Ethanol producer blames Cloverdale plant closure on Trump EPA
The owner of a western Indiana ethanol plant is blaming its shutdown on the Trump administration allowing some refineries to not blend ethanol with gasoline as required under federal law.
Environmental Issues
Articles
Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious
A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.
Reversal: Man can’t build concrete seawall on lake property
A man’s permission to build a concrete wall on his northern Indiana lakefront property has been halted now that the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court’s reversal of his denied application.
Charlestown zoo owner must keep big cats during animal-rights case
A federal judge is doubling down on an animal-rights ruling that prohibits the owners of a southern Indiana zoo from moving its large cats out of its possession, though the judge stopped short of issuing sanctions for an alleged failure to follow that order.
Despite objections, 9,200-head hog farm moves forward in Miami County
A proposed 9,200-head hog farm is moving forward in northern Indiana despite opposition from residents who say it will hurt property values and environmentalists worried about its proximity to a large reservoir.
Duke Energy sued for 2014 coal ash spill environmental harm
The federal, North Carolina and Virginia governments asked a court Thursday to declare the country’s largest electricity company liable for environmental damage from a leak five years ago that left miles of a river shared by the two states coated in hazardous coal ash.
Complex questions about justice center site safety concern prosecutor, public defender
Since the Marion County judges hired their own environmental consultant to review the remediation plans for the property where the new justice center is slated to be built, the Marion County prosecutor and public defender offices have started raising their own concerns about the level of contamination and safety of their workers.
Fired whistleblower’s case against IDEM reinstated, remanded
A long-running dispute between the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and a terminated employee has been partially revived after a panel of appellate judges agreed the former worker could have been held personally liable for misuse of state funds.
Indiana Republicans push for moratorium on new power plants
In a sudden legislative move that is raising alarms for utilities and environmentalists alike, Indiana Republicans want to put a moratorium on new, large power plants just as several large electrical providers are gearing up to retire aging coal-fired generating units and replace them with renewable energy and natural gas.
Federal disaster relief discussed at IU McKinney symposium
Where do Hoosiers stand in regard to disaster relief preparedness? An Ice Miller partner posed that question during an environmental symposium hosted by the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Justices grapple with statute of limitations language during oral arguments
A case involving a brownfield cleanup and a question of when a claim for recovery of costs can be brought met a skeptical Indiana Supreme Court Thursday, when the justices quizzed both sides on the meaning and implication of the state’s Environmental Legal Action statute.
EPA expands public comment period on East Chicago lead cleanup
Federal regulators are expanding the public comment period for a proposed cleanup of the site of a former housing complex in northwestern Indiana.
Cleanup set for 200,000 waste tires left at Anderson business
State environmental officials are stepping in to clean up nearly 200,000 shredded tires left at a former central Indiana recycling business.
Insurer has no duty for contamination at Gary airport
The city of Gary’s lawsuit seeking payment for cleaning up contaminated property near the Gary/Chicago International Airport has stalled after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the business owner’s insurer had no duty to indemnify.
Group seeks 2nd hearing on tainted East Chicago site’s cleanup
East Chicago community group is asking for a second public hearing on the proposed cleanup of the site of a public housing complex that was evacuated and demolished because of industrial contamination. The East Chicago Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group says many residents didn’t get to speak at a Nov. 29 hearing about a $26.5 million project to remove tainted soil from the site of the West Calumet Housing Complex.
Justices reject environmentalists’ appeal over border wall
The United States Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from environmental groups trying to stop President Donald Trump from building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, even as other legal action against the wall is ongoing.
Hoosier Environmental Council attorney discusses CAFOs, industrial farming at McKinney
Murmurs of disgust were sprinkled throughout a packed lecture hall at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law as law students looked at pictures of waste pits overflowing with animal poop last week. Their lecturer, Kim Ferraro of the Hoosier Environmental Council, spared no sensitive stomachs as she explained the process of industrial farming and the disposal of the billions of pounds of animal waste that ensue.
Judgment affirmed for insurer uninformed of claims
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to an insurance company after a client waited more than a decade to notify it had made payments in several suits brought against it.
Ohio River agency holds off vote on dropping pollution rules
A commission that watches over the Ohio River’s health has put off a vote on whether to move away from its role of setting pollution standards for the river. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission decided against holding a vote Thursday on a change that would leave the responsibility of setting water quality standards up to the six individual states along the river.
COA allows environmental cleanup claims filed after 10 years
In a decision about the cleanup and redevelopment of an old industrial site, the Indiana Court of Appeals has provided a definitive answer to a long-simmering debate among Indiana environmental lawyers.