February 07, 2025
East Chicago, IN – On January 31, 2025, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) issued a decision approving a renewal and modification of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit for Tradebe Treatment and Recycling, a hazardous waste processing facility in East Chicago. The permit incorporates several improvements in response to public comments submitted by a coalition of community and environmental advocacy groups, including the East Chicago Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group (ECCC-CAG), the University of Chicago’s Abrams Environmental Law Clinic (AELC), the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), and the Conservation Law Center (CLC). However, advocates remain concerned that IDEM’s decision allows Tradebe to continue and expand its operations without sufficient safeguards to protect the public and ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
Advocates expressed concern that IDEM delayed many important requirements by including them in Tradebe’s future compliance schedule instead of forcing Tradebe to make vital disclosures and improvements before issuing the permit. “Ultimately, improving Tradebe’s dismal record will require IDEM to hold Tradebe fully accountable for delivering on these compliance conditions, which should be coupled with rigorous inspections and meaningful penalties when Tradebe violates its permit obligations,” stated Kerri Gefeke, Associate Attorney with ELPC. “IDEM approving this permit is only the beginning, not the end of the story.”
Uven Chong, an AELC student who helped to draft the public comments, welcomed these improvements but emphasized that significant concerns remain. “It’s encouraging to see IDEM acknowledge Tradebe’s poor compliance history and take modest steps toward stronger oversight,” Chong said. “However, meaningful improvements in Tradebe’s operations are still needed to protect the community and the workers at the facility.”
The new permit fails to impose stricter conditions in several critical areas, including by omitting safeguards for storing and managing hazardous waste char, a byproduct of Tradebe’s waste processing. Akeeshea Daniels, ECCC-CAG co-chair, stressed the importance of stricter oversight: “Safeguards like this are crucial because improper hazardous waste management could result in dangerous dust dispersing into the air, posing serious health and environmental risks for East Chicago residents.”
“This hazardous waste facility is in the very center of East Chicago, surrounded by neighborhoods of hard-working families,” added Mike Zoeller, Senior Attorney at CLC. “The revisions to this permit are a sign that Tradebe can no longer operate with impunity.”