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A proposal from BFGoodrich seeking a permit to increase the amount of pollution once again raises questions about the willingness of the leadership at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to do its job.
As Dan Stockman’s Sunday story reported, the tire manufacturer is asking IDEM to grant a permit that allows it to increase its ozone-causing pollution at its Woodburn plant by as much as 40 tons per year. The company wants to use the additive silane in its tire-making process to improve the fuel efficiency of its tires. But it will also increase pollution.
The environmental concern is that the draft permit doesn’t call for any new pollution controls to reduce the increase in pollution. It doesn’t call for any monitoring of the company’s pollution to ensure it does not exceed the 40-ton-per-year increase in pollution. And the most disconcerting aspect of the flawed permit application is that it uses secret calculations provided by the company to determine the anticipated amount of the increase in pollution and, so far, IDEM has shown a distinct lack of interest in double-checking the numbers.
The permit application is a real eye opener about how little outside oversight IDEM exercises over companies’ compliance with environmental regulations.
The silane changes the chemical composition of the rubber, making it roll over pavement more efficiently. But the silane binder Goodrich will use releases ethanol into the air as part of the chemical reaction with the rubber. Ethanol is a volatile organic compound that causes ozone pollution. Ozone is a respiratory irritant that is especially dangerous for people with asthma.
IDEM has garnered a reputation of being business-friendly, but sometimes it appears IDEM is being downright flirtatious with the companies it’s responsible for regulating. It’s in Indiana’s best interest to maintain an environment that is friendly to economic development, but completely abandoning environmental protection endangers the economy rather than strengthening it.
Allen County lost several business development opportunities as a direct result of its ozone attainment status. It is more difficult for companies to get needed permits to build or expand businesses in counties that exceed pollution standards and are placed on non-attainment status. It was only a year and a half ago that the county was able to reach acceptable levels of ozone pollution to lift restrictions. Maintaining the county’s ozone attainment status is precarious, and any increase in ozone pollution threatens the economic well-being of the entire county.
There is no evidence Goodrich is using chicanery in its formula calculating the amount of ozone-causing pollution that will be created by using the silane additive. But the secret formula combined with the lack of oversight from environmental regulators is good reason for environmental advocates, economic development leaders and the general public to be concerned.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s 30-day public comment period ends Wednesday. But it’s difficult for the public to comment on the proposal when citizens have no way of checking the accuracy of the pollution emission claims the company is making.
Allen County residents should support BFGoodrich in its efforts to make its tires more fuel-efficient. But one environmental gain should not come at the cost of another. The company needs to prove to its customers that it is acting in good faith and will not be emitting more air pollution than necessary. And IDEM needs to do its job and monitor the company’s pollution emissions.
