Environmental groups concerned about bill to fix 'over-regulation'

Senate Bill 277 aims to carry out Governor Mike Braun's executive order to reduce environmental "over-regulation" to help businesses grow. Environmental groups worry the bill would significantly limit the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's ability to protect Hoosiers from pollution.

The bill makes several things currently required of IDEM optional — such as setting standards for investigating and cleaning up hazardous waste. It prohibits IDEM from making environmental rules that are more "burdensome" than federal ones — but doesn't specify what that means.

The bill also limits IDEM's ability to review permits for nuclear power plants at a time when lawmakers are encouraging small reactors to be built in the state.

IDEM Commissioner Clint Woods said the goals of the bill are to "improve efficiency and customer service."

"Reduce unnecessary burdens for IDEM implementation of federal and state environmental requirements in a manner that will benefit Hoosiers in terms of affordability and cost of living, but also to ensure they get the most environmental bang for their buck," he said.

Multiple environmental groups spoke against the legislation — including Desi Rybolt, the conservation campaign manager with the Indiana Conservation Voters. She said these changes to the law would greatly reduce IDEM's ability to protect the public.

"Hoosiers would have limited or no standing to hold their government accountable if it fails to protect them from bad actors in accidental, but preventable health risks from polluters," she said.

David Van Gilder is the senior policy and legal director with the Hoosier Environmental Council. He said the bill shows the governor is not listening to his constituents.

"When IDEM asked for public comment on the governor's executive orders this year, the response was overwhelmingly in favor of continued, and even strengthened, protections," he said.

Van Gilder said the vague language in the bill could also open it up to lawsuits, if it becomes law.

The bill also originally contained language that would have automatically approved a permit for a large animal farm — or confined feeding operation — after a certain amount of time, as long as the applicant had a pre-coordination meeting with IDEM.

This was stricken from the bill after representatives of Indiana's poultry and pork industries said it could open their farmers to lawsuits from Indiana counties or other actors.

Executive Director of Indiana Pork, Josh Trenary, said Indiana's Right to Farm law hinges on farmers' ability to show they're not negligent — and one of the ways to do that is for them to demonstrate that they're complying with an adequate permit under the law.