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Saturday, August 22, 2009
Environment - More on: IDEM meetings introduce new antidegradation rules
Updating this ILB entry from August 12th, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reported August 20th:
PORTAGE -- Indiana's proposed pollution rules won't address pollutants some say could have a major impact on water quality in the state's lakes and streams: phosphorus and nitrogen.Today the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial about the public meetings:Technical experts and top officials from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management acknowledged that at a 21/2-hour public meeting in Portage on Wednesday.
"I don't think these rules are acceptable because they're going to exempt very important pollutants that will have a demonstrable effect on waters in Indiana," said Albert Ettinger, senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
The rules only regulate pollutants for which the state has established how much of a concentration will do damage on the environment, for instance fish. The state hasn't determined what that amount is for nitrogen and phosphorus, which means the new rules to protect water quality won't apply, explained Brad Klein, attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
"They're not toxic for fish, but they cause algal blooms that can lead to elimination of oxygen in the water," he said.
Martha Clark Mettler, deputy assistant commissioner in IDEM's Office of Water Quality, said the rule wasn't deliberately written to exclude nitrogen and phosphorus, but that IDEM would consider changing the rule.
"I don't think that was our intent, but that's why we're out talking to people because that's what we want to know," she said.
The meeting was intended to inform people about the rule and to answer questions from the about 50 attendees who eagerly fired away.
The rules were revised in response to an independent report that concluded that the unclear rule was at the heart of the controversy that arose when IDEM allowed BP to increase discharges into Lake Michigan 2007.
Several attendees raised concerns about how IDEM would weigh factors like health versus jobs when it determines whether a facility can discharge more pollution.
"All the factors are listed, but it's not clear how they're valued and weighed to make a decision," said Lin Kaatz Chary of Gary. "What kind of community input is there? What data is used to support those decisions? I find that very squishy."
She said community members often feel they express their opinions but that a company's interests weigh more heavily. IDEM's Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Water Quality, Bruno Pigott, said the state tries to balance interests of industry and residents, but that the public has improved opportunities for input under the new rule.
Some asked whether the Grand Calumet River would get additional protection because it flows into Lake Michigan. IDEM officials said that would depend where the pollution was discharged and whether it would make it all the way to Lake Michigan.
IDEM has three more public meetings before it takes public comments and finalizes the rule. Indiana's 11-member Water Pollution Control Board still has to approve the rule as does the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Indiana’s recent efforts to revamp its clean water rules are welcome. But they apparently fall short of what environmental advocates want and what Hoosiers should demand.For more information, here is IDEM's antidegradation page.In 2007, state regulators nearly ignited a civil war with Illinois by imprudently granting the BP refinery on Lake Michigan the go-ahead to increase the pollution it discharges dangerously close to where Chicago residents get their drinking water. After prolonged public outrage, plenty of bad press and an independent study from an Indiana University professor showing that state rules governing water pollution permits are flawed, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management decided to change the rules.
The proposed rules define under what circumstances a business can increase the pollution it discharges into Indiana lakes, rivers and streams.
IDEM is conducting a series of meetings about the proposed changes. But late notice about the meetings may keep people from attending. The first meeting was convened in Portage on Wednesday; the news release announcing the meetings did not appear on the department’s Web site until Tuesday.
The closest meeting for Fort Wayne residents will be on Tuesday in Garrett. A third meeting will be in Seymour. It’s unclear why these locations – away from major population centers – were chosen.
Environmentalists think the state’s revised rules fail to protect Indiana water and will lead to more pollution.
In a news release, Rae Schnapp, water policy director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said: “Indiana has ignored this federal requirement for years, and is now proposing to implement a rule fraught with loopholes.
“Environmentalists have submitted comments, but many important suggestions have been ignored.”
Environmental advocacy groups, including the Hoosier Environmental Council, The Sierra Club’s Hoosier Chapter, and the Alliance for Great Lakes Water Quality, want a good turnout at the meetings because the meetings will give residents an opportunity to learn more about the proposed changes as well as the steps residents can take if they don’t like the state regulator’s proposal.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 22, 2009 02:12 PM
Posted to Environment