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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Environment - Governor's review of Great Lakes water-quality laws drags on

The AP's Rick Callahan has an interesting story today that begins:

INDIANAPOLIS -- A review of Great Lakes water-quality laws that Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered in August amid a public uproar over a BP discharge permit has taken twice as long as anticipated and still is not complete.

When Daniels announced the review on Aug. 13, he asked a former Indiana University dean leading the effort to complete it within six weeks. But 12 weeks later, project leader James Barnes said he could not predict when the study would be finished.

Barnes, who led IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said yesterday that the complexity of federal and state laws that govern Great Lakes water quality and permits -- and the breadth of the review requested by Daniels -- made the project daunting.

"It's taken longer than any of us had expected, but I hope it won't be too much longer," Barnes said. "There's a lot of complexity, and I need to make sure that what conclusions get drawn are well supported."

In requesting the review amid criticism of the BP permit, Daniels said a "credible, independent evaluation of the permitting decision and outcome" was needed.

For background, see this August 13th ILB entry, headed "Governor Daniels asks former dean of SPEA to conduct 6 weeks study of Indiana's IDEM's BP permit".

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 7, 2007 09:10 AM
Posted to Environment