Thursday, August 28, 2008
Environment - More on "Plans nixed for BP asphalt plant"
Following up on this story yesterday broken by the Gary Post-Tribune, Christine Kraly of the NWI Times reports today:HAMMOND | The BP refinery in Whiting has withdrawn its plans to build a portion of its $3.8 billion expansion in the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Environment - Different takes on water pollution antidegradation rule progress
Patrick Guinance writes today in the NWI Times under the headline "State sees progress on water pollution rule." Some quotes:INDIANAPOLIS | A critical water quality rule designed to head off controversies like the one that dogged BP's Whiting Refinery expansion...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Environment - "Plans nixed for BP asphalt plant"
A story from the Aug. 5, 2007 NWI Times includes this quote:Concerns over BP's compliance with city health and safety regulations also led the [Hammond] Board of Zoning Appeals to postpone any approval of a $110 million asphalt production facility...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Environment - "Porter County braces for future in wind power"
Charles M. Bartholomew reports in the Gary Post-Tribune:VALPARAISO -- Porter County is in the path of a new industrial wind that's blowing across northern Indiana, driven by funding from foreign-based energy companies. Officials here are feeling the breeze in the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, August 25, 2008
Environment - More on: "State leaders need to revisit concentrated animal feeding legislation"
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette's August 9th editorial on the need to revisit concentrated animal feeding legislation used the proposed 4,000 hog farm in Allen County as an example. Today, this long report by Angela Mapes Turner reveals many more...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Environment - "Vote in Alaska Puts Question: Gold or Fish? "
William Yardley reports today in a story on page 1 of the NY Times, headlined "Vote in Alaska Puts Question: Gold or Fish?" It begins:DILLINGHAM, Alaska — Just up the fish-rich rivers that surround this tiny bush town on Bristol...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, August 23, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Environment - Interesting item on Angola wastewater treatment
From WLKI Angola:Members of the Angola City Council could not hide their frustrations with the Indiana Department of Enviromental Management last night. Wastewater Superintendent Craig Williams requested $10,000 to hire an Indianapolis law firm to review a permit application with...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Environment - "Another EPA air rule goes down"
Read this entry by Jonathan Adler of the Volokh Conspiracy....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Environment - "Delaware County CAFO moratorium clears first hurdle"
So reports Nick Werner today in the Muncie Star-Press in a story that begins:MUNCIE -- A moratorium on the building of new concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Delaware County cleared its first hurdle Monday toward becoming law. Advocates of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Environment - "In Rural New York, Windmills Can Bring Whiff of Corruption"
A lengthy, fascinating story in Monday's NY Times, by Nicholas Confessore, looks at another aspect of the proliferation of wind turbines along the New York side of the Canadian border. Some quotes:BURKE, N.Y. — Everywhere that Janet and Ken Tacy...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Environment - "U.S. Steel ready to transfer acid sludge"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today about the potential end of an era at the Gary U.S. Steel plant. Some quotes from the long story:For nearly three decades, 94,600 cubic yards of oily, hazardous sludge from steelmaking has...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Environment - More on: Major pipeline break near Indiana border
Updating this ILB entry from August 13th, Mark Wilson reports today in the Evansville Courier & Press:If last weekend's oil pipeline break had happened somewhere other than a remote farm field in Wayne County, Ill., it might well have been...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Environment - More on: "Attorney says manure could not kill 25,000 fish"
Updating this ILB entry from earlier today, on the manure spill last week that allegedly caused an estimated 25,000 fish to die in the Little Mississinewa River, the ILB has looked for other large fish kills and found this one:...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, August 16, 2008
Environment - Still more on: massive fish kill in Union City
Updating this ILB entry from August 11th, Joy Leiker reports today in the Muncie Star-Press, under the headline "Attorney says manure could not kill 25,000 fish."UNION CITY -- A hog farmer's attorney denies the state's assertion that its manure spill...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Environment - New Hampshire's new law regulating outdoor wood boilers goes into effect
As the ILB wrote in this Feb. 12th entry:The ILB has posted a large number of entries on the possible regulation of outdoor wood-fired boilers or stoves used to heat homes. This entry from Nov. 24, 2007 gives some good...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Environment - Major pipeline break near Indiana border; Last of VX nerve agent eliminated at Newport
Significant oil spill in Illinois. From the Evansville Courier & Press, a story (with map) by Len Wells that begins:GOLDEN GATE, Ill. — The weekend pipeline break that released 5,000 barrels of crude oil onto southeastern Illinois fields has been...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Environment - More on: Air permit request raises concerns in Allen County
Referencing its lengthy story from Sunday on the pending BF Goodrich air permit application (see ILB entry here), the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has this editorial today. Some quotes:A proposal from BFGoodrich seeking a permit to increase the amount of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Environment - More on: massive fish kill in Union City
Updating this ILB entry from Aug. 8th, Joy Leiker reports today in the Muncie Star-Press:UNION CITY -- The hog farmer who admitted to polluting the Little Mississinewa River last week with manure, and as a result killed tens of thousands...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Environment - Air permit request raises concerns in Allen County
Dan Stockman of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a major story today on a BFGoodrich air permit request. Some quotes:An Allen County tire manufacturer may be allowed to increase its ozone-causing pollution by up to 40 tons per year....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Environment - "State leaders need to revisit concentrated animal feeding legislation"
From an editorial today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:A proposal to build a 4,000-hog farm near New Haven brings the issue of Indiana’s dramatic increase in large concentrated feeding operations close to home. Although large animal operations are more...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, August 09, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Environment - Massive fish kill in Union City; Complaints of CAFO permit delay in Union County
Two CAFO stories today. "Fish toll may reach 40,000 from manure spill" is the headline of a story today by Joy Leiker of the Muncie Star-Press. It begins:UNION CITY -- A minimum of 10,000 fish have died, and that number...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, August 08, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Environment - More on: "EPA Closure of Libraries Faulted For Curbing Access to Key Data"
Updating this ILB entry from March 15th, The Volokh Conspiracy reports the good news that the libraries will be reopening by the end of September....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Environment - Great Lakes Compact passes US Senate
Jeff Burton reports in the NWI Times:PORTAGE | The U.S. Senate approved an interstate agreement that creates unified standards for Great Lakes water and resource management Friday, moving the compact a step closer to becoming law. The agreement, negotiated and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, August 02, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Environment - "Indiana's worst beaches not in Porter County"
That is the "good" news. The bad news was published in an AP story in the Porter County-based Chesterton Tribune yesterday and in this story by Gitte Laasby in the Gary Post Tribune on July 30th:Indiana had nearly twice as...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, August 01, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Environment - Update on: Mary Gade, regional administrator of U.S. EPA Region 5, resigns
Updating this ILB entry from May 2nd, an EPA press release today announces that Gade's successor has been appointed -- although Gade's name is never mentioned. Some quotes:CHICAGO, July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, July 21, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Enironment - More on: DC Circuit strikes down the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)
Updating this ILB entry from July 11th, James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier Journal reported yesterday, July 17th:An unexpected ruling from a federal appeals court has raised questions about dozens of air pollution control measures at coal-fired power plants in...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Environment - More on "Congress asks about trailers made in state"
The ILB last addressed the FEMA trailer/formaldehyde issue on June 5th. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette today has an editorial about "FEMA's trailer failure."...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Environment - Bloomington Cleaners undertakes voluntary environmental cleanup; shovel-ready sites
From a June 13th story ($$) by Mercedes Rodriguez in the Bloomington Herald-TimesAbout 120 tons of soil were removed from the site of Bloomington Cleaners, a dry cleaning business owned by Steve Arthur, during the week of June 30. Arthur...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Environment - Still more on "Flares at heart of BP air permit appeal"
On June 7th the ILB quoted from a story by Daniel Human of the Gary Post-Tribune:A recent EPA ruling in Illinois might set a precedent that could help environmentalists in their appeal against BP's air permit, but the company stands...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, July 13, 2008
Environment - Update on the drafting of Indiana anti-degradation rule
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today on the status of IDEM's rewriting of the anti-degradation rule. Some quotes:IDEM, industry representatives, environmentalists and municipal officials have met several times so far to clarify the language in what's called the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Environment - Still more on "Huntington County dairy coming under new management"
Updating this ILB entry from March 26th which quoted a story by Niki Kelly of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that began:There is good news and possible bad news for neighbors who have been fighting with the troubled DeGroot Dairy...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Environment - "Bush to partners: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'" [Updated]
Seriously. See the story from the LA Times ... [Updated 7/12/08] "Decisions Shut Door on Bush Clean-Air Steps " is the headline to this story today on the front-page of the NY Times, reported by Felicity Barringer. It begins:Any major...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, July 11, 2008
Enironment - DC Circuit strikes down the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)
The 60-page opinion is here - North Carolina v.EPA. An early AP story by Matt Apuzzo. Some quotes:North Carolina and some electric power producers opposed aspects of the regulation and President Bush found himself with unusual allies. "This is the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Environment - "BP Whiting’s air permit challenged" in Federal Court [Updated]
The Gary Post-Tribune this afternoon has a breaking news item by Gitte Laasby:The Natural Resources Defense Council filed an appeal today against BP Whiting’s plant modernization project air permit in federal court in Hammond. The NRDC argues that BP and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Environment - "States Approve Compact To Protect Great Lakes"
NPR's Morning Edition this morning had an excellent 5-minute story on the Great Lakes Water Compact and the likeliness of it being approved by Congress. You may read it or listen to it here....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Environment - "Union Co. group again requests CAFO moratorium"
Pam Tharp reports today in the Richmond Palladium-Item:LIBERTY, Ind. -- Concerned Citizens For Union County has again asked county commissioners to recommend a moratorium on building permits for concentrated animal feeding operations. Advertisement The commissioners took no action on the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Environment - Still more on: Rhode Island's Massive Lead Paint Tort Case
Updating this July 1 ILB entry on the Supreme Court of Rhode Island's decision rejecting a massive public nuisance suit against former lead-pigment manufacturers, Eric Tucker of the AP has a comprehensive story today headed "R.I. lead paint loss gives...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, July 07, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "Dams continue to age, but money to fix them in compliance with state standards is scarce"
The Court of Appeals decision June 30th (see ILB entry here) in the case of Indiana Department of Natural Resources and State of Indiana v. Lake George Cottagers Association is part of the focus today in a lengthy and comprehensive...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, July 06, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Environment - Great Lakes compact; another BP appeal
Gitte Laasby, environmental reporter for the Gary Post-Tribune, has sent along two news items:Late last night [July 3rd], the Pennsylvania Senate passed the Great Lakes Compact. The governor has said he plans to sign it. With that, the Compact is...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, July 05, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
Environment - "Georgia Court Halts Construction of New Coal-Fired Plant"
The subhead to this July 3rd story in Scientific American is: "First-ever thumbs-down by a court based on greenhouse gas as a pollutant." The report begins:A Georgia court this week halted construction of a new 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant on...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, July 04, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Environment - Bartholomew County hog farmer to pay fine, close operation
Kirk Johannesen has this brief story in the Columbus Republic:A Bartholomew County hog farmer agreed to close his confined feeding operation and pay a $7,750 fine for environmental violations, according to Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Ron Trotter, a Bartholomew...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Environment - More on: Rhode Island's Massive Lead Paint Tort Case
Overturned! That is the word this afternoon. Susan A. Baird of the Providence Business News reports in a long story that begins:PROVIDENCE – In a unanimous ruling this morning, the R.I. Supreme Court rejected the landmark decision against former lead-pigment...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Environment - "Congress now focus of Great Lakes compact"
John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer, reports today:TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. | A year ago, it seemed a proposed compact designed to prevent raids on the Great Lakes might be sunk by squabbles in the states with jurisdiction over nearly one-fifth of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Environment - Yet more on: Gary Post-Tribune examines IDEM calls to BP
Updating this ILB entry from June 25th, the Gary Post-Tribnune has an editorial today headed "What is it that IDEM seems bent on hiding?"...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Environment - More on: Plan Commission rejects request to move Wednesday's meeting to a larger location
Updating this ILB entry from June 21, Pam Tharp reports on the meeting under the headline "Seething crowd in Union County sees CAFO ordinance OK'd." Some quotes:LIBERTY, Ind. -- The Union County Area Plan Commission on Wednesday recommended an ordinance...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Environment - Still more on: Gary Post-Tribune examines IDEM calls to BP
In this ILB entry from June 18, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reported:The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has released more itemized phone records for its managers. But the agency still refuses to reveal whom its top air quality...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Environment - Jim Rogers, A Green Coal Baron?
Today's NYT Magazine has a long feature by Clive Thompson that begins:When I met with Jim Rogers one day this spring, he tossed back two double espressos in a single hour. A charming and natty 60-year-old, Rogers is the chief...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Environment - "U.S. May Free Up More Land for Corn Crops"
Today's NY Times has this story by David Streitfeld. Some quotes:CHICAGO — Signs are growing that the government may allow farmers to plant crops on millions of acres of conservation land, while a chorus of voices is also pleading with...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, June 21, 2008
Environment - More on: "Congress asks about trailers made in state"
Updating this ILB entry from June 5th, Maureen Groppe of the Gannett New Service reports today:WASHINGTON -- A congressional committee has subpoenaed documents from Pilgrim International Inc. after the Indiana-based trailer manufacturer declined to produce them. The House Oversight and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, June 21, 2008
Environment - Plan Commission rejects request to move Wednesday's meeting to a larger location
Pam Tharp of the Richmond Palladium-Item reports today:LIBERTY, Ind. -- The Union County Area Plan Commission has rejected a request to move its meeting scheduled for Wednesday on livestock zoning rules to a larger location. The plan commission will consider...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Environment - More on: Gary Post-Tribune examines IDEM calls to BP
Updating this ILB entry from June 2nd, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today in a story that begins:The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has released more itemized phone records for its managers. But the agency still refuses to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Environment - More on: ELJ to set schedule for BP
Updating yesterday's ILB entry, two stories today on yesterday's hearing on the BP appeals. \ Gette Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune writes:INDIANAPOLIS -- Three appeals of BP Whiting's air permit won't get hearings until at least June next year. Meanwhile,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Environment - ELJ to set schedule for BP
Gette Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:A judge will likely determine today how and when three appeals of BP Whiting's air permit will proceed. At a prehearing conference in Indianapolis today, environmental groups, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Environment - "Had IDEM listened, no need for appeal"
So reads the headline to an editorial this Sunday in the Gary Post-Tribune. Some quotes:The challenge to BP's air permit is a serious challenge, based on science and predicated on the idea that pollution will happen but should be diminished...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, June 08, 2008
Ind. Courts - Still more on "Landowner calls move by pipeline company as intimidation"
Updating this ILB entry from April 1st, the Richmond Palladium-Item had a related article yesterday:INDIANAPOLIS -- An 830-mile natural gas pipeline that will span all of Indiana will comply with several provisions to protect owners of agricultural land. Advertisement The...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, June 08, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Environment - More on "Flares at heart of BP air permit appeal"
Updating this ILB entry from June 1st, Daniel Human of the Gary Post-Tribune reports about decision in Illinois in a lengthy story that begins:A recent EPA ruling in Illinois might set a precedent that could help environmentalists in their appeal...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, June 07, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Environment - "CAFO industry threatens lawsuit"
"CAFO industry threatens lawsuit" is the headline to a story this morning by Seth Slabaugh of the Muncie Star-Press. Some quotes:The Muncie-Delaware County Planning Commission tabled a proposed zoning-ordinance amendment to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on Thursday night...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, June 06, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Environment - "Congress asks about trailers made in state"
Maureen Groppe of Gannett reports today in a story that begins:WASHINGTON -- Congress wants the presidents of four Indiana trailer manufacturers to testify under oath about high formaldehyde levels found in trailers they sold the federal government as temporary homes...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, June 05, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Environment - "Corn Prices Rise, Pitting Chickens Against Ethanol"
Cindy Skrzycki writes the Tuesday column, The Regulators, for the Washington Post.. Her column today begins:Taking corn from the mouths of chickens to put into the gas tanks of U.S. cars and trucks is causing feathers to fly in Washington....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Environment - Gary Post-Tribune examines IDEM calls to BP
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today under the headline: "IDEM, BP in cahoots on public hearing? Phone calls reveal clues." The story begins:A public relations official at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management called a BP official seven...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, June 02, 2008
Environment - "Possible regulation of CAFOs in Delaware County"
Seth Slabaugh reports today for the Muncie Star-Press in a story that begins:MUNCIE -- For the third consecutive year, the city-county planning commission is debating whether or not to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The stakes remain high, as...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, June 02, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Environment - "Administration Moves to Avert a Rules Rush"
Charlie Savage and Robert Pear have an important, lengthy, front-page story in Saturday's NY Times, headlined "Administration Moves to Avert a Rules Rush." It begins:The Bush administration has told federal agencies that they have until June 1 to propose any...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, June 01, 2008
Environment - "Flares at heart of BP air permit appeal"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune has another story today on the BP air permit controversy. Her report begins:WHITING -- Flares stand at the heart of the appeal of BP's air permit. You can't miss them. They're those tall Roman-candle...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, June 01, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Environment - "One new gasification proposal survives in the United States"
"Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal" was the headline to a story yesterday on the front-page of the NY Times. Some quotes from thelengthy story:WASHINGTON — For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Environment - "Just what is an antidegradation policy?"
Reporters in Northwest Indiana have been doing yeoman's work in the environmental area. Today Christine Kraly of the NWI Times has a story headed "IDEM water rule process ongoing." Her long report begins:Until it is given a makeover, its unclear...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Environment - Rhode Island's Massive Lead Paint Tort Case
The ILB has had a number of entries on lead paint and on the Rhode Island suit - see the list here. For even more, see this Findlaw column by Anthony J. Sebok, a professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Ind. Decisions - Still more on: "Jury rejects pollution suit against New Albany power plant"
A story today in the Indianapolis Star by John Russell and Erika D. Smith clarifies two fragments of the story posted in separate entries yesterday (here and here) by the ILB. Some quotes from the Star story:A coal-burning plant in...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Ind. Decisions - More on: "Jury rejects pollution suit against New Albany power plant"
Updating this ILB entry from earlier today re the Gallagher plant in New Albany, the Indianapolis Star this afternoon has this report on another [aspect of the same] jury decision, this one involving the Wabash River plant in Vigo County:A...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 23, 2008
Environment - "Judge sets June 16 prehearing on BP air permit appeals"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:The scene is set for a standoff between environmentalists and BP this summer. A judge scheduled June 16 prehearings on three appeals of BP Whiting's air permit Thursday. At three separate hearings in...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 23, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "Jury rejects pollution suit against New Albany power plant"
James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier Journal reports this morning in a story that begins:Jurors decided yesterday that improvements at the Gallagher power plant in New Albany, Ind., a decade ago did not trigger a requirement for additional pollution controls...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Environment - "Gulls of another color seen in NW Ind."
The Indianapolis Star picked up an AP story this morning that reports:PORTAGE, Ind. -- Some gulls around northwestern Indiana have been looking a little blue the past week, and the state Department of Natural Resources is trying to figure out...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Not law - Turkey at Texas Courthouse, Deer at Purdue's Lilly Hall
Both broke windows. Both apparently were unharmed. "Turkey flies through Lubbock County Courthouse window, unharmed by hit" reads a story today flagged by How Appealing. Don't miss the photo of the "cartoon-like hole in the glass" - here. Hmm, Lubbock,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Environment - More on: Appeals filed with OEA over BP air construction permit grant
Updating this ILB entry from May 13th, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:BP Whiting's contentious air permit hit another bump in the road Monday. A coalition of environmental groups filed a 37-page appeal with a request to temporarily...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Environment - Appeals filed with OEA over BP air construction permit grant
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports:A group of Northwest Indiana residents has filed the first appeal of BP Whiting's air permit. Other environmental organizations are preparing separate appeals. The residents, in an appeal filed Saturday, said the permit fails...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Environment - "A century's worth of mud dredged from five miles of the Grand Calumet River lies buried" in a nearby CAMU
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune has an instructive story today about corrective action cleanups. Some quotes:GARY -- Like a steep hill, the sloping, grass-covered walls rise 20 feet into the air on a strip of land east of Bridge...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Environment - More on: Dangers in commencing construction before permit is final
Updating this ILB entry from May 8th, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune has more today on the BP sir permit. Christine Kraly of the NWI Times also has a story, titled "Appeal to BP permit in the works?," and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 09, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Environment - Dangers in commencing construction before permit is final
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post Tribune reports today:BP could be forced to stop, alter or tear down construction on its modernized Whiting refinery if its newly issued air permit construction approval is appealed. BP started construction when it received...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, May 08, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
Environment - "Air rules initiative troubles Amish"
Niki Kelly of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette had a very long and very interesting story Sunday on IDEM's interactions with Amish woodworking operations. Some quotes:“In speaking to IDEM, they clearly did not intend this. If they were targeting them,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, May 05, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
Environment - "Union Co. planners pull together CAFO info"
Pam Tharp of the Richmond Palladium-Item has a story today on plans of the Union County Area Plan Commission to meet soon to consider new ordinances for concentrated animal feeding operations. The story has much useful detail on issues to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 02, 2008
Environment - IDEM issues BP air construction permit
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:BP Whiting started construction on its $3.8 billion expansion Thursday after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued an air permit construction approval to the refinery. "The permit enabled us to proceed with...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 02, 2008
Environment - Mary Gade, regional administrator of U.S. EPA Region 5, resigns
Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune reports today in a lengthy story with the headline "EPA official ousted while fighting Dow." Some quotes:SAGINAW, Mich. - The battle over dioxin contamination in this economically stressed region had been raging for years...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, May 02, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Environment - "CAFOs rule Randolph commissioner race"
Randolph County has been the site of many CAFO battles, including an "intensive agricultural district " for Randolph County that would occupy 75.88 % of the county, and a moratorium on CAFOs. See ILB entries from Jan. 8th and Feb....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Environment - "Interpretation of state law led to 20-day BP public hearing notice"
The Gary Post-Tribune's awarding-winning environmental reporter, Gitte Laasby, has this story today:Indiana Department of Environmental Management officials acted against advice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to check state law when IDEM provided 20 days’ notice of a public hearing...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Environment - "Corn-Based Ethanol Tied to Higher Food Costs"
Siobhan Hughes of the WS Journal reports today:Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Friday that the growing emphasis on corn-based ethanol has contributed to higher food prices, and he said the nation should begin "moving away gradually" from ethanol made from...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, April 19, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Environment - John Graham to lead IU SPEA
A press release today from Indiana University includes the following:INDIANAPOLIS -- John D. Graham, a former Harvard faculty member and top official with the White House Office of Management and Budget, has been named dean of the Indiana University School...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, April 17, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Environment - Who cleans up if a hog farm goes bankrupt?
Seth Slabaugh of the Muncie Star-Press has a story today that begins:EATON -- The Indiana attorney general's office recently asked a judge to order a pork producer to explain why he should not be found in contempt of court for...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, April 11, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Environment - More on "Benton County remains knee-deep in CAFO issues"
Updating this ILB entry from Jan. 14th, Joe Larson of the Lafayette Journal & Courier reports today in a story headed "Legal fight delaying hog farm operation," that briefs now have been filed before the Court of Appeals. Some quotes:BOSWELL...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, April 06, 2008
Environment - Of hogs and corn and ethanol
Jeff Swiatek of the Indianapolis Star has a long story today in the business section of the Indianapolis Star headed "Hoosier pig farmers are struggling with rising feed costs and a market oversupply that's pinching swine producers." Some quotes:Farmers are...Posted by Marcia Oddi on 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...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, April 06, 2008
Environment - "'Toxic trailers' raise fears about RVs"
The ILB has had several entries about FEMA "toxic trailers". Start here for background. Today Ted Evanoff of the Indianapolis Star has a long story about how issues arising from the trailers shipped to house Katrina survivors by FEMA, many...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, April 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Environment - More on: Environment - "Huntington County dairy coming under new management"
Updating this ILB entry from Monday, March 24, which quoted an IDEM press release, Niki Kelly reports today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:There is good news and possible bad news for neighbors who have been fighting with the troubled...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Environment. - Yet more on: BioTown, USA. Remember little Reynolds, Indiana? Population 500
The ILB has had a number of entries on "BioTown", going back to this one from Sept. 13, 2005, headed "Daniels hopes to transform town of Reynolds so it's powered only by renewable power sources." Today Tom Murphy of the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Environment - "Huntington County dairy coming under new management"
From a press release issued this afternoon by IDEM:Under an agreement reached with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), Huntington County dairy owner Johannes DeGroot and DeGroot Dairy, LLC, operating in Indiana since 2001, is barred from operating livestock...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Environment - "EPA Closure of Libraries Faulted For Curbing Access to Key Data"
A long-time ongoing story got more exposure yesterday with the release of a GAO study. Christopher Lee reported in the Washington Post:A plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to close several of its 26 research libraries did not fully account...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Environment - "Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest"
Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post reports today in a front-page story that begins:The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, March 14, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Environment - Complaints that public isn't being given enough time to review BP draft air permit
On March 1, Gitte Laasby, environmental reporter for the Gary Post Tribune, wrote:WHITING -- Environmentalists are frustrated and disappointed with Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly, who has refused to give them the time they say they need...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, March 09, 2008
Environment - National study looking into release of toxic emissions
The EPA farm emissions study has been the subject of several ILB entries, including this one from April 4, 2005, and this one (2nd part of entry) from July 13, 2007. Today Melissa Moody of the New Albany New&Tribune has...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, March 09, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Environment - Drafts of antidegradation rule not yet in a form reviewable by the public
A story in the Jan. 4 2008 NWI Times reported:A wastewater permit for U.S. Steel's Gary Works is on hold until Indiana environmental regulators can come up with a new antidegradation regulation to protect Lake Michigan. "We can't say they...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, March 08, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "Decision to void ordinance could stop ethanol plant"
Anita Munson of the South Bend Tribune reports today in a story that begins:Judge Michael Cook's ruling that Argos' rezoning ordinance is unconstitutional and void has many residents wondering if the decision is the death knell for a proposed ethanol...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, March 08, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Environment - New Energy Corp. apparently protests South Bend's pretreatment permit requirements
Jamie Loo reports today in the South Bend Tribune:New Energy Corp. has asked a judge for relief from a new, more stringent, city water discharge permit for its ethanol plant. The company claims the city issued the new permit, which...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Environment - "Indiana-made trailers in health tests"
"Trailers flow from Indiana to Gulf Coast" is the heading of a story quoted in this Sept. 28, 2005 ILB entry. See additional entries here. Today Ted Evanoff of the Indianapolis Star reports:A pair of congressional committees have opened inquiries...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Environment - Governor signs Great Lakes Compact
A news release this afternoon from the Governor Daniels' office provides:INDIANAPOLIS (February 20, 2008) – Governor Mitch Daniels today signed the Great Lakes compact, SEA 45, making Indiana the first state to implement the added protections the interstate agreement provides....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Environment - Still more on: "EPA's mercury rule struck down"
Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 18, here is a report from H. Josef Hebert of the AP that appeared nationally. It begins:WASHINGTON—While arguing in court that states are free to enact tougher mercury controls from power plants, the Bush...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Environment - Yet more on "Great Lakes Compact on track"[Updated]
Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 13th, an AP story carried by the Chesterton Tribune and a number of out-of-state papers reported yesterday, in a story that begins:TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — An interstate water compact designed to prevent thirsty...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Environment - More on: "EPA's mercury rule struck down"
Updating this lengthy ILB entry from Feb. 10th, Mark Wilson of the Evansville C&P reports today:Environmental organizations disappointed by the mercury emission limits adopted by Indiana last year are hopeful a federal court's decision to strike down the U.S. Environmental...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, February 18, 2008
Environment - More on: Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters up for public comment through end of January
Updating this ILB from Jan. 28th, Rick Callahan of the AP reports today in a long story that begins:A shift in how Indiana compiles a federally mandated list of its polluted waterways has removed about 800 stretches of rivers and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, February 18, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Environment - More on "EPA's mercury rule struck down"
Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 10th, there is an interesting entry today in The Volokh Conspiracy, written by Jonathan H. Adler . law prof and Director of the Center for Business Law & Regulation at the Case Western Reserve...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Environment - Even more on "Great Lakes Compact on track"
Updating this ILB entry from January 17th, the Great Lakes Compact bill, SB 45, has now passed both Houses in the same form - all that remains is the Governor's signature. Bill Ruthhart reports in the Indianapolis Star:A bill that...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Environment - Effectiveness of LaPorte County ordinance regulating outdoor wood boilers
The ILB has posted a large number of entries on the possible regulation of outdoor wood-fired boilers or stoves used to heat homes. This entry from Nov. 24, 2007 gives some good background. Because IDEM and US EPA have both...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Environment - "EPA's mercury rule struck down" [Updated]
On Friday the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit threw out the USEPA mercury rule. Here are some quotes from the story that ran in the Indianapolis Star:WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court struck down an Environmental Protection Agency...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Environment - Even more on "Randolph County could zone 220,000 acres for CAFOs"
Updating this ILB entry from Jan. 8th, which quoted a report that:WINCHESTER -- After rejecting an ordinance that would restrict where industrial farms can be built in Randolph County, commissioners approved a moratorium Monday, halting the expansion of confined feeding...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, February 09, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Environment - Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters up for public comment through end of January [Updated]
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today that:Environmentalists are concerned about the lack of progress toward cleaning up Northwest Indiana's most contaminated waters. They say the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has focused on completing studies of rivers and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Environment - More on "Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Gives Duke Energy Indiana Approval to Build Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Plant"
Updating this ILB entry from Nov. 20, 2007, Jeff Swiatek of the Indianapolis Star has a long, front-page story today that gbegins:Duke Energy won a state environmental air permit Friday for its proposed coal gasification power plant in southwest Indiana,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, January 26, 2008
Environment - "Grand Calumet River dredge job completed"
Gitte Laasby, environmental reporter for the Gary Post-Tribune, reported Friday in a story that began:GARY -- U.S. Steel Gary Works has completed its dredging of the Grand Calumet River, removing an estimated 38,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, January 26, 2008
Environment - More on "House panel stiffens confined feed rules"
In this ILB entry from Jan. 16th, SB 61 and HB 1168 are mentioned. Both are now dead for the session, according to this story today by Rick Yencer of the Muncie Star-Press that begins:Add a handful of bills involving...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, January 26, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Environment - "The variety of threats Lake Michigan faces"
Heather Augustyn of the NWI Times reports:VALPARAISO | Members of the League of Women Voters listened to a guest speaker on a freezing Saturday morning talk about the variety of threats Lake Michigan faces. Jeanette Neagu, co-president of the Lake...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Environment - "FEMA Offers Refunds on Toxic Trailers"
From NEWSInferno.com:The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will offer refunds to people who bought toxic FEMA trailers. The toxic FEMA trailers issued to Hurricane Katrina survivors are contaminated with formaldehyde. FEMA’s prior recommendation for fixing the problem was for families...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Environment - "Coal is no longer on front burner" in many states
"Coal is no longer on front burner: The rush to build power plants slows as worries grow over global warming, building costs and transportation" is the headline to a lengthy front-page story today by Judy Pasternak in the LA Times....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Environment - Still more on "Great Lakes Compact on track"
Updating this ILB entry from Jan. 10th, the Great Lakes Compact legislation, SB 45, has passed third reading in the Senate and now will move across the Statehouse 3rd floor to the House of Representatives. From a press release issued...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, January 17, 2008
Environment - Governor acts to extend environmental impact statement rules
This ILB entry from Dec. 11, 2007 concluded:Here is the interesting part. Under the Sunset Law adopted by the General Assembly some years ago, agency rules expire unless they are readopted every seven years. This was the year for readoption...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, January 17, 2008
Environment - More on "House panel stiffens confined feed rules"
Updating yesterday's ILB entry, The AP today also has a report on HB 1168 being passed out of the first house committee. It begins:Indiana's large livestock farms would face annual inspections and other tightened regulations under a bill sent to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Environment - "House panel stiffens confined feed rules"
A week ago, Jan. 9th, the ILB posted an entry headed "Proposal calls for 3-year moratorium on CAFOs," about SB 61. Today Niki Kelly of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports about HB 1168, in a story that begins:The debate...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Environment - Impact of delisting a waste
The Indiana Solid Waste Management Board meets today and has on its agenda for final adoption #07-552, which "Adds 329 IAC 3.1-6-8 to conditionally exclude from regulation under 329 IAC 3.1 (delist) wastewater treatment sludge from the chemical conversion coating...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Environment - "Benton County remains knee-deep in CAFO issues" [Updated]
Joe Carlson reports today in the Lafayette Journal & Courier:EARL PARK -- Plans for a large confined cattle operation near this town have been revived about three years after a legal battle helped bring them to a standstill. * *...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, January 14, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Environment - CAFOs in Grant County
Recent ILB entries have concerned CAFOs in Randolph and Delaware Counties. Today AJ Colley of the Grant County Chronicle-Tribune has a long article about CAFOs in that county. It begins:As two confined animal feeding operation farms' permits work their way...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Environment - More on "Great Lakes Compact on track"
Updating this ILB entry from Monday, reporting that the Great Lakes Compact bill would be heard by the Senate Committee on Energy and Environmental Affairs on Wed., Jan. 9th, John Byrne and Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune report today...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Environment - Proposal calls for 3-year moratorium on CAFOs
Pam Thorp reports in the Richmond Palladium-Item:Controversy over concentrated animal feeding operations hasn't diminished since the General Assembly adjourned last year, so State Sen. Allen Paul has again introduced a bill that would impose a three-year moratorium on new CAFOs...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Environment - Still more on "Randolph County could zone 220,000 acres for CAFOs"
Updating this Dec. 28, 2007 ILB entry about a proposed new "intensive agricultural district " for Randolph County that would occupy 75.88 % of the county, which was approved by the Area Planning Commission, apparently the plan not only has...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Environment - "Great Lakes Compact on track"
Updating the earlier ILB entries on the Great Lakes Compact, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:Gov. Mitch Daniels' liaison is certain the Great Lakes Compact will pass the General Assembly this legislative session despite some hesitation from downstate...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, January 07, 2008
Environment - Outdoor wood fired boilers not the only culprit
The ILB has had number stories about concerns raised by outdoor wood-fired boilers used to heat homes. Today Mary Wilds of the NWI Times reports on another concern - indoor wood-fired stoves that may not meet already existing federal and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, January 07, 2008
Environment - More on "BP permit blowup leads to IDEM changes"
Updating this ILB entry from Friday, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:PORTAGE -- Permit renewals for four of Northwest Indiana's steel mills will be delayed as a result of the controversy over BP Whiting's wastewater permit. To avoid...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, January 07, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
Environment - "Delaware County CAFO proposal too restrictive, say farmers" [Updated]
Recall this Dec. 28th ILB entry about a proposed Randolph County zoning ordinance that would create a new "intensive agricultural district " that would occupy 75.88 % of the county. Contrast it with this lengthy story today in the Muncie...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, January 04, 2008
Environment - "BP permit blowup leads to IDEM changes"
Keith Benman writes today in the NWI Times:A wastewater permit for U.S. Steel's Gary Works is on hold until Indiana environmental regulators can come up with a new antidegradation regulation to protect Lake Michigan. "We can't say they have met...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, January 04, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Environment - How much pollution do Indiana facilities discharge into Lake Michigan each year?
The Sunday before Christmas (Dec. 23rd) the Gary Post-Tribune published a series of stories by their environmental reporter, Gitte Lasby, seeking to answer the question of "How much pollution do Indiana facilities discharge into Lake Michigan each year?" The lead...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
Environment - More on "Randolph County could zone 220,000 acres for CAFOs"
Updating this ILB entry from Nov. 25th, about a proposed new "intensive agricultural district " that would occupy 75.88 % of the county, Seth Slabaugh of the Muncie Star-Press reports today:WINCHESTER -- The Area Planning Commission approved a controversial ordinance...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, December 28, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Environment - More on: Hearing in Edwardsville today on proposed Duke Energy power plant
Updating this ILB entry from Dec. 20th, here are further reports on the hearing. Mark Wilson reported in the Evansville Courier & Press later the morning of the 20th:Opponents of a 630 megawatt power plant proposed for Knox County say...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Environment - More on: Hearing on Great Lakes Compact today at 1 pm
Today's AP story on the SB 45, the Great Lakes Compact, points out what the ILB should have picked up on in this entry yesterday -- the main author of the bill is the highly respected Senator Beverly Gard, long-time...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, December 20, 2007
Environment - Hearing in Edwardsville today on proposed Duke Energy power plant
Updating this ILB entry from Nov, 20th, headed "Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Gives Duke Energy Indiana Approval to Build Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Plant", Bryan Corbin of the Evansville Courier & Press reports today:A public hearing on an air-pollution permit...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, December 20, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Environment - Hearing on Great Lakes Compact today at 1 pm
Bob Kasarda of the NWI Times reports:PORTAGE | The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission called on lawmakers last week to support legislation aimed at protecting the use of water from the Great Lakes. A couple of years ago Gov. Mitch...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Environment - "Timber industry needs best management practices"
There is an interesting discussion in the Lafayette Journal & Courier today about forest management in Indiana and the possible implementation of best management practices....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Environment - "Coalition sues Land Office over wind farms"; energy alternatives, each with proponents and opponents
Wind Farms. The Austin American-Statesman had a story Wed. headed: "Coalition sues Land Office over wind farms: Groups, including King Ranch, want to require extensive environmental review of wind projects." The NY Times had a story by Felicity Barringer on...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, December 06, 2007
Environment - "Former IU SPEA dean completes IDEM permit process review"
On Aug. 13th, the ILB posted en entry titeld "Environment - Governor Daniels asks former dean of SPEA to conduct 6 weeks study of Indiana's IDEM's BP permit." On Nov. 7th, the ILB posted an entry titled "Environment - Governor's...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, December 06, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Environment. - More on: BioTown, USA. Remember little Reynolds, Indiana? Population 500
This ILB entry from Nov. 1st featured a Wall Street Journal story headed "An Ethanol Glut Hits Home In BioTown, USA.." This story today in the Lafayette Journal & Courier, by Joe Larson, reports:John Heimlich, president of the White County...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, December 03, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Environment - "Jacobus Tielen's lawyers are trying to resolve criminal and civil proceedings over manure management"
Seth Slabaugh reports in the Muncie Star-Press:The Delaware County prosecutor's office and the Indiana attorney general's office have been negotiating the settlement of criminal and civil charges against a Delaware County pork producer since last year. Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, December 01, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Environment - "BP Alleged to Have Modified Whiting Refinery Illegally"
A release from the Environmental News Service today begins:CHICAGO, Illinois, November 29, 2007 (ENS) - The federal government today formally notified BP Products North America Inc. of alleged violations of multiple Clean Air Act requirements at its refinery in Whiting,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 30, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Environment - "Randolph County could zone 220,000 acres for CAFOs"
A story in Saturday's Muncie Star-Press, written by Seth Slabaugh, reports:MUNCIE -- Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) would be allowed in a new intensive agricultural district covering about 220,000 acres of Randolph County if county commissioners adopt an ordinance proposed...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, November 25, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Environment - An update on outdoor wood-fired boilers
The ILB's first entry on wood-fired boilers was nearly two years ago. (Here is a list of all entries.) IDEM had posted a notice in the Indiana Register asking for written comments on whether a new rule should be developed...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, November 24, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Environment - Still more on: "BP wastewater permit: 'We already have the technology'"
Following up on this ILB entry from Nov. 19th, Rick Callahan of the AP reports today in the BP claim that it "has not yet figured out how to cut its expected higher discharges." Some quotes:WHITING, Ind. -- Every day,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 23, 2007
Environment - The state of groundwater in Louisville
The ILB has recently begun taking note of stories relating to water resources management or the lack thereof: continued pollution of Lake Michigan; efforts to draw down and divert the water resources represented by the Great Lakes; the mining of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 23, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Environment - "Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Gives Duke Energy Indiana Approval to Build Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Plant"
The IURC has today issued a 63-page order approving Duke Energy's application to build a coal gasification plant in Edwardsport. Here is the IURC release:Today in Cause No. 43114, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (Commission, IURC) issued a Certificate of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Environment - More on: "BP wastewater permit: 'We already have the technology'"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reported on Nov. 11th, per this ILB entry of that date:BP representatives say they haven't found a way to reduce the Whiting refinery's discharges of ammonia and suspended solids. But potential contractors, who say...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, November 19, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Environment - More on: Wabash Environmental trial in federal court concludes
Updating this ILB entry from Sept. 14th, the AP is reporting today in a story headed "River polluter gets 5-year sentence" that begins:The former president of a company that once treated liquid industrial wastes was sentenced to five years in...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 16, 2007
Environment - "Havens | Indiana Dunes: An Exclusive Beachfront, Far From the Coast"
The NY Times' Friday Escapes Section today has an interesting feature by Eugene L. Meyer on private beach communities along Lake Michigan in the area between Gary and Michigan City....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 16, 2007
Environment - "Indiana should OK compact to protect the Great Lakes"
From an editorial in the NWI Times yesterday:With so much attention to Lake Michigan water quality brought by scrutiny of the BP and U.S. Steel emission permits, the Indiana General Assembly should approve the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 16, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Environment - "BP wastewater permit: 'We already have the technology'"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:BP representatives say they haven't found a way to reduce the Whiting refinery's discharges of ammonia and suspended solids. But potential contractors, who say they can solve the problem with technology used at...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, November 11, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Environment - Governor's review of Great Lakes water-quality laws drags on
The AP's Rick Callahan has an interesting story today that begins:INDIANAPOLIS -- A review of Great Lakes water-quality laws that Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered in August amid a public uproar over a BP discharge permit has taken twice as long...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Friday, November 02, 2007
Environment - "Sixth Gives Green Light to Environmental Tort Suit"
The blog Decision of the Day has this interesting post, that begins:In a big decision at the intersection of tort law and environmental law, the Sixth Circuit is allowing a group of Kentucky homeowners to proceed with their claims that...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, November 02, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Environment. - BioTown, USA. Remember little Reynolds, Indiana? Population 500
The most recent ILB entry on BioTown USA is dated Oct. 6, 2005 -- two years ago. It quoted from a story headed "Questions linger over BioTown project". Today the WSJ bring us up to date in a story on...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, November 01, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Environment - More on "States eye lakes water management"
Following up on yesterday's ILB entry, Tim Jones of the Chicago Tribune has a lengthy story headed: "Great Lakes key front in water wars: Western, Southern states covet Midwest resource." It begins:While the West burns and the Southeast bakes, there...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Environment - "States eye lakes water management"
On October 22nd the ILB posted an entry headed "Canadian company mining Indiana aquifer." The entry concluded:No talk here of water management policies. The day may soon be past, and perhaps it should be already, when a community will so...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, October 27, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Environment - "Will U.S. Steel -- Gary Works be allowed to increase or decrease its discharges to the Grand Calumet River when the company's wastewater permit is renewed?"
"Will U.S. Steel -- Gary Works be allowed to increase or decrease its discharges to the Grand Calumet River when the company's wastewater permit is renewed?" writes Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune in a story today. "For now," the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Environment - Canadian company mining Indiana aquifer
The Diane Rehm Show on NPR today focuses on:U.S. Weather Patterns and Drought: Severe drought conditions in several southern states and in large areas of the west are prompting new concerns about possible water shortages. An update U.S. weather patterns...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Environment - More on Indiana and Lake Michigan pollution
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune has a story today headed "EPA still unsure on lake polluters." It begins:The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still has not determined how much pollution goes into Lake Michigan, despite a request from U.S. Sen....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, October 21, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Environment - Indiana listed as next to last "greenest" state by Forbes
Here, from the current issue of Forbes, is its list of America's Greenest States. Scroll down to 49th to find Indiana. 46-50: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Indiana, West Virginia. From the main article in Forbes:So who's at the bottom? Mississippi, Louisiana,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, October 20, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Environment - Kansas Power Plant Rejected Over Carbon Dioxide
From the Washington Post today, a front-page story that begins:The Kansas Department of Health and Environment yesterday became the first government agency in the United States to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Environment - "U.S. Steel permit a dud"
From an editorial today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: The federal Environmental Protection Agency is rightly stepping in before Indiana establishes pollution standards for a Gary steel mill that environmentalists criticize as too lenient. The action comes months after...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Environment - Still more on "Indiana seeks to ease rules for lake polluter"
Updating this ILB entry from Oct. 13th, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today that:A large coalition of the biggest environmental groups in Indiana and Illinois is eyeing a new way to make sure they're being heard -- and...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Environment - More on "Indiana seeks to ease rules for lake polluter"
More on the developing brouhaha involving the draft permit proposed by IDEM for US. Steel discharges into the Grand Calumet River and Lake Michigan. Yesterday's ILB entry quoted a number of stories indicating growing criticism of the draft permit developed...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, October 13, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Environment - "Indiana seeks to ease rules for lake polluter: State offers U.S. Steel a pass on some regulations" [Updated]
So reads the headline to a Chicago Tribune "exclusive" today, reported by Michael Hawthorne, who wrote many of the initial BP stories. Some quotes from the very long story:Indiana is moving to scrap, relax or omit limits on toxic chemicals...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Environment - Still more on the U.S. Steel Gary Works/Grand Calumet permit, and related issues
This August 5th ILB entry begins with this quote from the Gary Post-Tribune:The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has drafted a permit allowing U.S. Steel Gary Works to continue discharging an average of 2,802 pounds of oil and grease per...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Environment - "Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is in poor condition"
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is in poor condition, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Parks Conservation Association. The dunes are eroding, water pollution is contaminating the surrounding Lake Michigan...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Environment - "American Electric Power's plant in Rockport, Ind., near Owensboro, Ky., is the largest coal-fired plant in the world"
So reports James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier Journal in this story today on the AEP settlement announced yesterday. Some quotes from today's LCJ story:A legal settlement between American Electric Power and federal regulators will bring $1.6 billion in new...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Environment - AEP to Pay Large Sum in Clean Air Settlement [Updated]
From a story today in the Washington Post reported by Steven Mufson:In a major Clean Air Act settlement, one of the nation's biggest coal-fired electricity producers has agreed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to slash its acid-rain-causing emissions...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Environment - More on: State backs off in Feddeler Landfill dispute with Lake County sheriff
Updating this long ILB entry from Friday, on Saturday Patrick Guinane of the NWI Times reported:INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels expressed optimism Friday that Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will amicably resolve...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, October 07, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Environment - State backs off in Feddeler Landfill dispute with Lake County sheriff
On Sept. 28th Bill Dolan reported in the NWI Times:LOWELL | The state's top environmental official is speaking out in a war of words between his agency and the Lake County sheriff. "We have a sheriff who would like to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, October 05, 2007
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Ind. Courts - Jefferson Circuit Court judge insists on complaints being filed before approving IDEM agreed order
Peggy Vlerebome reports in The Madison Courier, under the heading "IDEM suit against city merely a technicality," that the Indiana Department of Environment has entered into agreed orders with cities throughout the state whereby the municipalities agree to embark on...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Environment - Adinistrative hearing in Indy on BP air variance challenge
The second half of this ILB entry from August 25th includes this quote from a Gary Post-Tribune story by Gitte Laasby:BP and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are facing new opposition against BP's air variance. The City of Chicago,...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Environment - More on: Status of the BP appeal before the Office of Environmental Adjudication
In this entry from Sept. 18th, the ILB reported on a story from the Gary Post-Tribune that began:The Alliance for the Great Lakes filed a petition on Aug. 15 asking for permission to file a belated appeal. Briefs in the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Environment - PBS News Hour on "Oil Refinery Expansions Face Opposition"
From the Sept. 19th PBS News Hour, the introduction is "An oil refinery in Detroit wants to expand its capacity by 15 percent, but neighbors and environmentalists oppose the project. This report describes how the Michigan case is indicative of...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Environment - "New Indiana regulations aim to protect Ohio River paddlefish"
From the AP:Ohio River paddlefish, whose eggs are sought by poachers as a lucrative source of caviar, are being protected by new regulations from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The agency approved emergency rules that include limits on catching...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Environment - Status of the BP appeal before the Office of Environmental Adjudication
Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune writes today:The Alliance for the Great Lakes filed a petition on Aug. 15 asking for permission to file a belated appeal. Briefs in the case were due Monday, but the Alliance, BP and the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Law - "New York Subpoenas 5 Energy Companies"
Felicity Barringer and Danny Hakim report today in the NY Times in a story that begins:Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has opened an investigation of five large energy companies, questioning whether their plans to build coal-fired power...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, September 16, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Environment - More on: Wabash Environmental trial in federal court concludes
Here is a list of a number of earlier ILB entries on the trial of Derrik Hagerman and his company, Wabash Environmental Technologies LLC, for violations of the Clean Water Act. The most recent is dated May 25th. Today the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, September 14, 2007
Environment - Chicago River's link to illness studied
Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune, who wrote one of the first stories on Indiana's BP permit, reports today:Most of the water in the Chicago River is treated sewage loaded with bacteria, but officials contend they shouldn't be forced to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Ind. Law - "Zoning rule changed, Henry residents now must petition for protection"
Joy Leiker writes today in the Muncie Star-Press:NEW CASTLE -- Henry County residents worried that a confined feeding operation might move next door to their rural homes have one protective option -- ask the planning commission to rezone their property....Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Environment - No overall data on Lake Michigan discharges
"What's dumped in the lake? ... nobody knows" is the headline to this story today in the Gary Post-Tribune, reported by Gitte Laasby. She writes:In response to Post-Tribune inquiries last week, officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Environment - "Twisting facts to defy the rules: Dairy, BP get permits despite science indicating environmental threats"
That is the heading to an interesting column today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, written by Bill Grant , a retired administrator with the LaGrange County Health Department. Here is a quote:In LaGrange County, the Daniels’ administration approved a...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, September 10, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
Environment - The Economist features BP story
The weekly British publication, The Economist, has a well-written story, dateline Chicago, titled "Muddy waters: The murky rules for keeping the Great Lakes clean." Some quotes:IT IS not often that Whiting, Indiana, makes the national news. But Indiana's plan to...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, September 07, 2007
Environment - Purdue sets up CAFO site
The Grant County Chronicle-Tribune reports:WEST LAFAYETTE - A new Web site featuring scientific information about concentrated animal feeding operations was developed by Purdue University to help people who make decisions about CAFOs. "We wanted to develop a source of information...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, September 07, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Environment - More on: Study shows how BP could likely could expand its refinery without the added pollution
This ILB entry from August 25th quotes from an Aug. 23rd story in Crain's Chicago Business that BP's announcement that it was backing off on plans to sharply increase pollutants to Lake Michigan authorized by the controversial Indiana permit:... came...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Environment - Even more on: Pollution and justice: Kentucky judge orders state to rehear permit for coal-fired power plant
Updating this most recent ILB entry from August 31st, James Bruggers writes today in the Louisville Courier Journal about this controversy. In the original ILB entry, from August 10th, I wrote: "Although the permit process is different, the facts echo...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Monday, September 03, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Environment - Still more on: Pollution and justice: Kentucky judge orders state to rehear permit for coal-fired power plant
Updating this ILB entry from Aug. 26th, Mark Wilson of the Evansville Courier & Press reports today in a story that begins:Kentucky environmental officials are asking the state's appeals court to speed up a ruling on its appeal of a...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Environment - Bush admnistration "Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining" [Updated]
The NY Times reported Aug. 22nd, in a story that begins:The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Environment - "BP gets break on soot limits: Indiana decision insulates firm from new federal rules" [Updated]
Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune reports today:Indiana regulators have granted BP another exemption from environmental standards, this time relaxing rules requiring a sharp drop in harmful soot pollution from the company's Whiting oil refinery. The decision by the Indiana...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Environment - More on: Pollution and justice: Kentucky judge orders state to rehear permit for coal-fired power plant
Following up on this ILB entry from August 10th about a power plant permit in Kentucky, where I wrote: "Although the permit process is different, the facts echo many of the same themes as the NW Indiana situation. In this...Posted by Marcia Oddi on Sunday, August 26, 2007