corporate environmental enforcement council june 3, 2009 thomas w. easterly, p.e., bcee, qep...
TRANSCRIPT
Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council
June 3, 2009
Thomas W. Easterly, P.E., BCEE, QEP CommissionerIN Department of Environmental Management
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IDEM’s Mission and Environmental Goal
IDEM is responsible for protecting human health and the environment while providing for safe industrial, agricultural, commercial and governmental operation vital to a prosperous economy. Our goal is to increase the personal income of all Hoosiers to the national average while maintaining and improving Indiana’s Environmental Quality.
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Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index
Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy Yale University Center For International Earth Science
Information Network (CFIESIN) Columbia University
http://www.yale.edu/epi/
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How Is IDEM Protecting Hoosiers and Our Environment?
• Clear, consistent and speedy decisions– Clear regulations– Assistance first, enforcement second– Timely resolution of enforcement actions– Every regulated entity will have current valid
permits without unnecessary requirements
How Does IDEM Protect the Environment?
• Develop regulations and issue permits to restrict discharges to the environment to safe levels.
• Inspect and monitor permitted facilities to ensure compliance with the permits.
• Enforce against people who exceed their permit levels or violate regulations.
• Educate people on their environmental responsibilities.
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Office of Enforcement2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Referrals 607 467 547 591 606 437
Violation Letters 5,222 4,980 4,268 4,024 3,958 4,092
Notices of Violation 457 318 202 427 420 321
Agreed Orders 349 314 258 417 372 364
Commissioner’s Orders 15 6 41 38 39 32
Dismissals 121 44 48 46 57 40
Complies/Closed 308 312 317 577 568 386
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IDEM Enforcement Changes• Returned enforcement function to the air, water
and land programs and eliminated the separate office of enforcement.
• Publishing our Compliance and Enforcement Response Policy as a Non-rule Policy Document to facilitate understanding of the enforcement process.
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Reasons for Enforcement Change• No improvement in compliance rates in 4 years.• EPA HQ told me both enforcement models
(separate office or in program) are used effectively.• Enforcement was regularly “waiting on program
staff” under the control of other managers.• Unpublished enforcement policies resulted in
unexpected actions—too timid and too aggressive.
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Compliance and Enforcement Response Policy (CERP)
• CERP was last revised in 2003 and was an internal IDEM document.
• In order to meet our goal of transparency we decided to update the CERP and publish it as a Non Rule Policy Document under IC 13-14-1-11.5. Draft signed for 45 day public comment period on 10/31/08.
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Criminal Convictions• Wabash Environmental Technologies and Derrik
Hagerman—Clean Water Act felonies. Sixty months of imprisonment and $237,000 in restitution (Terre Haute).
• Miller Environmental and Anthony MuCullough—Clean Water Act felonies. Four months imprisonment and $510,000 in penalties (Shelbyville and Rushville).
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Criminal Convictions
• Richard Reece—RCRA felonies. Six months in half way house, six months home detention and $60,000 restitution (Muncie).
• Hassan Barrel and Alan Hersh—RCRA felonies. Fifteen months of imprisonment plus $2.7 million in restitution (Fort Wayne).
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Criminal Convictions• Erler Industries—Clean Air Act Criminal Pleas
for false reporting (North Vernon).– $1,000,000 Criminal Fine.– $100,000 to IDEM for Hybrid Vehicles.– $25,000 to the Midwest Environmental.
Enforcement Association for training.
• Individual Operators and Laboratories—False reporting cases.
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Agency Initiatives
• Electronic Permits and Reporting– Virtual File Cabinet—electronic filing system with
over 42,500,000 pages now online.– TEMPO—Enterprise wide electronic integration of
all IDEM information—part of the insfrstructure to receive and process electronic permit applications and reports
• Two programs accepting electronic submittals, 401 Certifications and Community Right to Know
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Agency Initiatives• EDMR—Electronic reporting of waste water
discharge monitoring reports.– Currently being piloted by about 100 facilities.– Expect to be available for all facilities in June of
2009.
• Active assistance to facilities that announce layoffs and closing to prevent environmental Incidents.
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Challenges--2009• New Administration—Possible new directions:
– Greenhouse Gasses.– Great Lakes Protections.
• Wise Stewardship of Economic Stimulus Funds.
• Final Resolution of Unresolved Issues Including:
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US Courts Overturning Rules• 2007—Industrial, Commercial and Institutional
(ICI) Boiler MACT—directly impacted about 10 sources with coal fired boilers
• May 2008—Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) impacted all Power Plants
• July 2008—Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) impacted all Power Plants and most Indiana air pollution strategies
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BP Air Permit—Indiana• 38 day public comment period, 342 written
comments received • Public meeting and hearing – 1,200 attended,
44 commented • Construction permit issued May 1 and
operation permit issued June 16• Multiple appeals of these permit decisions to
OEA, Federal Court and the EPA Administrator
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NRDC Statement on Tar Sands• “BP’s decision to tap into the Canadian wilderness is
‘based on addiction, not reality,’ says Ann Alexander, senior attorney at the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit environmental group. ‘Tar sands crude oil is dirty from start to finish. It’s bad enough that [BP is] fouling our natural resources here in the Midwest, but it’s completely destroying them up in Canada. There are good sources of energy we can turn to that don’t involve turning entire forests into a moonscape.’”
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Duke-Edwardsport Power Plant• First commercial Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant in the U.S. • 44 day public comment period• Public meeting and hearing – over 600 citizens
attended • Construction permit issued January 25 and
operation permit issued in March• Permit decision appealed
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Company Communications Styles
• Minimum Required Communications– Require formal information requests from
government– Litigation Response
• Cooperate But Don’t Volunteer• Actively Lead The Discussion
– Actions must match words
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Questions?
Tom EasterlyCommissioner
Indiana Department of Environmental Management317-232-8611
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