(MARTINSVILLE, IN)- The Hoosier Environmental Council (“HEC”) filed an administrative appeal on Monday with the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication (“OEA”). The appeal challenges a water permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”) that allows the Eagle Valley Generating Station—an AES-owned powerplant in Martinsville—to discharge toxic contaminants from its leaking coal ash ponds directly into the West Fork of the White River.
Read MoreLast week, Christian Freitag testified at the new Task Force, stressing the need for data-driven decision making on this critical resource for the state’s environmental health and economic vitality. The state has worked hard to advance its water management in recent years, and we have opportunities to build on those successes using recommendations outlined in CLC’s “Water Report,” available at: conservationlawcenter.org/water.
Read MoreClean water is vital to our health, our collective agricultural needs, and the needs of our environment. August is #NationalWaterQualityMonth (https://nationalwaterqualitymonth.org/) and here at CLC we work to identify and implement solutions to water issues vital to all Hoosiers, including direct piping of raw sewage into Indiana streams and rivers, failing septic systems across the state, and updating the state drainage law.
Read MoreWater is essential for life, and people concerned about the health of Lake Monroe have worked together to form the Lake Monroe Water Fund.
On its website, it’s described as an “active funder for watershed projects that conserve, protect and sustain Lake Monroe as our shared community water resource.”
Lake Monroe was constructed in 1964 and filled in 1965 by the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a 100-year water source. The reservoir’s first and primary purpose is flood control for the White River. But since it was built, the reservoir has become Indiana’s largest inland lake. It offers recreation as well as drinking water to more than 128,000 customers in Monroe County and supplements other water sources for people in Brown County.
Read MoreWe continue to work on solutions to Indiana’s water quality problems thanks to a generous gift of $40,000 from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.
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