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Sunday, April 06, 2008
Environment - Does IDEM favor business to the detriment of the environment?
That is the question addressed in this story today by Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune, which begins:
For nearly a year, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has been under fire from environmentalists for being soft on business in permits for BP and U.S. Steel.Some say the agency prioritizes economic development even when it conflicts with IDEM's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.
"They make it clear they see it as their jobs to issue more permits for businesses that can expand from jobs. They've been clear that's how they see their main role although they say they protect the environment," Bowden Quinn, a former environmental liaison with IDEM, now a conservation director with the Hoosier chapter of the Sierra Club, said.
"I think a lot of people would feel there's a lot of underlying tension there. In most cases, when there's a judgment call, IDEM under the current administration tends to decide in favor of economic development rather than environmental protection."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 6, 2008 10:54 AM
Posted to Environment