Wetlands deregulation bill sent to governor
CASEY SMITH | Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS – Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a disputed bill seeking to remove protections from Indiana s already diminished wetlands amid mounting criticism that the legislation could cause damage to the state s waterways, wildlife and vegetation.
The bill s advance came one day after the death of a contested renewable energy bill meant to set standards for wind and solar projects.
The wetlands measure, which has sparked bipartisan opposition within the Republican-dominated Legislature, would eliminate a 2003 law that requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to issue permits in a state-regulated wetland and end enforcement proceedings against landowners allegedly violating current law.
A plan to preserve Indianaâs wetlands regulations, carefully crafted over several weeks by state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, was undone by his colleagues in just 48 hours, and nearly all state-regulated wetlands soon may be eligible for elimination by home builders and farmers.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 31-19 Wednesday to advance Senate Enrolled Act 389 to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, after it was significantly revised Monday and approved Tuesday by the Republican-controlled House, 58-40.
The measure would permit property owners to drain or fill most isolated wetlands without a permit or compensatory mitigation. The only type of wetlands still fully protected by state regulations would be the rare Class III wetlands that remain largely undisturbed by human activities.
Judge: BP s Indiana refinery violated soot emission limits
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Apr 15, 2021 at 12:58 pm EDT
WHITING, Ind. A BP refinery in northwest Indiana repeatedly violated air pollution standards for soot emissions between 2015 and 2018, a federal judge ruled in a lawsuit brought by environmental advocates.
U.S. District Judge Philip Simon issued his decision Wednesday. The Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project sued BP in 2019 under the federal Clean Air Act after Indiana officials declined to take formal action against the company and it’s sprawling refinery in Whiting, 15 miles (24 kilometres) southeast of Chicago.
Simon based his ruling largely on the results of nine pollution tests the oil giant provided to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management from 2015 to 2018. In eight of the tests, boilers at the refinery released soot concentrations that exceeded permitted limits.
The BP Whiting refinery in Whiting, Indiana, Aug. 25, 2015. NUCCIO DINUZZO, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
CHICAGO â BP repeatedly violated federal limits on lung-damaging soot from its Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a decision that targeted one of the biggest sources of air pollution in the Chicago area.
The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon hinged largely on the results of nine pollution tests the British oil giant provided the Indiana Department of Environmental Management between 2015 and 2018. During eight of the tests, boilers at the sprawling refinery released concentrations of particulate matter, commonly known as soot, that exceeded permitted limits.