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Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Environment - Stories today

Stormwater. The Muncie StarPress reported here yesterday, in a story headlined "Storm water cleanup plan deadline nearing":

MUNCIE - Delaware County Commissioners, two of whom are lame ducks, are hoping to extend a Jan. 1 deadline to submit a storm-water quality management plan to state officials. In the meantime, the commissioners have stopped working on the plan.

The plan to reduce pollution in storm water carried by roads, curbs, gutters, ditches, drains and sewers could cost homeowners at least $1 or $2 a month. Businesses would likely pay more.

"We have a plan as to how we think we'd like to do it, but there isn't any use us running out there headed in one direction if the county is going to go in another direction," said Mike Rost, administrator of the Muncie Sanitary District. "So the problem we've been having is, commissioners will not make a decision." * * *

Their consultant, Donald Larson, of Commonwealth Engineers, Indianapolis, did attend the meeting. He said commissioners did not want to make a major decision for the new commissioners who will be taking office Jan. 1, so they have asked the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a deadline extension until April 1 to submit the plan.

What if the extension is denied? "Then we'll have to go ahead and do something," St. Myer said in an interview.

Mercury. The Indianapolis Star reports today that:
WASHINGTON -- Indiana issued more warnings about eating fish caught in state waters last year than every other state but Minnesota. Indiana put out 243 advisories that people should limit or avoid eating fish caught in its rivers. Minnesota was No. 1, with 1,114 warnings about fish from its lakes; Michigan was third with 171 warnings about its lakes. Six other states issued more than 100 warnings. Only Alaska and Wyoming issued no advisories. * * *

The number of advisories nationwide rose to 3,094 from 2,814 in 2002, according to figures released Tuesday. [US EPA administrator] Leavitt said the increase was due to more monitoring, not more pollution.

Indiana officials agreed. The numbers suggest an increase in pollutants in the rivers, but "mercury emissions are actually going down," said Amy Hartsock, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. "Monitoring is getting better."

Indiana has been more open about its pollution problems than many other states, said Tom Neltner, who heads Improving Kids' Environment, an Indianapolis-based environmental group. "Monitoring is better, and they are more honest than most states," Neltner said. However, he said, the state has done a poor job of communicating the dangers of mercury in fish.

Cleanup. "EPA cleanup almost complete: Effort shows how fire at South Bend Stamping could have been worse," is the headline to this story today in the South Bend Tribune, complete with this great photo.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 25, 2004 08:02 AM
Posted to Environmental Issues