The Trustees, in anticipated cooperation with Weyerhaeuser and its representatives, will assess the nature and extent of potential natural resource injuries to the trust resources associated with Welch Creek, the lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound. The Trustees have determined that recreational fishing has been, and continues to be, adversely affected due to dioxin contamination. An economics technical working group (TWG) has been assembled to refine the assessment of injuries to recreational fishing due to fish consumption advisories which have been in effect in the assessment area in some form since 1990. An ecological TWG has been assembled to assess potential past, present, and future injuries to ecological trust resources. Remedial Investigation reports for Welch Creek and the lower Roanoke River have documented dioxin and furan contamination in biota collected from these waters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment indicates risk from dioxin exposure to:

• Living resources, including fish, birds, insectivorous mammals, benthic macroinvertebrates, soil invertebrates, and omnivorous, carnivorous, piscivorous, worm-eating, and insectivorous birds.

The ecological TWG will determine whether injury (i.e., adverse health effects) has occurred to these living resources.