Our Daily Lives…

And In The News…

Yes, air & water quality progress,

but…

A Need to Focus on Indiana.

Why a Focus on Indiana Is Important

•Air: 4th highest Hg

•Water: 1st in toxic discharges

•Land: Less than 4 % on

non-roads

Environmental Risks are not a Thing

of the Past

Research and

Collaborative Approach

Legislative Engagement & Advocacy

State Agency Policy-Making

Citizen Training

Workshops

Local Challenges of

an “Extraordinary

Nature”

HEC’s Approach,

Expanded thanks

to our Merger

with LEAF

Which opportunity to focus on?

–Statewide impact–Capacity to help the economy–Supporter, Partner backing–Bi-partisan champions–Fundable

–.

Sprawl-Reducing Transportation

Protecting our Environment

Advancing the Economy

Successes in

Sprawl-Reducing Transportation

• Bringing needed scrutiny on I-69’s overall

repercussions

• Indianapolis Star, other editorial Board’s

endorsements on infrastructure crisis

• Helping save PMTF cuts in last budget

Advancing Sprawl-Reducing

Transportation

• State picture

– 3% to transit

– More transit

agencies

– No gas tax money

• Local picture

– Property tax caps

Rethinking the Bigger Picture

Roads

Transit

Rail

New Terrain I-69

#2: Sustainable,

Low Carbon Energy

Contamination Risks

Contamination Risks

HEC Successes on Clean Energy

• Substantially stronger net metering

rules

• First-ever Clean electricity standard

(CES)

Making SB 251 Meaningful

• Increase %

– 10% by 2025

• Tighten definition of eligibility

– Waste to energy

• Add a vintage date

Business-owned clean energy

Business Rationale

• Save operating costs

• Differentiate in marketplace

Corporate stewardship:

• Reducing pollution

• Promoting clean tech

Many tools, but more to go…

• Energy efficiency building codes & DSM

– Upfront capital

• Net metering

– Cost of electricity

• Grants, loans

– Government funding constraints

• Private sector clean energy finance

PACE Authorization

Legislation

• Solves two major long-standing

problems:

– Gives property owners upfront capital

– Enables the loan to the owner to travel

with the property

How does it do this?

• The legislation gives localities

authority to:

– Issue revenue bonds

– Proceeds used to give “assessments”

that are paid off over a 20 year period

– Administered in a few ways

• 23 states have this (IL, MI, OH)

Most Appealing Aspect

Energy bill savings > Incremental cost

Net savings, greater cash flow

#3: Healthier

Communities

Addressing Environmental Injustice :

Community Empowerment

Overburdened Rural

Communities- CAFOs

Overburdened Urban

Communities – Heavy Industry

Understanding Environmental Injustice in Rural Communities

CAFOs/CFOs Are Not “Farms”

CAFOs/CFOs Are Not “Farms”

CAFO/CFOs Are Not “Farms”

Indiana’s CAFOs & CFOs

2,200 CFOs regulated under state law

625 CAFOs subject to federal regulation

Indiana’s CAFOs & CFOs

CAFOs responsible for 80% of

all livestock raised in Indiana

Cows/calves - 870,000

Hogs/pigs - 3.6 million

Poultry - 42 million

Livestock produce 500 million tons

of manure annually

Humans produce150 million tons of

waste annuallyManure lagoons at an Indiana CAFO

Is this waste regulated? Not really

A CAFO in Kosciusko Co.

with algae blooms nearby

Manure lagoons at a

CAFO in Kosciusko Co.

Are Odors, Dust, Flies & Rodents Regulated?

Unfortunately, NO

EPA?

IDEM?

OISC?

IDNR?

ISDA?

IDH?

Local Ordinances?

Photo: fly infestation of home near a

CAFO

What legal recourse do

neighbors have?

“Since the first of May, when

they first spread the liquid

manure, the smell has been so

bad my kids can hardly go

outside.“

Union City resident, Wendy

McCarter-Read

Quoted in NUVO, July 21, 2010

Photo: Randolph County CAFO

Providing Real Access to the Courts &

Training Citizen Advocates

-CFO held accountable

-Right to Farm weakened

Stickdorn v. Lantz, et. al

-Citizen Advocacy Training

workshops in CAFO

communities

Protecting Legal Rights…

HEA 1091: Even more protection for

CAFOs

“If a court finds that an agricultural

operation that is the subject of a

nuisance action was not a nuisance . . .

and that the nuisance action was

frivolous, the court shall award court

costs and reasonable attorney's fees, to

the defendant in the action.”

Sponsor: Rep. Friend, Dist. 23

Environmental Injustice in Gary, Hammond & East Chicago

• Extreme poverty

• Largely minority populations

• Discriminatory zoning & land use

law

• No access to political / legal

system

Understanding Environmental Injustice in Gary, Hammond &

East Chicago

• Less vigorous enforcement by

regulators

• Older facilities exempt from

more stringent requirements

• Lack of meaningful access to

technical / legal assistance

Our neighbors in Gary, Hammond & East

Chicago need our help

Success in empowering overburdened communities

HEC’s Lake County EJ Initiative

• Community led data collection and analysis

• Education and training in effective advocacy

• Providing community resources for long term

systemic change

Be a part of the Hoosier

Environmental Council!

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