Copyright 2003, 2007, The News-Dispatch, All Rights Reserved.
| November 20, 2003
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| Jan Nona, a member of P.I.N.E.S., said the present closure plan that's soon to be approved by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management does not require adequate long-term monitoring, or a slurry wall to stop the flow of contamination, or require cleanup of already contaminated groundwater and surface water. Nona said at stake is the environmental health not only of The Pines, but also of Beverly Shores, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan. "The very agency whose mission is to protect public health and environment has failed this community," said Nona in a prepared news release. "IDEM's budget last year was almost $150 million. The state of Indiana is not getting its money's worth." IDEM was established in 1986 to protect "the environment while helping to make Indiana a safer, cleaner, and healthier place in which to live and work." State law requires that landfills be closed in a manner that "controls post-closure escape of waste, waste constituents, leachate, contaminated precipitation, or waste decomposition products to the ground or surface waters or the atmosphere." But Cathi Murray, a member of P.I.N.E.S., said, "The closure plan, which IDEM is planning to approve, accomplishes neither of these missions. That's why we have appealed the closure permit." On Sept. 16, P.I.N.E.S. submitted a petition to have the state review Yard 520's closure permit. Nona and Murray said that since filing the petition, IDEM staff has cut off communications with P.I.N.E.S. They said the appeal places a great legal burden on P.I.N.E.S., including mandatory attendance at a pre-hearing conference in Indianapolis before a judge of the Office of Environmental Adjudication. The organization's request to move the conference to Porter County was denied. According to P.I.N.E.S., five essential elements are missing from the Yard 520 closure plan: 30-year monitoring requirements for the entire landfill. A list identifying which wells will be tested and the pollutants to be monitored and the frequency of monitoring. Installation of a slurry wall around the landfill to prevent further ground and surface water contamination. Action levels for ground water monitoring with public notification. Sampling requirements and action levels for surface water monitoring of Brown Ditch. Those omissions are what led P.I.N.E.S. to seek Kernan's help. The organization wants Kernan to have IDEM sit down with the landfill operators and develop a new closure plan. "Let's put the current closure plan on hold until more rational minds can prevail," said Nona. |
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Copyright 2003, 2007, The News-Dispatch, All Rights Reserved. |