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Thursday, November 18, 2004

Environment/Land use - Stories today

The Decatur Daily Democrat has an interesting opinion piece today by editor J. Swygart. First, he has something to say about Indiana's annexation laws:

When Berne City Council earlier this month set the stage for the annexation of unincorporated "pockets" of land wholly within the current municipal limits, it was a little shocking to learn that such pockets existed in the first place.

Plying my trade for 25+ years in Ohio before coming to The Democrat, similar occurrences never arose because ... well, because the state's statutory code prohibits it.

Likewise, annexation rules in the Buckeye State - unlike those in Indiana - prohibit municipalities from initiating annexation proceedings. In our neighbor to the east, landowners must petition to have property annexed to a city or town, not the other way around.

And while the concept of municipal "land grabs" is a mostly unappealing one, the municipal leaders in Berne should be applauded for their efforts to eliminate landlocked "islands" of unincorporated real estate within the city.

Residents of Berne have been hit hard by recent surcharges and fees as the city attempts to pacify the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and eliminate sewer and waste water woes there. All residents and property owners can rightfully be expected to share in those costs - and ultimately in the benefits that the infrastructure improvements will generate.

But on a larger note, allowing cities to initiate annexation proceedings is a slippery slope. Perhaps it's also time for the state to re-examine state statutes governing annexation procedures.

Readers may recall another ILB entry, from Monday, titled "Critics question state annexation laws." Then this about IDEM:
And speaking of IDEM, here's hoping that city and county officials of all political persuasions will hold Governor-elect Mitch Daniels' feet to the fire when the Republican victor assumes office in January.

During a mid-August stopover in Berne, Daniels vowed to inject some "common sense" into IDEM mandates and "issue a whole new set of marching orders" to agency employees.

"They're slow, often hostile to growth and hostile to agriculture. They don't seem to understand the burden of their mandates," Daniels said at the time of IDEM.

And while changes cannot be expected overnight - Daniels admittedly will have his hands full trying to erase an $800 million state budget deficit - it's our hope that IDEM reform will indeed be high on the new governor's priority list.

Note that an entry earlier today ("Rezoning farmland in St. Joseph County" - scroll down two) illustrates yet another agriculture issue.

There are stories today about two of the three communities named "clean pioneers" by IDEM. The Muncie Star-Press reports: "A week after being named community of the year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Muncie has been named an "environmental pioneer" by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. As CLEAN pioneers, Muncie and the communities of Lawrence and Ogden Dunes will adopt plans to improve the environment and quality of life. They also must submit pollution prevention data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identifying the benefits of environmental management systems." And a report in the Munster Times begins: "OGDEN DUNES | A town already known for its environmental awareness and activism is bumping it up a notch. Ogden Dunes is one of three Hoosier communities taking part in Indiana's new Comprehensive Local Environmental Area Network Community Challenge program sponsored by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The other two communities are Lawrence and Muncie."

The Louisville Courier Journal reports today, in a story headlined "Chamber, plants assail air rules: Businesses object to cost and curbs,"that:

A representative of Greater Louisville Inc. and several Rubbertown chemical plants yesterday escalated their attacks on the city's proposed program to control toxic air pollution, arguing that it is too broad, too stringent and too costly. In comments before the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District Board, an official speaking for nine chemical plants warned that the proposed rules could force job cuts or plant closures. * * *

Clarence Dykstra, an official with the DuPont Dow Elastomers in the Rubbertown area of western Louisville, read a statement from nine chemical plants warning that the proposed program "could severely limit a company's ability to develop new or improved products to respond quickly to the demands of the marketplace."

Other plants represented in the joint statement were: Carbide Industries, Rohm and Haas Co., Arkema, Inc. (formerly Atofina), Borden Chemical, Inc., Zeon Chemicals, DuPont, Noveon and OxyVinyls.

The statement warned that the proposed program could discourage investment, and added that "unnecessary regulatory costs could force some companies to downsize or to shut down."

Local environmentalist Tim Duncan later objected to the threats of lost jobs or closures. "It's economic extortion to make us choose between people's lives and economic livelihoods," said Duncan, a board member of the environmental group Rubbertown Emergency Action. "We refuse to do that."

Today via Businesswire.com, a press release headlined "City of Indianapolis and Veolia Water Partnership Receives National Recognition; Water Partnership Delivering Cost and Quality Benefits." Some quotes:
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2004--Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and his staff had clear goals in mind when embarking on the development of the nation's largest water partnership in May 2002. Local control, rate stability and water-quality improvements were crucial to the city's future.

More than two years later, the city's strategy has been recognized by the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP), which, last night, awarded Indianapolis and private-sector partner Veolia Water Indianapolis, LLC (Veolia Water) with its Public-Private Partnership Award in the service category.

Under a 20-year, $1.5 billion contract, Veolia Water manages all operations, maintenance and customer service facets of the city's waterworks system, including a variety of capital improvement projects. The partnership operates and is known to area consumers as Indianapolis Water.

"The City of Indianapolis and Veolia Water have and continue to work closely together in a win-win partnership to realize economic and environmental benefits to our entire community, including a five-year rate freeze for our customers," said Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. "We built this partnership with the interests of the citizens in mind and are pleased with the progress we've made in our first two years."

Performance-driven contract. Unique to the Indianapolis partnership is a link between performance and compensation that includes 40 incentive criteria relating to water quality, customer service, operations and management, and community involvement.

"Our contract with the city calls for a higher level of service to the customer. If we don't perform, we don't get paid for that portion of our contract," said Tim Hewitt, president and operations manager for Veolia Water Indianapolis, LLC. "The partnership really is setting a new standard in water and wastewater services. We have more challenges to face but are very satisfied with the diligence our employees have demonstrated to date." * * *

Medical Waste. The Gary Post-Tribune today reports:
GARY — City officials and church leaders intend to boost attendance at tonight’s meeting of the Lake County Solid Waste Management District, in hopes that a show of outrage will encourage the county to press on with a lawsuit that could block a pair of medical-waste processing plants. * * *

City Council President Carolyn Rogers said the county panel’s actions are likely the last chance to keep Midwest Medical Waste from adding on to a waste-transfer station near the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 65 in her 4th District.

Rogers has joined forces with a coalition of Gary ministers who claim adding machinery to sanitize the waste at the site, which would be the first of its kind in the state, will bring medical trash from across the Midwest into a neighborhood of poor minority residents.

A second company, Abrade Technologies, re-ceived a special-use permit to open a similar plant in East Chicago and has applied for operating permits from the state, she said.

“There’s one in Gary and one proposed in East Chicago,” Rogers said. “I think it opens the door for future companies to come here and operate those kinds of facilities.”

Officials from both companies say the facilities do not increase pollution and that they will not handle body parts or toxic chemicals. The facilities would use steam to sterilize drums of medical waste, which includes everything from hypodermic needles to paper records exposed to contamination, which then can be dumped in an ordinary landfill.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 18, 2004 05:52 PM
Posted to Environment