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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Environment - Too many unanswered questions about Dunes lodge; Environmental Impact Statement

The Gary Post-Tribune carried a story yesterday (no longer available online) headlined "Too many unanswered questions about Dunes lodge." Some quotes:

A proposed inn at Indiana Dunes State Park won’t be on the beach as some had feared, but a local environmentalist says there are still too many unanswered questions about the planned lodging facility.

Herb Read, a local architect and environmentalist, issued a letter Monday spelling out his concerns for the Dunes’ fragile environment, and asked state officials to consider them before moving on plans to begin construction of an inn, perhaps later this year.

Read said location, public input, alcohol, building size and the impact on other local innkeepers were all factors that need to be considered.

Kyle Hupfer, the director of the Department of Natural Resources, says Read’s concerns are “unfounded.”

Read said Hupfer has been “pushing ahead rapidly... without any opportunity for the public to question the proposal...”

Some form of public forum would likely be planned “to let residents know of the development of the project after we get some proposals in,” Hupfer said.

More from the story:
The DNR has slated a Friday meeting in Indianapolis for private prospective developers and operators interested in opening new inns at the Indiana Dunes, Versailles and Potato Creek state parks.

Read said the new plan shouldn’t exceed the “footprint” of an inn that formerly existed on the beach near the current pavilion. Reed said the inn, built by John Lloyd Wright, son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, had only 50 rooms. Read also said a building with several stories could block the view of the Dunes.

State officials have already said an inn would have to have at least 75 rooms, and Hupfer said the new building could have multiple floors, but added that the building would not be located on the same area as the old hotel, but farther back near the existing parking lot. * * *

The Save the Dunes board voted last fall to oppose the inn, but Save the Dunes director Tom Anderson said the council was realistic about the possibility that it could become a reality, and, if so, emphasized the need to make sure environmental practices would be followed.

Environmental Impact Statement. It is not mentioned in the story, but this state project is presumably subject to the state's NEPA law, found at IC 13-12-4, Environmental Impact Statements, and specifically, as a proposed "major state action" affecting the environment, to IC 13-12-4-5(C).

Each Indiana environmental board has rules implementing this law - the Water Board's rules, for example, are located at 327 IAC 11.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 25, 2006 08:32 AM
Posted to Environment | Indiana Government