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MERRILLVILLE – Indiana’s efforts to redefine serious environmental violations are drawing fire from critics, who say the state is endangering people’s health by requiring that a violator cause actual harm or threaten the environment before facing penalties.
The new definition, which has yet to take effect, comes as the state Department of Environmental Management is dissolving its Office of Enforcement and moving those employees into different departments.
IDEM spokeswoman Amber Finkelstein says the move will allow for better collaboration between employees and improve customer service.
Critics say it’s disturbing.
“Eliminating the Office of Enforcement, it seems laughable,” said Tom Anderson, executive director of Save the Dunes. “Their primary mission is to protect the public health of the citizens of Indiana.”
The revision, which requires a public commenting period and presentation to several state boards before taking effect, describes the most serious class of violations, called Class 1, as preventable.
But unlike the old policy from 2003, the new one lists no examples of violations and specifies that the violations must “result in actual threat to human health or safety or ... in a serious actual impact to the environment” or “a significant threat to human health or the environment.”
Anderson questioned whether federal law allows IDEM to add that qualification.
“Sounds like it’s an attempt to weaken the federal regulation that already exists,” he said.
The revised policy also gives managers more discretion over when companies will face prosecution and penalties and says top managers, including the commissioner, can authorize compliance staff to deviate from the policy on a case-by-case basis.
