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Why a Focus on Indiana Is Important
•Air: 4th highest Hg
•Water: 1st in toxic discharges
•Land: Less than 4 % on
non-roads
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
–.
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
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 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)
Addressing Environmental Injustice :
Community Empowerment
Overburdened Rural
Communities- CAFOs
Overburdened Urban
Communities – Heavy Industry
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
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!
facebook.com/hecweb
twitter.com/hec_ed