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Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ind. Decisions - More on: Appeals court rules for medical waste plant

Updating this ILB entry from May 20, 2006, Andy Grimm of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:

The state Supreme Court will decide whether Indiana’s first medical waste treatment plant can stay open in Gary.

Lake County Solid Waste Management Board will challenge the ruling of a state appeals court that sided with Midwest Medical Solutions, which has operated a medical waste-sterilizing plant on 15th Avenue near Interstate 65 since 2001.

County officials claimed that the plant, which had been approved by the state Department of Environmental Management, should not have been permitted by the state without approval from local officials. A Lake County judge sided with the county a year ago, but a state administrative law judge and the appeals court have backed Midwest.

In January, more than two years after Midwest began their waste sterilization operations at the plant, the district board voted overwhelmingly to amend county regulations to block medical waste processing.

Midwest owner Russ Karlins has continued to operate the plant under a court order during the appeals process. He has vowed to continue to fight to stay open and has said the county is wasting tax dollars by trying to shut him down.

Karlins requested documents that show the district has spent more than $50,000 on the case. Board President Jerome Prince, a Gary city councilman, said the money is well spent.

“The ultimate reason we’re fighting this is because the citizens have said they don’t want medical waste facilities,” he said, “but the broader reason is that this ruling would set a horrible precedent that elected officials’ opinions don’t count in these matters. If we don’t have a say, the citizens don’t have a voice in this.”

The May 19th decision is IDEM and Midwest Medical Solutions v. Lake Co. Solid Waste Management District. Read the ILB summary here.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 1, 2006 09:27 AM
Posted to Environment | Ind. App.Ct. Decisions