The Indiana Department of Environmental Management identified a handful of regulations that could clash with a gubernatorial order to eliminate “unduly burdensome” or costly rules, though nearly all of them appear to be relatively minor tweaks.
Still, Sam Carpenter, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, said Gov. Mike Braun’s mandate to review the agency seems like a decision that “environmental protections are bad for businesses before really, fully understanding and researching the issues.
“… we just need to keep in mind that protections are in place because, often, an event has occurred and we realized that the protections that were currently in place were not sufficient,” he continued.
For example, Carpenter pointed to IDEM’s new recommendation to streamline the process for alternative thermal effluent limits. Carpenter said that those processes were established in response to a 1999 chemical spill that killed more than 4 million fish — something not acknowledged in the review.
Just 14 facilities fall into this regulatory category, according to the state agency, but the process for meeting those water quality standards and getting approval “can be burdensome and create(s) uncertainty.”
The report recommended the agency revisit the guidelines.
The 17-page regulatory review, submitted by IDEM Commissioner Clint Woods and General Counsel William Anthony on July 1, stems from dual March 12 executive orders from Braun that targeted environmental justice and overregulation. While one focused on burdens and cost, the other sought to align the state’s rules with federal regulations. The latter report is due later this year.
“IDEM is committed to ensuring that its regulatory actions are consistent with statutory authority, supported by the best available science, and not unduly burdensome,” read a July 1 letter in response to the governor’s mandate. “IDEM has identified several opportunities to clarify or rescind existing policies and regulations, and intends to complete the additional reviews identified above and submit additional reports …”
The agency said it also hopes to collaborate with its federal counterparts to find ways to meet Braun’s orders. Another half dozen executive orders impact IDEM’s operations, including ones related to supporting coal generation and advancing nuclear development.
Carpenter criticized the former for being “more expensive … (and the) dirtiest form of energy” that doesn’t meet sustainability or affordability goals set in state statute.
“It’d be interesting to the pose the question to some of the utilities, ‘Would it be burdensome to you to keep open a coal plant that you had scheduled to close?’” posited David Van Gilder, the senior policy and legal director of the Hoosier Environmental Council.
More on the rules
In a Tuesday release, Braun painted his actions as business-friendly, saying they would create jobs and economic growth while balancing “responsible environmental protection and stewardship.”
“Government naturally drifts toward over-regulation, and it’s important to go through these regulations to make sure they aren’t stifling innovation and raising the cost of living for no benefit,” Braun said. “My agencies have been directed to identify regulations that are raising the cost of living without benefiting our environment so they can be changed or rescinded; we can grow our economy while also safeguarding Hoosiers’ health and preserving our natural resources.”
But the report and environmental advocates noted that Indiana’s environmental regulations have been curtailed for decades, leaving little for IDEM to revisit or eliminate.
Rescinding certain rules will be a lengthy process, the agency added, because it will need approval from the Environmental Rules Board, a period of public comment and a regulatory analysis.
At least two actions would need to go through the rule reversal process but may not need any federal approval, according to IDEM.
Current state law requires resubmitting underground storage tank notification forms for any change — beyond federal rules surrounding ownership changes or new tank installations. If not properly maintained, tanks can leak, contaminating the ground and nearby water sources.
IDEM also wasn’t sure if eliminating or revising requirements for submitted emissions reduction plans following malfunctions would require federal approval. But this rule depends on the source, and thus could be modified to be less burdensome, the agency said.
Just one change — allowing fire departments to conduct burns for training purposes without prior approval — would explicitly need the federal government to approve a revised state plan.
Meshing state, federal requirements
The state agency did identify a handful of rules that wouldn’t require any federal action, such as streamlining the permit schedule for pollution discharge elimination and allowing “appropriate feedstock” only in permitting.
Rules for the first are inconsistent throughout the state, differing between water in the Great Lakes basin and downstate waters. Rather than having some areas with three-year schedules, IDEM recommended clarifying the state statute to allow for five-year schedules that align with the Environmental Protection Agency.
As for the latter, current code requires a land application permit for appropriate feedstock waste but not for waste that’s a mix of appropriate feedstock and biomass — or only biomass — when it comes to certain classes of crops.
Also in terms of permitting, solid and hazardous waste permits currently range from three to five years, but could be expanded to 10 to “reduce paperwork burdens … and improve Indiana’s competitiveness.” The agency is already reviewing this as part of an unrelated review of its fees.
And while the federal government doesn’t dictate the state’s requirements for certain tax deductions, IDEM also noted that it didn’t have expertise in this area either. The agency determines if certain systems or devices qualify for tax deductions — an “unnecessary” requirement that officials say could be moved to another entity.
The state division devoted to electronic waste registration and recycling is limited to the expenses of administering the associated fund, but state statute could expand that authority in a way that enhances collection activities, according to IDEM.
The 10th and final recommendation would seek to codify some of IDEM’s policies.
The agency received thousands of public comments and included two dozen in the Tuesday report.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the release of those comments,” said Van Gilder. “It’s important that our elected officials represent us and those concerns and there is a lot of concern (around) having environmental protections in place.”
Carpenter added that he’d like to see unfiltered comments that weren’t “hand-picked” for the report.
Though Braun railed against states with stricter environmental regulations than federal standards — saying he believed the nationwide requirements are an “appropriate baseline” — Indiana hasn’t been in that category in years.
Like many states, Indiana has “no more stringent than” laws that align the state’s rules with the federal government, including air and water quality protections — as reflected in IDEM’s report.
“… (IDEM) anticipates, based on prior review with related executive orders, that this universe of regulations is relatively small,” the accompanying letter summarized. “Indiana Code, as well as previous Gubernatorial administrations, have limited IDEM’s ability to promulgate rules that are more restrictive than federal regulations for decades.”
Citing this, the state agency said it would identify specific federal rules requiring regulations that potentially clash with Braun’s order and work with the appropriate federal agencies to identify solutions.
But the EPA has also been a target for criticism and deregulation at the federal level, meaning that their rules could change as well — triggering a potential ripple effect in Indiana.
“The fact that there is this significant push to roll back environmental protections on the federal level undermines the alignment that we current have,” Carpenter said. “It’s really important for the state to be independent and be able to make independent guidelines.”