Lawmakers return to Statehouse for start of 2021 session
Indiana lawmakers return to the Statehouse on Monday for the start of a legislative session that will be conducted unlike any other before it.
Energy & Environment
Articles
McCabe: Biden will reverse Trump environmental policies
The Trump administration has used many tools to weaken environmental protection. For example, Trump issued an executive order in June 2020 to waive environmental review for infrastructure projects such as pipelines and highways. I expect the Biden administration will quickly signal to the nation that effectively applying the nation’s environmental laws matters to everyone – especially to communities that bear an unfair share of the public health burden of pollution.
Critics: Indiana panel’s report could lead to coal bailout
A group of state lawmakers and energy experts has approved a new state energy report outlining how Indiana should proceed at a time when electric utilities are seeing a big shift from coal to renewable energy sources.
Trump pushes new environmental rollbacks on way out the door
Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats.
Groups say energy recommendations could slow Indiana’s transition away from coal
Seven months after Indiana lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting utilities from shutting down coal-fired power plants before May 2021, a state energy task force is considering a sweeping array of measures that seem to favor existing large-scale utilities, many of which still burn coal, over providers of renewable energy.
Court orders FDA assessment of Indiana-raised modified salmon
A federal court judge ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to conduct an environmental assessment of genetically modified salmon that he said was required for the agency’s approval of the fish.
COA upholds approval of IPL’s $1.2 billion plan for system investments
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission order approving Indianapolis Power & Light Company’s proposed plan involving $1.2 billion in system investments over a seven-year period. Approval of the plan was challenged by the city of Indianapolis, consumer groups and others.
Indiana scraps plans to buy land for Ohio River port site
Indiana has scrapped plans to buy land at an Ohio River site under consideration for the state’s newest shipping port, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Thursday.
Farm feud: CAFO challenge turns to U.S. Supreme Court
Hendricks County families who live with the odor from a nearby 8,000-hog farm for years have lost their nuisance, negligence and trespass claims against the concentrated animal feeding operation. After unsuccessfully seeking relief from the Indiana Court of Appeals and a divided Indiana Supreme Court, they are now turning to the U.S. Supreme Court.
New law for a new century: NEPA ‘modernization’ could limit public input on environmental impacts, lawyers say
For the last 50 years, Americans have had a say in how these projects impacted their neighborhoods through the National Environmental Policy Act. But environmental groups and lawyers have concerns that could change under a new Trump Administration rule set to take effect this week.
Sugarman and Thomas: Nonstick coating emerging as a sticky regulatory problem
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has identified PFAS as an “emerging contaminant.” The agency has released two peer-reviewed documents addressing health impacts posed by the chemicals. EPA also listed PFOA and PFOS on its Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) — which means they are now subject to regulatory decision making and information collection.
Gardner: Unsettled waters: Revisions to the waters of the U.S. rule
On June 22, the Trump administration’s new Navigable Waters Protection Rule went into effect and was immediately subject to multiple legal challenges throughout the country. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is likely to have far-reaching impacts on the development and use of land across the United States.
6 former EPA bosses call for agency reset after election
Six former Environmental Protection Agency chiefs are calling for an agency reset after President Donald Trump’s regulation-chopping, industry-minded first term, backing a detailed plan by former EPA staffers that ranges from renouncing political influence in regulation to boosting climate-friendly electric vehicles.
Thomas and Sugarman: SCOTUS’ Atlantic Richfield ruling and environmental torts
Environmental tort actions fall under the larger rubric of toxic torts and involve personal injury and property damage claims for releases of environmental contamination. But what happens when, as they often do, the regulatory cleanup takes years or even decades?
Class-action certification upheld in Clark County residents’ suit against landfill
A group of Clark County neighbors have prevailed in an interlocutory appeal in their proposed class-action lawsuit that claims a Jeffersonville landfill emits noxious odors and negatively impacts the surrounding residential area.
Indiana negotiates deal with worst utility permit violator
An Indiana utility that committed the most permit violations in the state in the last three years is negotiating a deal with state environmental regulators to keep one of its power plants open.
EPA seeks comments on cleanup of Indianapolis Superfund site
The federal government is seeking the public’s input on its plan to clean up groundwater contamination at a Superfund site in Indianapolis that’s tainted with chemicals used by a dry cleaning company.
NIPSCO’s coal ash removal sparks environmental concerns
A major utility’s plan to close five Indiana coal ash ponds at a power plant along Lake Michigan and move coal ash to a landfill has sparked concerns from environmental activists about how the dust kicked up by that project will be controlled.
Lawsuit claims IDEM official ‘maliciously targeted’ environmental company, gas stations
Claiming an IDEM official gave “disparate treatment out of sheer vindictiveness” and “orchestrated a campaign of official harassment,” environmental consultants and business owners have filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Environment Management and Douglas R. Louks, deputy assistant commissioner of the IDEM Office of Land Quality.
Justices reject EPA’s narrow view of Clean Water Act
The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that sewage plants and other industries cannot avoid environmental requirements under landmark clean-water protections when they send dirty water on an indirect route to rivers, oceans and other navigable waterways.