« Indiana Decisions - One Supreme Court, One Court of Appeals Opinions Posted Today | Main | Indiana Law - More interesting reports dealing with real estate »

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Environment - NW indiana residents, Lake Station, and Gary Sanitary District appeal Hobart sewage plant permit issuance

As reported today in the Munster Times:

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management approved the issuance of a discharge permit April 1. The mandatory permit allows the plant, which is expected to cost up to $29 million, to discharge as much as 4.8 million gallons of treated wastewater daily into Deep River.

Appeals were filed a couple of weeks later by several Lake Station residents who live near Deep River, including James Boyd, Pat Strickland and James and Dorothy Busch. Other appeals were filed by the City of Lake Station and the Gary Sanitary District. By building the plant, which would be located north of U.S. 6 and the North Ridge Shopping Plaza, Hobart will sever ties with the Gary Sanitary District, which now treats the city's sewage on a contractual basis.

As reported earlier in the story:
Even though a mandatory permit has been issued, it will be months before Hobart officials know for sure whether they can build a sewage treatment plant.

A judge with the state's environmental agency isn't expected to make a ruling in the case until early winter. In the meantime, attorneys from Lake Station and the Gary Sanitary District will spend time preparing their appeals.

In a telephone conference Monday afternoon, attorneys from the Gary Sanitary District, Lake Station and Hobart discussed the appeals with Judge Mary Davidsen of the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication. * * *

Attorney James Meyer, who represents the sanitary district, believes a trial won't be necessary and matters would most likely be resolved within the next 165 days. "We still have confidence that in the long run we will be vindicated and the permit will be denied," Meyer said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 8, 2004 03:07 PM
Posted to Administrative Law & Decisions | Environmental Issues | Indiana Decisions