ELPC and Coalition Ask EPA to Fix Indiana’s Water Rules
Monday, December 21, 2009
On December 17, ELPC, the Hoosier Environmental Council and the Sierra Club submitted a petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to correct serious flaws in the Indiana water pollution control program, which is administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
The groups have worked with IDEM for years in an attempt to improve Indiana’s water pollution rules, but the regulations still do not meet standards of the federal Clean Water Act. Large coal mines are currently allowed to pollute many of Indiana’s lakes and streams while pollution from industry and agriculture has contaminated over 800 Indiana Waterways with e coli bacteria.
The petition asks EPA to take back the authority for enforcing the Clean Water Act if IDEM does not improve its water pollution control program.
Read coverage in the Indy Star.
Read the editorial “In Defense of Clean Water” by the Indy Star’s editorial board.
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:35 am
By happy coincidence, this wonderful effort by the 3 organizations comes at exactly the same time that I am petitioning IDEM to deny, or at least hold a public hearing on, two “ditch maintenance” projects by the Johnson County Surveyor. (You’ll find the notices on IDEM’s web site.) I am asking IDEM to find that these projects, and indeed the Indiana Drainage Code, violate the Clean Water Act. I’m also copying Bharat Mathur of EPA Region 5, and asking that EPA, in conjunction with your efforts, also find that the IN Drainage Code is at odds with the CWA. In our local cases, I am contending that these projects reduce water quality and have resulted in dramatically less aquatic life (in ditches and the larger bodies they flow into), higher levels of E Coli, and lessened the public’s ability to use the waterways for recreation. These two projects, by the way, are on what were formerly natural streams, but have been progressively denuded, channelized, rip-rapped, and subjected to biannual herbicide treatments. The county surveyor is hellbent to destroy what little natural qualities are left.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Thank you very much for filing this lawsuit. If you are looking for more evidence to use in the lawsuit my family’s experience with IDEM would be fruitful.
To make a long story short: My family owns a private 20 acre lake near Hamilton Indiana. Several years ago a large dairy CAFO was built half a mile from the lake. This past summer the lake had a complete fish kill caused by incredibly high concentrations of nitrogen which led to a blue green algae bloom. In addition to applying excessive amounts of cow manure the farmer also applied large amounts of chicken manure that I can’t imagine is part of the state approved manure management plan. I have no idea why the farmer thought he needed more nitrogen. The area that the chicken manure was initially dumped was burned and no crops grew on it. The field produced the most insipid crops in the area.
The water is now so toxic that our dogs will not go into or drink the lake water. Deer can no longer be seen drinking the water and the countless geese no longer live on the lake. If they stop by they leave rather quickly.
Water samples were collected and analyzed. IDEM and other state agencies were contacted. Most emails were ignored. My father did have a conversation with an IDEM person and they refused to get involved. In talking with people about the problem we did find out that a similar incident happened in 5 lakes in southern Indiana and scores of deer died. I have searched the internet for information about this and contacted DNR for information and was ignored.
My mother is also on the board for the DeKalb county soil and water board. She has many stories of IDEM refusing to enforce basic regulations. If we can be of any help please contact us.
Thank you again!
Kent Strock