United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois 60604
EPA Document No. 905-N-93-001
August 1993
NORTHWEST INDIANA RESIDENTS "SPEAK UP" AT
USEPA/IDEM LISTENING SESSION IN GARY
On March 25,1993 more than 100 Northwest Indiana citizens met with senior
managers ofU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Indiana
Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) at the Marquette Park
Pavilion in Gary, Indiana. In a relaxed open-house setting, citizens talked
face-to-face with agency managers, voicing their concerns about the environ-
ment and asking what is being done to correct the problems. This article
addresses their major concerns and summarizes progress which has been
made through the cooperative effort of government, industry, and citizens.
Progress. Sometimes it is
hard to recognize in the face of
all we need to do. But IDEM
and EPA are making progress
toward restoring and protecting
the environment of Northwest
Indiana. At the joint IDEM-
EPA Northwest Indiana listen-
ing session, many citizens
requested improved enforce-
ment, better public access and
communication, and improved
air quality.
These goals have always
been an integral part of both
EPA and IDEM's missions. As
we continue to work aggres-
sively to meet those goals, both
agencies can report significant
achievements to date.
Enforcement
IDEM has formed a new
enforcement team to concen-
trate on the" worst and most
frequent offenders in North-
west Indiana. The state also
has streamlined its enforcement
process, achieving a 135
percent increase in the total
fines assessed from 1991 to
1992. In addition, a full-time
hazardous waste inspector has
- continued on page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trail Creek Planning 4
Communications Coordinator ...4
Calendar
Grand Cal Toxins.
Water Quality Action Plans 6
States/Indians Water Guide 7
Public Involvement Plan 8
Letter from EPA Regional Administrator; IDEM Commissioner
Dear Concerned Citizen,
On March 25,1993, senior staff from the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environ-
mental Management held a joint "listening session" at the
Marquette Park Pavilion in Gary to hear the concerns of North-
west Indiana residents.
We heard about things we are doing right: our joint Federal/
State Action Plan for Northwest Indiana, the Grand Cal Reme-
dial Action Plan, implementation of the Clean Air Act, stringent
water quality standards, plans for Trail Creek Watershed, and
enforcement actions aimed at cleaning up many historic sedi-
ment problems.
We also heard the frustration and anger of citizens who deal
with Northwest Indiana's pollution problems every day. They
asked, "Who is going to take care of us?" and "How could we
let this happen?" They said, "Do something," We heard those
comments, and we are responding to them.
This issue of Northwest News explains what we have
already done, and outlines our plans to continue addressing the
concerns of all Northwest Indiana residents. EPA and IDEM
recognize we have a long way to go to reverse 100 years of
- continued on page 5
-------
Listening
Session
(cont'd)
''been added to IDEM's North-
west Office, fulfilling a request
by a number of citizens. EPA,
through multi-media enforce-
ment actions against several
NW Indiana industries, has
levied approximately $120
million in penalties. A major-
ity of these funds will stay in
Northwest Indiana to restore
the Grand Calumet River and
improve facilities.
J-Pit Victory. On May 3,
the Indiana Court of Appeals
ruled that Lake County landfill
setback requirements apply to
the J-Pit in Gary, thus prevent-
ing Waste Management Inc.
from turning the J-Pit into a
solid waste landfill.
The ruling overturned a
lower court decision in favor of
Waste Management. "This is
something we thought was
worth fighting for and that's
why we took it to the higher
courts," said IDEM Commis-
sioner Kathy Prosser.
H & H Clean-up. IDEM
and EPA worked together to
Reflections on -- Listening Session
"The opportunity to interface
with agencies and concerned
citizens was unique."
- from "Listening Session" evaluation
jointly develop a cleanup
strategy for H & H Enterprises
in Gary, an open dump contain-
ing significant amounts of
hazardous materials. The site,
the subject of IDEM enforce-
ment actions since 1992,
became a critical problem when
the state and EPA found haz-
ardous materials there when
responding to a fire. IDEM
and EPA, assisted by the Gary
Fire Department, agreed to
inject the material with deter-
gent to quench smoldering fires
of the "auto fluff material
disposed there. The material
currently is being solidified by
mixing it with concrete.
Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-
Ind., has asked Congress for a
special appropriation to cover
the solidification and disposal
costs. Criminal charges have
been filed against the owners of
the dump, based on evidence
gathered by IDEM investiga-
tors.
Public Access and
Communication
Both EPA and IDEM are
working to improve public
access and communication with
the residents of Northwest
Indiana. In addition to the
many public meetings the
agencies host there, IDEM's
Commissioner has begun
regular visits to Northwest
Indiana to meet with small
groups of citizens.
Permitting. Access to
IDEM's permitting process is
critical to an informed citi-
zenry. Permit applications in
Lake, Porter and LaPorte
counties are now posted in
IDEM's Gary office. In addi-
tion, a new state law requires
businesses to notify adjacent
landowners or occupants within
10 days of filing a permit
application. This allows
neighbors of a proposed pollu-
tion source to comment on the
permit application sooner.
IDEM staff carefully considers
all citizen comments received.
Citizens may also request a
public hearing. Their com-
ments and IDEM staff analyses
are used to modify or reject
proposals in the company's
application.
Public Records. IDEM is
improving access to its records
by making copies available in
its Northwest Office to any
citizen upon request. All
emergency response actions
which affect Northwest Indiana
are posted in the Gary office.
IDEM's Office of External
Affairs also has assembled a
guide to the agency's public
Reflections on Listening Sess
"The casual atmosphere allowec
for open and in depth conversa-
tion on specific issues."
- Paul Labus, Whiting, IN
file rooms in Indianapolis so
citizens can easily find infor-
mation. This guide is available
from Pat Morrison, IDEM
Office of External Affairs, 317/
232-8560.
Air Quality
Improving the air quality in
Northwest Indiana is both a
state and federal priority.
Indiana has made substantial
progress toward implementing
the requirements of the 1990
Clean Air Act Amendments on
both industries and individuals.
Reflections on - Listening Sesi
"...such an event and the partici
pation of your senior staff must
signal to them [the communities
your commitment to give due
consideration to their issues."
--J.G. Murphy, Manager, Environme
Control, Amoco Oil
IDEM has established a special
committee in Northwest Indi-
ana to advise the agency on
Clean Air Act issues. Although
some restrictions will affect the
entire state, the strictest stan-
- continued on page 3
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EPA Regional Administrator Valdas Adamkus (J.) listens intently as a local citizen expresses her
concerns about environmental issues at the March 25th "Listening Session."
dards will be imposed in Lake
and Porter counties because of
the air quality problems in the
Tri-State area that includes the
Chicago metropolitan area.
Business and Industry
Requirements. Lake and Porter
County industries that build
new facilities or modify exist-
ing facilities, resulting in
additional air pollutants, will be
required to make allowances
for the new emissions by
reducing emissions elsewhere.
The reductions must exceed the
amount of new emissions,
thereby decreasing overall area
air pollutants.
All businesses holding air
permits will be required to
meet reasonable control tech-
nology requirements. They
also will have to submit annual
emissions statements (available
to the public) to allow the state
to track progress toward clean
air goals. Gasoline station
owners will be required to
install recovery devices to
capture vapors released when
automobiles are refueled.
In addition, EPA and
IDEM, in cooperation with
other Great Lakes states, are
applying a state-of-the-art
photochemical model to deter-
mine what further control
measures will be needed to
reduce ozone-forming emis-
sions in the entire Chicago
metropolitan area, including
Northwest Indiana. IDEM's
new Lake County plan for
reducing paniculate matter
(PM-10) will be aggressively
implemented during the next 18
months.
These comprehensive,
innovative standards should
noticeably improve air quality
in the area. Even with these
various air quality programs in
place, further improvements are
needed and IDEM will con-
tinue working to improve
Northwest Indiana's air.
Ground Water
EPA and IDEM are tack-
ling ground water problems in
NW Indiana, particularly in the
area adjacent to the Lake
George Branch of the Indiana
Harbor Canal. We are working
with area industries to voluntar-
ily clean up ground water and
EPA is completing a study that
identifies groundwater wells
and potentially contaminated
areas throughout NW Indiana.
Other Requirements
The Clean Air Act Amend-
ments also will place new
requirements on individuals in
order to achieve reduction in
ozone levels in Lake and Porter
counties. In those counties, for
example, motor vehicles need
an enhanced inspection and
maintenance program every
other year. The required
testing will be conducted at
more sites than before, and
continue to be done at no cost
to the vehicle owner. How-
ever, it may cost more to bring
the vehicle into compliance
with emission standards.
Large employers in Lake
and Porter counties must also
develop plans to encourage
carpooling and the use of
public transportation, work-at-
home programs, and other
options for reducing single-
occupancy vehicle commuting
to the workplace. The goal is
to reduce traffic to the work-
place by 25 percent, thereby
reducing ozone levels.
If Indiana fails to imple-
ment these programs, it could
lose millions of dollars in
federal highway funds.
Future Plans
This article outlines just
some of the recent steps both
IDEM and EPA have taken to
protect and improve the envi-
ronment in Northwest Indiana.
Our comprehensive set of plans
include much more. They are
available through IDEM offices
for public review and com-
ment.
Three of those plans which
were addressed at the listening
session are the Northwest
Indiana Action Plan, a joint
EPA-IDEM project that mar-
shals both federal and state
resources; IDEM's "Strategic
Course for Indiana's Environ-
ment," a goal-setting document
that establishes Northwest
Indiana as an agency priority;
and the Remedial Action Plan
(RAP) for the Northwest
Indiana Area of Concern.
At the Northwest Indiana
listening session, we heard
again the importance of main-
taining a dialogue with citizens
in Northwest Indiana. We also
were reminded that the vast
environmental challenges of the
region defy any short-term
solutions. Both agencies are
committed to daily attention
and progress on the problems
in Northwest Indiana.
-------
Pictured above measuring streambank erosion at Trail Creek are (l.tor.) Steve Davis, Lake
Michigan specialist with Indiana Department of Natural Resources; Christine Keil and Bob Cole,
county surveyor's office; and Janellen McCoy, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning
Commission.
TRAIL CREEK WATER QUALITY
IMPROVEMENT PLANS ON TAP
The Indiana Department of
Environmental Management is
working with Michigan City
Mayor Robert Behler, LaPorte
County leaders, and other state
agencies to improve water
quality at Trail Creek in Michi-
gan City.
Through a unique project
supported by EPA, IDEM has
joined businesses and environ-
mentalists with city, county and
state officials to take a compre-
hensive look at the 59 -square-
mile Trail Creek watershed.
The project will develop a
watershed management plan to
reduce erosion, metals, toxins,
and sediments in and along
Trail Creek.
The Northwestern Indiana
Regional Planning Commis-
sion, under a contract with
IDEM, will review previous
studies of Trail Creek and
develop plans to identify,
control, and treat water quality
problems. The project is being
facilitated by John Ceperich,
IDEM's Lakewide Manage-
ment Plan coordinator.
"It's a more effective use
of everyone's resources," said
IDEM Northwest Office Direc-
tor David Dabertin. "We can
all join together and focus on a
common goal: improving Trail
Creek."
Public comments are
welcome on the Trail Creek
project, which should be
completed by Oct. 1. Contact
John Ceperich or John
Perrecone at the numbers listed
below for more information.
To submit comments or request
more information contact...
John Ceperich or
Janice Melton at IDEM,
219/881-6712, or
John Perrecone at EPA,
312/353-1149.
For residents of Indiana, and
Illinois, the Superfund hotline is
1-800-621-8431.
NWIN Communications
Coordinator Named
John Perrecone, EPA
Office of Public Affairs, has
been named communications
coordinator for EPA's geo-
graphic initiatives projects,
including Northwest Indiana.
John's broad understanding
of environmental issues will
help him provide expert leader-
ship for the Northwest Indiana
project.
Geographic initiatives such
as the Northwest Indiana
project are formed to imple-
ment and coordinate multi-
faceted environmental protec-
tion programs over a broad
geographic area. Besides
Northwest Indiana (Lake and
Porter counties), other initia-
tives are underway in Southeast
Michigan and the St.Louis/East
St. Louis region.
John has 13 years' experi-
ence with EPA. During the
past 10 years, he has developed
and implemented community
relations plans for more than 25
EPA Superfund sites in the
Midwest. He has developed
public education programs on
risk communications for inter-
nal and external conference
sessions and has received three
bronze medals from EPA for
exemplary community relations
work.
An active participant in the
field of environmental commu-
nications, John is secretary and
board member of the National
Association of Professional
Environmental Communica-
tors. He is a graduate of
Southern Illinois University in
Carbondale with a degree in
sociology, and the University
of Houston where he received
his M.A. in Urban and Re-
gional Planning.
John can be reached at the
EPA office in Chicago. The
address and telephone number
are printed on the back page of
this Newsletter.
-------
SANITARY DISTRICTS, INDUSTRIES, AGREE TO
REDUCE GRAND CALUMET RIVER TOXINS
A toxic pollution prevention
project spearheaded by IDEM
and EPA will help provide
long-term solutions to pollution
problems in the Grand Calumet
River.
Through the project, which
is part of the Remedial Action
Plan for the Grand Calumet
River, the East Chicago,
Hammond and Gary sanitary
districts will work cooperatively
with industries and community
participants to reduce the
amount of toxins discharged
into the river.
A similar program in Mil-
waukee has shown dramatic
results, reducing the discharge
of lead into Lake Michigan by
62 percent, copper by 61 per-
cent, and nickel by 81 percent.
"This voluntary project is
needed to complement other
remedial actions in Northwest
Indiana," said Joseph D. Tho-
mas, coordinator of IDEM's
remedial action plan.
Through permitting, IDEM
limits the pollutants that can be
discharged into the river by
each sanitary district. Histori-
cally, these districts have had
difficulty complying with those
limits. The three districts
together serve about 120 indus-
tries. When those industries do
not properly treat their waste-
water, toxins flow into the
sewer and to the sanitary dis-
tricts. The wastewater treat-
ment plants are designed to
remove wastes such as nutrients
and suspended solids - not
toxins. Consequently, the
toxins can end up in the river or
in the sludge produced during
wastewater treatment.
All three sanitary districts
have agreed to join IDEM's
toxic pollution prevention
project to reduce the toxic
waste discharged into their
sewers. The sanitary districts
will offer technical assistance
and educational programs to
their industrial customers.
IDEM hopes the initiative
will encourage industry to
reduce toxic waste, improve
treatment systems, and replace
toxic substances with non-toxic
alternatives.
Public involvement is
crucial in this project. Each of
the sanitary districts will
distribute regular, written
progress reports to the commu-
nity.
Environmental groups have
already been involved in
guiding the initial process. For
more information on this
project, call Joseph D. Thomas
at IDEM's Northwest Office,
219/881-6712.
CALENDAR
Mark your calendars for the
following important dates:
August 4 & 5 ; 9:00 a.m.
Great Lakes Water Quality
Guidance Public Hearing
U. S. EPA Regional Offices
77 West Jackson, Chicago. 1-
800-621-8431 or 312/353-6218
August 19; 6:30 p.m.
EPA's Great Lakes National
Program Office presentation
of Assessment, & Remediation
of Contaminated Sediments
C.A.R.E. Committee Meeting.
Gibson Woods Nature Preserve
6201 Parrish Ave., Hammond,
IN. Contact Phil Hoffman at
312/886-7478.
AdamkuslProsser letter
- cont'dfrom p. 1
degradation of Northwest
Indiana's environment. We
must use many different tools:
public education, enforcement,
technology transfer, and public/
private partnerships, to name
just a few.
None of these tools alone
can do the job, and no one
government agency or group of
people can unilaterally meet the
environmental challenges
facing Northwest Indiana. But
by working together with area
residents, industry, and envi-
ronmental groups, EPA and
IDEM are focusing their
energies and beginning to
resolve the region's problems.
As part of that partnership,
IDEM and EPA will be re-
evaluating their Northwest
Indiana Action Plan and Public
Involvement Plan later this
year.
Since we began this initia-
tive, we have learned to coop-
erate and communicate better
with concerned citizens like
you. To succeed, we must
continue improving our work-
ing relationship with the public,
local governments, and the
many environmental groups in
Northwest Indiana.
As we search for ways to
make our programs more
accessible and accountable to
the public, please let us know
how we are doing. Give us
your suggestions on the plans
outlined in this newsletter. We
need your thoughts and your
help to protect the environment
and serve you.
Valdas V. Adamkus-E/M
Regional Administrator
Kathy Prosser-/DŁM
Commissioner
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GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT
SPAWNS VARIOUS ACTION PLANS
In 1987, the United States
and Canada renegotiated the
Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement which describes the
duties and responsibilities the
two countries share to protect
the five Great Lakes. Con-
tained within this agreement
are the requirements that
detailed plans be developed for
the most seriously polluted
areas around the lakes and for
protecting and rehabilitating
the open waters of each of die
five lakes.
RAP Development
The first requirement is for
the development of Remedial
Action Plans, or "RAPs," for
the most seriously polluted
places or Areas of Concern
(AOCs). Ofthe43AOCs
around the five lakes, 31 are
within the United States. One
of them is the Grand Calumet
River, Indiana Harbor Canal
for implementation. In the
United States, the individual
states are responsible for
developing the RAPs.
LaMP Development
A Lakewide Management
Plan, or "LaMP," is a plan for
the open waters of an entire
Great Lake. LaMPs, also
required by the Great Lakes
Water Quality Agreement, are
essentially a "pollutant-load-
ing" budget for a lake. Pollut-
ant loads are assessed and the
amounts entering, leaving and
staying in a lake are estimated.
One of the most important
functions of a LaMP is to
identify the critical pollutants
affecting a lake those pollut-
ants causing the most serious
harm to a lake's ecosystem.
These are the pollutants which,
for example, necessitate the
fish consumption advisories
maintained by the four states
Acronyms Used in Water Quality Agreement
RAP Remedial Action Plan: a three-phased approach to identify,
select, and implement restoration measures in an Area of
Concern.
AOCs Areas of Concern: areas along the Great Lakes with the most
serious pollution problems, as identified by the International
Joint Commission.
LaMP Lakewide Management Plan: an ecosystem-wide appoach for
protecting the open waters of a Great Lake by identifying
critical pollutants and developing methods for controlling them.
and Nearshore of Lake Michi-
gan AOC in Northwest Indiana.
The concept behind the
development of a RAP is
straightforward it is a blue-
print for restoring the benefits
of a body of water. A RAP also
identifies what steps need to be
taken, when these steps will be
taken and who is responsible
surrounding Lake Michigan.
The ultimate goal of a LaMP is
to identify the critical pollut-
ants, their concentration, their
sources, and to develop ways to
control them.
In 1990, EPA and IDEM
began a strategy to assist in the
implementation of the RAP and
LaMP. This strategy, called
the Northwest Indiana Action
Plan, was not required by the
Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement but was an out-
growth of the need for EPA
and IDEM to work closely on
pollution problems in the area.
Northwest Indiana was chosen
by EPA when a May 1991
comparative risk study showed
that risk to human health and
the environment was more
significant in this area than
other areas within the Great
Lakes Basin.
Action Plan Goals
The Action Plan, which
will be revised later this year,
set out a series of goals to
reduce risks to human health
and the environment. The
original goals were to:
remediate contaminated
sediments in the Grand
Calumet River and the
Indiana Harbor Ship Canal;
ensure compliance with all
applicable federal and state
environmental laws;
address the problem of the
millions of gallons of
petroleum product presently
on top of the ground water;
attain national air quality
standards for paniculate
matter and ozone;
initiate a broad spectrum
pollution prevention pro-
gram with the local indus-
tries and municipalities to
voluntarily reduce toxic
discharges;
ensure an aggressive public
outreach/public involve-
ment program; and
ensure that the state and
federal governments fulfill
their responsibilities under
the Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement for the
RAP and the LaMP.
- continued on page 7
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The Action Plan, the RAP,
and the Lake Michigan LaMP
all share one goal - to improve
the environment. The Grand
Calumet River and the Indiana
Harbor Ship Canal are cur-
rently enormous sources of
pollution to Lake Michigan.
EPA estimates the following
quantities of pollution from
these sources now enter Lake
Michigan:
Ť one billion gallons per day
of effluent from wastewa-
ter treatment plants;
150,000 cubic yards per
year of contaminated
sediments; and
millions of gallons of
petroleum products, float-
ing on top of the ground
water in parts of Northwest
Indiana, migrate to the
River and Canal and can
eventually enter Lake
Michigan.
To address these problems,
the state is preparing the RAP
which will serve as a blueprint
for action to restore the benefi-
cial uses of the Grand Calumet
River and the Indiana Harbor
Ship Canal. IDEM also is
preparing the LaMP which
addresses the critical pollutants
that affect the open waters and
the creatures that live or mi-
grate there. EPA oversees and
assists IDEM in both of these
plans.
EPA and IDEM are jointly
implementing the Action Plan
to address those known prob-
lems, such as noncompliance
with state and federal law, to
provide a greater degree of
attention and protection to the
people of Northwest Indiana
and to the millions of residents
and visitors who depend on
southern Lake Michigan for
drinking water, for industry,
and for recreation.
GREAT LAKES STATES, INDIAN TRIBES
DEVELOP WATER QUALITY GUIDE
The Great Lakes is one of
our most important natural
resources. We depend on and
use the Great Lakes for many
aspects of life. They provide
fresh drinking water, industries
and jobs, including agriculture,
fisheries, manufacturing and
tourism; and beautiful shore-
lines, parks and sanctuaries.
Harmful pollutants that
enter the Great Lakes remain
there a long time. This is why
we must protect this precious
ecosystem from the toxic
discharges that have plagued it
in the past and continue to
threaten it today.
In cooperation with IDEM,
the seven other Great Lakes
states, and Indian Tribes sur-
rounding the Lakes, EPA has
developed the Water Quality
Guidance for the Great Lakes
System as a new approach to
fighting water pollution. As
part of the Great Lakes Water
Quality Initiative, the proposed
Guidance describes how the
states and Indian Tribes will
adopt consistent criteria and
controls for toxic pollutants in
their water quality standards.
Specifically, the Water
Quality Guidance proposes
uniform human health criteria
for 20 pollutants, aquatic life
criteria for 16 pollutants and
wildlife criteria for 4 pollut-
ants. These will serve as the
basis for limits on dischargers.
The Guidance also includes an
antidegradation provision. This
means actions that lower, or
degrade, the water quality
throughout the Great Lakes
Basin would be restricted.
Also, it would require that any
significant increase in a pollut-
ant discharge to a waterway be
shown to be necessary and have
a social and economic benefit.
On Saturday, June 26, the
public, including representa-
tives from industry and envi-
ronmental groups, had a chance
to ask questions and learn more
about the proposed Guidance at
a meeting held in the Miller
section of Gary, Indiana.
EPA is seeking public
comment on the Guidance.
Those interested are encour-
aged to submit their written
comments to Wendy
Schumacher, U.S. EPA, 77
West Jackson (WQ-16J),
Chicago, Illinois 60604. The
public comment period ends
September 13,1993.
A public hearing will be
held on August 4 and 5, 1993
at EPA's Regional office in
Chicago. For more information
on the hearing or to receive a
summary of the Guidance, call
Region 5's environmental
hotline at (800) 621-8431.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
24-hour spill reporting
317/241-IDEM
Hours for the following numbers:
Monday-Friday 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
Underground Storage Tanks
317/243-5110
SARA-Title III Reporting
317/243-5176
External Affairs, Media Inquiries
317/232-8560
IDEM Switchboard
317/232-8603
Northwest Indiana Environmental
Crimes Hotline
219/881-6717
Other Environmental Concerns or
Information
Helpline 1-800-451-6027
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PUBLIC INPUT NEEDED FOR REVISED PLAN
The Northwest Indiana
Public Involvement Plan is
being revised and we need
your input.
In December 1991, EPA
and IDEM originally issued the
Plan that has guided the agen-
cies' public involvement
activities for the past 20
months. The Plan is based on
more than 30 community
interviews. It describes 15
action items the agencies have
undertaken to enhance and
encourage public involvement
in Northwest Indiana.
Has it been successful? As
you may expect, the results are
mixed. Some residents say we
need to better prepare the
public for complex issues by
calling for public comment.
With this in mind, a contami-
nated sediments workshop was
held June 13, 1992 in anticipa-
tion of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers dredging proposal
for the Indiana harbor. The
workshop evaluations were
favorable and those who at-
tended said they had received
valuable information about this
issue. Unfortunately, the Corps
did not issue the Environmental
Impact Statement for the
project.
Weaknesses still exist in
getting the public involved in
enforcement cases and consent
decrees. While agencies can
increase the amount of infor-
mation provided about these
cases, public input is limited by
legal constraints. Over the
years we have learned that it is
extremely difficult to enable
true citizen participation for
multi-faceted environmental
programs, such as theNW_
Indiana Action Plan, in a large
geographic area.
After nearly two years'
experience working with the
original plan, it is clear that we
need a revised plan one that
can realistically address the
needs and expectations of the
citizens of Northwest Indiana.
Although the agencies have
essentially completed all 15
original aqtion items, the Plan
still needs to be revised for a
number of reasons.
First, many people are
unaware that a Northwest
Indiana Action Plan and Public
Involvement Plan even exist.
Second, while the workshops
have been somewhat success-
ful, we still are not achieving a
true dialogue with the commu-
nity. Third, while the agencies,
environmental groups, indus-
tries and others have increased
their coordination, much more
needs to be done. This is the
ideal time to present your ideas
on the key environmental
issues in Northwest Indiana and
how you want to get involved
in their resolution.
EPA and IDEM will be
revising the Plan later this year
by conducting a number of
environmental roundtables with
a wide range of citizens. We
want to move beyond finger-
pointing and instead focus on
where the public and the
agencies are now and where we
want to be. We want you to
send ideas on how we can
improve. Finally, we want to
create a plan that can become a
dialogue between the agencies
and the public.
EPA and IDEM want this
Plan to succeed and we need
your help to make it happen.
Please forward your ideas and
suggestions to John Perrecone,
EPA, at the address indicated
below.
Northwest News is published
quarterly by EPA Region 5 in
cooperation with IDEM to
enhance the dissemination of
information about environmental
issues in Northwest Indiana to
residents and interested parties.
Your comments, suggestions and
questions are welcome. Please
direct correspondence to John
Perrecone (P-19J), Northwest
News, EPA Region 5,77 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL
60604; 312/353-1149.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
Region 5
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois 60604
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