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IDEM Update Indiana Industrial Operators Association April 14, 2009

Learn about Indiana Department of Environmental Management's mission, accomplishments, and initiatives to safeguard human health and the environment while promoting a prosperous economy.

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IDEM Update Indiana Industrial Operators Association April 14, 2009

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  1. IDEM UpdateIndiana Industrial Operators AssociationApril 14, 2009 Thomas W. Easterly, P.E., BCEE, QEP Commissioner IN Department of Environmental Management

  2. 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.

  3. 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/

  4. 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. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment How Does IDEM Protect the Environment?

  5. State Budget Balances

  6. Response to Reduced State Income • Eliminated 2009 raises. • Strategic Hiring Review—Using attrition to reduce spending. • Reduce/eliminate grants, contracts, etc. • Restrictions on travel and purchasing. • Will maintain essential State services.

  7. IDEM Staffing Levels

  8. Agency Accomplishments • All 1,269 tons of VX Agent stored at the Newport Chemical Agent Facility since 1969 has been safely destroyed. VX destruction started in May of 2005 and was completed in August 2008. • Digital Inspector Tool is in use for solid waste inspections including CAFOs, Auto Salvage Yards and Landfills.

  9. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Agency Accomplishments • Entire State met the 0.08 ppm Ozone air quality standard for the period 2006-2008, and we are working with USEPA to have Lake and Porter Counties designated attainment. • Entire State also met the 0.075 Ozone air quality standard for the year 2008. • All but Clark County met the PM2.5 Air Quality Standards for the period 2006-2008.

  10. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Performance Metrics Mar 2009

  11. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Performance Metrics June 2005

  12. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment New Drinking Water Metric • Percent of Hoosiers Drinking Safe Water: • Percentage of Indiana population that receives drinking water from facilities that are in full compliance with safe drinking water regulations. • Federal (EPA) Goal is 95%. • Indiana Goal is 99%. • Indiana Current Actual is 98.2%.

  13. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Total Permit Calendar Days

  14. Air Permits Branch Rapid Improvement Activities Lean/Kaizen Methodology to improve efficiency: Significant Source Modifications (Construction Approvals) 9/07 Event. Process time reduced from 220 days to 121 days avg. Permit Renewals 12/07 Event. Process time reduced from 678 day avg. to all those issued in ’08 within 270 days allowed (calendar days). Eliminate backlog of administratively extended permits: 1/1/08 - 156 permits. Currently no backlogged air permits. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment

  15. Permit Backlog Reduction In 2005, there were 263 administratively extended NPDES permits. Six of those 263 remain to be issued: US Steel Gary Works. US Steel Midwest Division. Arcelor Mittal Indiana Harbor East. Arcelor Mittal Indiana Harbor West. Arcelor Mittal Burns Harbor. Hoosier Energy Merom Plant.

  16. Impact of NPDES Extensions • These companies are not required to meet the Great Lakes Initiative discharge limits—e.g. mercury. • These companies are not required to meet other more stringent discharge limitations, testing and reporting requirements.

  17. Impact of NPDES Extensions • Many of the objections to the USX permit related to the time allowed by the permit for the Company to meet the new standards. • Without a renewed permit, USX has no deadline for meeting the new standards. • The other four steel plants with extended permits also have no deadline for meeting the new standards.

  18. Antidegradation Rule Status • Stakeholder kickoff Meeting on March 7, 2008. • Discussed concepts and schedule at two large stakeholder meetings on 4/29 and 6/25. • Working group of twelve members from the environmental, business and municipal segments formed to come up with draft rule language and/or identify areas for IDEM to resolve.

  19. Antidegradation Status • Working group has met on 7/15, 8/12, 9/16 , 10/30, 12/11/08, 1/6/09, and 1/26/09. • Working group agenda items: • Applicability (7/15) & (10/30). • Exemptions (8/12) & (10/30). • DeMinimis (9/16) & (10/30). • Water Quality Improvement Projects (1/26/09). • Antidegradation Demonstrations (12/11/08). • Public Notice/Public Comment (1/6/09).

  20. Antidegradation Status • IDEM has prepared a draft reflecting both areas of agreement during the workgroup process and IDEM decisions on issues where no consensus was reached. • That draft will be reviewed for errors by the small group and presented to the larger workgroup before the end of May, 2009. • This draft will also be Second Noticed in the formal rulemaking process.

  21. Office of Enforcement

  22. 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).

  23. 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).

  24. 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.

  25. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Agency Initiatives • 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 infrastructure to receive and process electronic permit applications and reports: • Two programs accepting electronic submittals, 401 Certifications and Community Right to Know.

  26. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment 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.

  27. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Agency Initiatives • Returned enforcement function to the air, water and land programs and eliminated the separate office of enforcement. • Provide consistent Statewide air quality permitting, monitoring and enforcement services by directly managing the air program functions previously contracted to: Anderson, Evansville, Gary, Hammond, Indianapolis, and Vigo County.

  28. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment

  29. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment 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.

  30. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment 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.

  31. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Compliance and Enforcement Response Policy (CERP) • The 45 day comment period ended in Mid December; but because of the changes to the enforcement structure, the CERP has been revised and was posted for another 45 day comment period on March 2, 2009. • After the end of the comment period, the CERP will be presented to the Air, Water and Solid Waste Boards.

  32. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Local Agency Contracts • Continuation of IDEM’s goal to use efficiency gains to reduce contracting out of core environmental protection functions. • $3.5 Million/year in Air Permit Contracts with $1.1 Million in IDEM Resources while improving service. • $1.5 Million/year in Leaking Underground Storage Tank Clean ups with $0.7 Million in IDEM resources while improving service.

  33. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Local Agency Contracts • IDEM spends just over $2 Million per year on Local Agency Contracts: • Anderson $66,642 • Evansville $177,498 • Gary $24,000 • Hammond $375,100 • Indianapolis $1,124,139 • Vigo County $266,662

  34. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Local Agency Contracts • IDEM believes that it can provide the same or better level of environmental protection for about $0.5 Million/year freeing up resources to address remaining air quality issues in Indiana. • Local Agency Air Quality Services include: • Permitting • Inspections • Complaint Response • Air Quality Monitoring

  35. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Grant and Loan Suspension • All Grants and Loans from the following non-reverting funds to entities that had not returned award paperwork by December 19 have been suspended: • 2580 Recycling Promotion Assistance Fund • 2530 Solid Waste Recycling Fund • 2640 Waste Tire Fund

  36. HEA 1001 Property Tax Reform was the Major Issue in the 2008 Legislative Session. SEA 45—The Great Lakes Water Compact with implementing legislation. HEA 1120—Ban phosphates in residential dishwasher detergent sold after July 1, 2010. New 2008 Laws

  37. SEA 43 addresses many environmental issues: Clarifies mercury switch removal program requirements to: Allow payment for removal of mercury containing anti-lock braking switches and other mercury containing devices. Exempt wrecked vehicles where the mercury switch is not easily accessible. Allows IDEM to accept electronic signatures. Clarifies Requirements for Local Land Use Approvals for Solid Waste Landfills that have not yet accepted Waste. New 2008 Laws

  38. Removes the requirement that IDEM have a laboratory division. Removes the requirement to display operator certificates at a treatment plant. Allows a single vehicle ID and land application permit approval for a septage hauler. Eliminates the requirement that IDEM obtain social security numbers as part of good character approval process. Allows IDEM to use ELTF for tank inspections. SEA-43 Continued

  39. SEA 43 Continued: Requires public notice of rules that are proposed to sunset. Protects a community from being required to pay storm water fees to two entities. Clarifies Environmental Criminal Language. SEA 46 modified the marketable record title for real property to eliminate the need to renew a environmental restrictive covenant every 50 years. New 2008 Laws

  40. We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment Questions? Tom Easterly Commissioner Indiana Department of Environmental Management 317-232-8611 teasterly@idem.in.gov

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