Copyright 2004, 2007, The News-Dispatch, All Rights Reserved.
| February 19, 2004
Jason Miller The News-Dispatch |
| So when the company decided to close the landfill's southern section by the same method, environmental activists in the town objected. On Monday, however, People In Need of Environmental Safety (P.I.N.E.S.) gave up its fight to change the closure method because, representatives say, it could no longer wage an uphill battle. "This has just gone on and on and we can't do it anymore," P.I.N.E.S. member Jan Nona said Wednesday. "It's another little merry-go-round for us." The group sent a letter to state environmental judges this week saying it would no longer pursue a request for an administrative review of the landfill's closure plan. In the letter, Nona cited what she called a manipulative process that harms grassroots organizations such as P.I.N.E.S. She said the process does not allow them a chance to be heard on a statewide scale. She noted repetitive legal maneuverings on the part of Brown Inc. and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which she said is wavering on its support of the closure plan. According to Nona, Brown Inc. told P.I.N.E.S. representatives recently that the group has "no standing," and thus, no right to question the closure plan because the group is not "aggrieved or adversely affected." That notion, she added, was arrived at after an administrative judge in Indianapolis ruled another such group, fighting a similar battle downstate, had no standing. "While that judge's decision is under appeal, that means this will have to wait, as well," Nona said. "It also means our case could be dragged through the court system for years, which we just can't afford." Residents of the Town of Pines have been dealing with contaminated groundwater for years and blame NIPSCO and Brown Inc. for allowing coal-plant waste to seep into the water supply from the Yard 520 Landfill. NIPSCO, which dumped flyash into the landfill and left it to be used as road base, has taken partial responsibility for the contamination and is currently planning to supply the town with clean water. P.I.N.E.S. has spent thousands of dollars in independent water testing and monitoring which, along with EPA testing, and has found that contamination is spreading even further north into Beverly Shores and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Tests show the chemical boron is a main contaminant found in water monitoring. Boron, which occurs naturally, can also be caused by pollution. While there is little information on the health effects of long-term exposure to boron, ingesting large amounts over short periods can harm the stomach, intestines, kidney and brain, according to federal health officials. It is not considered a carcinogen. While the spread of contaminants into Beverly Shores and the Lakeshore hasn't been proven to be coming from Yard 520, Nona feels the state -- which has no rules regulating the dumping of coal plant waste, or flyash -- should be more diligent in looking into the problem. "Even if (the contamination north of the Town of Pines) isn't from Brown, they really need to look into it," she said. "It's not going to just stop when it gets to U.S. 12. It's a problem that's spreading rapidly. "IDEM's legislative charge to protect the environment while helping to make Indiana a safer, cleaner and healthier place should guide them to see that (a modified closure plan) is the safest possible." Contact reporter Jason Miller at jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com. |
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Copyright 2004, 2007, The News-Dispatch, All Rights Reserved. |