Democrat Wednesday, September 27,1995 Page 3B Neighbors, industry solve pollution woes By Mike Fitzgerald Belleville News-Democrat COLLINSVILLE -- In 1988, Monsanto Corp. leaders knew they faced a big problem at their Sauget plant. The year before, the plant dis charged 4 million pounds ofpollu tants. Monsanto's top executives knew they were within their legal rights, but they also knew that a potential public relations disaster loomed. '. So Monsanto began looking for ways to cut Sauget's pollution releases. The chemical giant also took a step in a radically new . direction. It set up one of the first community advisory panels. For the first time. East St. Louis resi dents had Monsanto's ear. The partnership clicked. Over the next seven years, the plant's emissions dropped by 90 percent, while the advisory board provided a model for other community advisory boards. Monsanto's success story pro vided the springboard Tuesday for a public discussion among envi ronmental activists, industry lead ers and government regulators. Held at the Gateway Convention Center, the "Workshop on Good Neighbor Dialogues" drew more than 80 participants. The Missis sippi River Gateway Initiative and the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association spon sored the event. The event's participants said it gave them a rare chance to drop the adversarial stances that often keep them apart. "I see this as an opportunity for people to sit down and talk about what they're doing," said Stephanie Green, an East St. Louis resident and a member of the Mid west Environmental Training Institute. The event's speakers offered plenty of tips on how other busi nesses and community groups can work together. Keith Miller, Monsanto's gener al supervisor of environmental See SEMINAR/4B (L\ lb VWr rvbcr^ Olr-o Hart G/Q.HK ^oct . Lxtrr^ O' ble-A\ Seminar- Continued from 3B J'_ safety and health, emphasized that a company must follow up its promis es to the community with action. "You must say what you are going to do, then do it," Miller said. Jo Haberman, an activist from Minneapolis, told the audience that information is a key resource in dealing with industrial polluters. "I cannot overemphasize the impor tance of unbiased technical assis tance," said Haberman, a leader of Citizens for A Better Environment A few audience members, howev er, cited reasons for concern. ~ Pennie Livingston, an assistant state's attorney for St Clair County, noted that earlier this year the Illi nois General Assembly passed a law that limits to $500,000 what an indi vidual may receive in punitive dam ages. This limit could do little to deter big polluters, Livingston said. DSW 135290 STLCOPCB4035267