Indiana has been struggling for years to update its antiquated water regulations. Industry has packed the review process with its members and the environmentalists of Indiana have little money to fight the big money of big industries such as coal, steel, oil, and so on. Rae Schnapp has been at the forefront of this movement along with Jane Dustin, Indiana's legendary environmental warrior
Rae Schnapp is water policy director of the Hoosier Environmental Council in Indianapolis.
We agree with your July 16 editorial that it is high time we had a ground water rule. But we don't want a rule that legalizes contamination.
Twelve years after the passage of the Ground Water Protection Act, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is finally proposing a ground water rule, but the rule it put forward actually legalizes pollution of a person's well up to the safe drinking water limit. It is full of loopholes that let polluters off the hook and leave taxpayers bearing the burden of cleanup.
The rule does not even apply to ground water; it applies to regulated facilities. That means an activity that is not currently regulated is exempt, even if it is contaminating. The rule also requires that contaminants must travel 300 feet or cross a property line before any enforcement action can be taken.
One of the worst things about the proposed rule is what happens when the standards are violated. There is no expectation that ground water would be cleaned up to its original condition, or even to drinking water standards. Instead, a complicated risk assessment calculation would be conducted to determine how much contamination can be left in place.
If no one is currently drinking the water, there is no exposure, therefore no risk, and an unlimited amount of contamination may be left in place.
The Ground Water Protection Act states that one of the purposes of the rule is to "ban the discharge of effluents to potable water." IDEM claims this is ambiguous because the law does not define "effluent" nor "potable." We believe the intent of the law is clear: protect our current and future drinking water supplies.
IDEM suggests that its rule will be the framework for a whole series of other rules. Instead of adding layers of bureaucracy, IDEM should make this rule apply to all potable ground water and eliminate the loopholes so this important resource is truly protected.
We at the Hoosier Environmental Council have been participating in the Governor's Ground Water Task Force for several years now. We have promoted a rule that focuses on preventing pollution by establishing preventive action levels that trigger a response before drinking water becomes unfit to drink. We have also been advocating that polluters be held responsible for cleanup.
We have generated more than 1,000 letters to Gov. Frank O'Bannon and the Water Pollution Control Board in support of this position, but so far the administration has been unresponsive.
At the June meeting of the Water Pollution Control Board, Sen. Vi Simpson and Rep. Mark Kruzan, both of Bloomington and authors of the original Ground Water Protection Act, raised concerns about whether the proposed rule meets the intent of the law. Apparently, in 12 years, IDEM never thought to consult the original authors of the legislation.
About 70 percent of Indiana residents rely on underground water supplies, including both private and municipal wells. According to Tom Bruns with the Indianapolis Water Co., most of our future water needs will be met by tapping into more underground sources. Indiana needs a ground water policy that truly protects this important resource and puts the burden of cleanup where it belongs.
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