bigeastern - environmental issues in northern indiana

19Mar2008 - Tulsa case highlights Microbial Source Tracking evidence

People working to clean up rivers, streams and other waterways are, at times, stymied by the difficulty in proving the source of the contamination. It's widely recognized that high e-coli bacteria counts are linked to untreated fecal material in the water, but the source is not so obvious. Is it from manure spread on fields, from failing septic systems, from combined sewer overflows, or wildlife? It may seem intuitively obvious that the huge quantities of manure spread on fields from CAFOs and similar operations are the likely major culprit, but proving it is another thing. And, of course, sometimes the obvious answer turns out to be wrong.

The new field of microbial source tracking (MST) applies scientific methods to attempt to sleuth out the source of microbial contamination. The researchers look for variations in characteristics of microbial populations according to their source and attempt to draw conclusions about the source of contamination. MST remains controversial, but possibly there are people (and well funded companies) who don't want the problem of identifying the wrongdoers to be solved -- it's a bit like the global warming debate.

Recent litigation in the federal court in Tulsa Oklahoma revolves around MST evidence related to the huge poultry industry in Arkansas. The Oklahoma attorney-general contends that manure from the Arkansas poultry industry is polluting the Illinois River (not the same Illinois River that runs through Illinois) and causing damage in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma A-G is seeking an injunction in federal court. The articles linked below, mostly by Robert Smith of the Arkansas Democrat, give a chronological account of the case, and especially the arguments about the MST evidence.

Traced bacteria, scientist says - 'Harwood said she tracked a fecal bacteria biomarker, finding it in poultry houses, in fields where poultry litter was spread, in nearby ditches, in groundwater and in rivers. She analyzed 200 samples of water, soil and poultry litter to reach her conclusions.' [2.22.2008 - Smith - Ark. Democrat]

Science key to Oklahoma's poultry litter case - 'Oklahoma seeks a preliminary injunction in U. S. District Court at Tulsa to ban poultry litter spreading on farm fields in the watershed. A hearing on the matter ran from Feb. 19-22 and picks up again for another three days, starting today.' [3.3.2008 - Smith - Ark. Democrat]

Judge suggests he'll treat litter as 'solid waste' - 'A portion of the federal law defines solid waste as 'any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from agricultural and other types of operations.' [3.4.2008 - Smith - Ark. Democrat]

Expert disputes bacteria findings - Poultry company's expert disputes MST study linking poultry to river contamination; judge annoyed by repetitive evidenced. [3.11.2008 - Smith - Ark. Democrat]

Closing arguments made in poultry case - 'Bacteria from the waste of more than 140 million chickens raised each year in the Illinois River watershed has polluted the land and poses a serious health threat to thousands of people, Oklahoma's attorney general told a federal judge.' [3.13.2008 - Forbes]

Backgrounder: for those ready for deeper waters: Performance, Design, and Analysis in Microbial Source Tracking Studies - [2007 - Stoekel, Harwood - U of S.Fla]

5Mar2008 - Iraq war costs

It amazes me how little attention the US 'news' media is devoting to the debacle in Iraq. The costs continue to mount, and the US economy will be suffering for many years; it's possible the damage is permanent. Here's a little something to think about: The $2 Trillion Nightmare [3.4.2008 - Herbert - NYTimes].

A quote: 'Because the administration actually cut taxes as we went to war, when we were already running huge deficits, this war has, effectively, been entirely financed by deficits. The national debt has increased by some $2.5 trillion since the beginning of the war, and of this, almost $1 trillion is due directly to the war itself ... By 2017, we estimate that the national debt will have increased, just because of the war, by some $2 trillion.'

4Mar2008 - Pew commission warns on CAFOs; IndyStar going green?

On the CAFO front here's a report from the Pew Commission Expert Panel Highlights Threats to Public Health and Environment from Industrial Animal Agriculture Wastes [2.29.2008 - Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production]. 'As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers lifting a requirement that industrial farming facilities report their toxic gas emissions, a panel of experts today told Congress that the vast amounts of animal waste and byproducts from such facilities pose significant risks to human health and the environment, requiring greater - not lesser - scrutiny.'

On Sunday, the IndyStar posted this Op/Ed: Indiana can't afford to ignore its environment [3.2.2008 - IndyStar] 'How bad is it? Even Forbes, a business publication not known for leaning to the political left, last fall ranked Indiana 49th in the nation among environmentally friendly states. Only West Virginia scored worse. Forbes based its comparisons on air and water quality, waste management, energy consumption and public policy.'

Of course, I applaud the piece. But seriously, if the environment is Indiana's forgotten issue, I would suggest the IndyStar might consider looking the mirror for a responsible party. Maybe they intend to begin viewing the administration's environmental policy a bit more critically. If so, good. We'll see.

6Feb2008 - floods, fields, and the zone of death

The snows and heavy rains of the last couple of days are not going to help conditions on the Kankakee and Tippecanoe Rivers. Yesterday I took a look at the creeks on Big Eastern; they were very high indeed. And the rain keeps coming. Wisely, not too many people live near the Kankakee, so it's mostly farmland that's currently flooded. At least there's no crop in the field now. Here's coverage: Levee breaks could be budget busters [2.5.2008 - Laasby - Gary P-T]. Incidently, props to the Gary P-T for their environmental issues coverage. Northwest Indiana is rich in environmental problems, but also in environmental resources (the resources attracted the problems, to some degree) so this is important stuff. And, alas, the Times of NWI tends to be the little sister of the IndyStar and we all know what that means.

On today's 'required reading' list, all midwesterners who care about the environment and want to stay truly informed on the issue should take a look at the USGS' study Differences in Phosphorus and Nitrogen Delivery to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin [1.31.2008 - Alexander et al - USGS]. The study links excessive nutrients released into midwestern rivers to the large 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico, and (naturally) shows Indiana to be one of the worst offenders. The study overview has excellent maps and graphics, making it easy to understand. [note -- I found this link on a newly revitalized Kemplog - great to see you posting again Thomas!]

The study conclusively shows that the predominant source of the problem is corn belt agriculture: '66% of nitrogen comes from cultivated crops, mostly corn and soybean'. Animal manure is the primary source of phosphorus. Large, free flowing rivers (i.e. ones without reservoirs) tend to deliver more nitrogen and phophorous. Reservoirs tend to impede nutrient delivery, at the cost of water quality in the reservoir.

Obviously, one thing that would help would be if more fertilizer stayed on the fields for crop uptake, and therefore out of the rivers. Chemical fertilizers cost money, so I don't think you'll find many farmers who disagree with that. But more will need to be done, and the obvious answer is that we need more wetlands, and that runoff from agricultural areas needs to go through those wetlands, not just speed by in a straight line ditch. Filter strips (buffer zones of perennial vegetation along streams) help too, but those that include hydric environments are bound to be more effective than a mowed strip of grass. And even when a filter strip is in place, if the water from the field is bypassing it through an underground drainage tile, the filter strip isn't in a position to do much filtering.

There's also plenty of room for debate about the wisdom of the whole corn/soybeans/meat system. But, truth is, I don't expect to see corn lose its crown in the corn belt anytime soon. There's some reason for optimism though. Not so many years ago, here in North Judson, skies darkened from wind erosion in an annual rite of spring. No-till agriculture has drastically reduced this problem. Now farmers are embracing filter strips, thanks to government subsidies. We still need more wetlands, especially riparian wetlands.

One more thing: the Legal Environmental Aid Foundation provides legal representation in cases involving public environmental issues in northwest Indiana. On the site attorney Kim Ferraro provides public access to some of the documents from current cases, and finds a little time after work to host the 'green drinks' get togethers in Valparaiso.

4Feb2008 - it's a dirty story of a dirty state

IDEM's list of 'impaired waterways' is quite a bit shorter this year, as a result in a change in criteria for listing. It appears likely that the move is intended to get Indiana off the hook with EPA regarding remediation efforts -- that's what critics are saying anyway. Here's an opinion piece by Deborah Chubb criticizing IDEM's new listing criteria: IDEM's latest failure to protect public needs more scrutiny [guest commentary, Chesterton Trib] -- here are couple of additional links: Conservation group angry at how Indiana now tracks polluted waterways [1.31.2008 - Handelman - Medill Reports] -- Indiana Seeks to De-List Contaminated Waters [Alliance for the Great Lakes] -- Toxic water cleanup lags [1.28.2008 - Laasby - Gary P-T]

In other dirty Indiana news, yet again the Indiana legislature, it appears, will fail to take any action to control environmental and neighborhood impacts by CAFOs and other industrial animal production facilities -- here a link:

CAFO slowdown is needed - Op-Ed by retired registered nurse Barbara Sha Cox. [Richmond Pal-Item - 2.3.2008]

Hog CAFOs and Sustainability, a study by the Iowa Policy Project, is 'must reading' for anybody trying to decide if industrial hog production would be a good thing for their community. The study looked at Iowa counties with expanding hog CAFOs and found, among other thing, an increase in adults without high school diplomas, a significant decline in home selling prices, more manure spills, more fish kills and more impaired waterways. The study concludes that the opportunity costs to rural areas may be substantial, and that in portions of Iowa, growth of hog CAFOs 'may have hampered rural tourism, recreartion and destination retirement development.

28Jan2008 - Death Valley pics; where the water goes

I posted a little commentary about current cover photo on vocalo: Zabriskie Point - Death Valley, including a link to a higher quality version of the photo. If you're bored with flooded flatlands, you can take a virtual tour of Death Valley National Park (mixed with the obligatory familial shots) on my Picasa Web Album for DeathValley.

Just one comment about the recent 'hundred year floods'. All those drainage projects in this region make matters much worse. The water will come, and yes, we live in a flat place. The water must have somewhere harmless to go or it will go somewhere harmful. A harmless place to flood: a lowland forest, a prairie, a marsh. A harmful place to flood: your home, your street, your school. It's really as simple as that.

25Jan2008 - San Pierre biofuel, C2C 2008, links...

Rural community challenges plans for a biofuel plant - Interesting coverage of dispute about proposed ethanol plant at San Pierre, in western Starke County. [Medill Reports - Kroh - 1.24.2008]

Plans for the C2C-2008 are underway - check here for details.

Three Oaks Michigan based Long Haul Productions have an extensive collection of audio programs available online likely to be of interest to bigeastern.com readers.

Benton County remains knee-deep in CAFO issues - [Lafayette C-J - Larson - 1.14.2008]

CAFO bill moves to House - [Richmond P-I - AP - 1.17.2008]

12Dec2007 - The Lesson from Iraq, ethanol glut, remember 'BioTown'?

The War in Iraq: it's a touchy subject. Here's an interesting and scholarly analysis -- Fighting Identity: Why We Are Losing Our Wars - A quote: 'The war remorselessly morphed into a political testament tied to a desperate vision of triumphant American religious nationalism.' [Military Review - Vlahos - 11.07]

IDEM levies fines in NE Indiana, but not all are collected: Area polluters amass $2 million in fines [Ft. Wayne J-G - Street - 12.9.07]

Road gets bumpy for ethanol plants 39 ethanol plants 'under consideration' likely to result in failures as margins drip precipitously [IBJ - O-Malley - 12.8.07]

BioTown stumbles but regains its footing Despite the Times/NWI's headline, there's little in the story to suggest any real progress in the much ballyhooed 'BioTown' project at Reynolds, Indiana. [Times/NWI (originally Lafayette CJ) - Larsen - 12.9.07]

Reward Offered In Endangered Bat Killings [Lexington 18]

ecology of christmas: christmas trees [Bootstrap Analysis - 12.1.2007]

21Nov2007 - Benton Harbor beach, Ethanol jitters

Should Benton Harbor's lakefront park be converted to a private golf course? Saving a Public Park [In These Times - Street - 11.19.07]

Rush to build ethanol plants loses its steam rising corn prices, dropping ethanol prices squeeze ethanol plant boom. [In These Times - Street - 11.19.07]

15Nov2007 - taxes, prosperity, climate sceptics and a pretty picture

Read Doug Masson's comments, and mine, on his always worthy blog: Counties: Let the State Raise Taxes [11.14.07]

The Daily Yonder has an interesting piece about rural economies: Rural America's Most Prosperous Counties - the DY lists 289 rural counties in the US found to support better than average prosperity, as measured by U of I prof Andrew Isserman. The study appears to confirm the link between family farm ownership and rural prosperity, a link I, for one, had wondered about. For deeper waters follow the link to the original study.

The BBC opened the floor to people claiming that the science community is biased against 'climate sceptics'- here's what they found: - Climate science: Sceptical about bias [BBC - Black - 11.14.07]

The best part of autumn is passing on now, if you didn't get a chance to get into the woods yourself, download a large image from last Saturday. I took it at Lena Park on the corporeal Big Eastern last Saturday around noon.

6Nov2007 - some reading

Weed It and Reap - Op-Ed on the Farm Bill [11.4.07 - Pollan - NYT]

Sixth Gives Green Light to Environmental Tort Suit - Sixth Circuit is allowing a group of Kentucky homeowners to proceed with their claims that a nearby uranium enrichment plant brought down their property values. [11.2.07 - Loblaw - eNotes]

19Oct2007 - US Steel Permit/New Invasive species

The public outcry over the IDEM permit for pollution discharges into Lake Michigan earlier this year may resulted in a higher level of scrutiny over IDEM permits for Lake Michigan discharges. EPA recently blocked a proposed IDEM permit that would have allowed the giant US Steel plant five more years to comply with discharge requirements; probably the environmental consequences for the lake are more significant from US Steel's discharges as compared with BP. However, it's unlikely that US Steel will be much swayed by public sentiment -- they don't sell steel to the public. Here are some links of interest on the US Steel permit issue:

Pressure mounts on U.S. Steel - [Oct. 18 2007 - Laasby - Gary P-T]

Alliance for the Great Lakes - press release requesting public hearing on the issues raised by the US Steel permit.

Media Advisory: EPA has additional objections to Indiana's draft permit for US Steel Gary Works [Oct. 18 2007 - USEPA]

EPA finds problems with mill permit [Oct. 19 2007 - Ingerson - IndyStar]

If we didn't have enough invasive species yet, here's another one:

Oriental Beetle Exomal orientalis [U. Minnesota entomology]

Oriental Beetle Discovered in Indiana - 'Purdue University entomologist Doug Richmond said a graduate student recently found an unusual beetle in Tippecanoe County and identified it at a Purdue lab as an Oriental beetle.' [October 16 2007 - AP - Newsvine]

3Oct2007 - interesting links

It's been altogether too long since I've posted here -- lately I've found it more interesting to post comments on other sites. There's so much excellent material going out on the web these days. Here are some tasty links:

Chris Jordan: Photographic Arts - visualizing the scale of the waste stream from current American consumerism.

I've been posting a few things at vocalo.org, discussed in the previous post. Here's a direct link to my :Vocalo page. So far, just some photos, but I'm planning some audio content. If you can't get :Vocalo on the air (their signal is still a bit weak where I live), try their online feed. It's an exciting project. So much so, one wonders if it will last. I hope so, but anyway, catch it now while it's fresh.

9/11 is Over, an NYT Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman is spot-on. We cannot afford to continue being this stupid.

Speaking of stupid, Indiana government has been making some puzzling moves lately. One of the worst is the 'tax rebate' dictated by the legislature, and discussed in Tax rebate checks cost 2 counties $240,000 [8.9.2007 - Byrne - Gary P-T]. These rebate checks are an insult to the intelligence of the voting public; the cost of sending them out is not trivial and it's just such a pathetically obvious effort to buy a few votes. If there really is extra money in the coffers (highly unlikely), reducing next year's taxes would be a great idea. Personally, I think it would be smarter to invest in fixing tired bridges, or better yet, investing in energy efficiency improvements for governmental buildings and equipment. The Byrne article indicates the average cost per parcel for this rebate is $1.30. What a waste.

16aug2007 - check out :Vocalo, quick links

The Chesterton Indiana public broadcasting channel, 89.5 FM, is now in a bold new format - check it out at Vocalo.org. :Vocalo (accent on the first sylable) is a grassroots, local content project. It's not a radio station with a web site, it's more the other way around, and they actively seek content from listeners, some of which they broadcast and some of which they host on the net. They have an excellent quality MP3 online 'radio' feed.

9aug2007 - 4th C2C Results Posted

The official results of the 2007 Race Coast to Coast of Indiana are now posted here. Kudos to the 'Rotten Robbie Underdogs' from Crawfordsville for their win and record setting time of 14:37:55.

8aug2007 - Travelin' Food

The food choices available to most Americans are improving, with even small supermarkets offering a much greater variety including world cuisine, vegetarian and organically grown items. Typically, many items are shipped in from long distances, sometimes absurdly so. In reaction perhaps, the local food movement espouses a diet composed exclusively of items produced locally and prepared simply. Sometimes local foods advocates place a specific distance beyond which they will not eat anything, say one hundred miles. Some only eat perishable foods in season, avoiding frozen foods.

Local foods advocates point out that local foods are fresher, that they are helping to support a vibrant food production economy in the region they reside, and that the long distance transport of foods contributes excessive carbon emissions. A desire to reduce environmental and social ills caused by large corporate agriculture operations is also cited, and 'locavores' argue that they are resisting the excesses of globalization. It seems that most local foods adherants are in urban areas, where there is little food production.

I've been thinking about the local food thing for the past couple of weeks, and I think it's a good concept but far too rigid. It's a diet and as such will prove to be a fad, not a sustainable lifestyle improvement. Our dinner plates, the environment, and the rural economy would all benefit if more people ate more high quality regionally produced foods. But there's no reason to get fanatical about it.

Rather than drawing an arbitrary circle on a map like some sort of blast zone diagram, I would suggest a simple cost/benefit analysis regarding the transportation of foods. On the cost side, one must consider the cost of purchase, the environmental impacts of transportation, and to the extent possible, the negative social and environmental costs of the production system. On the benefits side, consider how much enjoyment you get from the item, its nutritional value, and the social and environmental benefits of the production system.

Locally produced garden produce, in season, is all good. It's not expensive, the quality is the very best, it's highly nutritious, and the social and environmental impacts of your local (typically organic) producer are top notch. Freeze these items, and the cost goes up (more carbon emissions), and the quality drops a bit, but it still looks like a clear winner to me.

Spices from southeast Asia are shipped in from a very long distance, but your local grower cannot produce vanilla, or nutmeg, or even black pepper. These items have a high cost per unit weight, both from your pocketbook, and on the environment. However, most people use them in low quantities and they are tremendously beneficial in terms of the quality of the food on your table.

Consider beer; locally brewed beer is excellent. Dragging beer over here from Europe is one of the least justifiable trips. The beer does not improve on a slow boat. But how local is local beer? The water is local, and beer is mostly water. The grains may be local, you'd need to inquire to be sure, and one would think locally grown grains would be just fine. But good beer requires excellent hops as a bittering agent. Hops are a lot like a spice. Hops are grown in relatively limited areas, and the benefit of excellent hops in terms of the quality of the finished product seems to justify the transportation.

When do the costs of distant production and transportation outweigh the benefits? It's a personal decision, but seafood from Asia seems hard to accept, and its often not that good. Bad wine from Europe makes no sense to me -- a bottle of something special from France is another thing, but very pricey. Cheese from Europe is hard to justify, and beans from Africa?

Most of the hardcore locavores are urbanites. I can't help but feel that they are, subconciously perhaps, attempting to get a little of the 'thrill of the hunt' to the otherwise exceedingly easy task of getting food in a modern city. This reminds me that the ultimate in local food is what you grow, pick or collect yourself. It might be in your backyard garden, while hunting or fishing, or on a foray in the woods for wild foods. The foods you get personally, and share with friends and family, is not only of the highest quality, it is a deeply satisfying experience. It scratches an instinctual need that can never be fulfilled in a store. But I still want some pepper on my wild mushrooms. Just a little...

Here's a link that covers some of the same turf: Too Many Chefs: Eat Local, No Thanks.

Speaking of eating local, I've added a new blog to the list, Hungry Hoosier.

7aug2007 - Dust Bowl to BP

First, a hearty 'Happy Birthday' to my Mom! She grew up in eastern Kansas not too far from where the Dust Bowl was happening. She says, after it rained it would sometimes be necessary to 'sweep Texas off the front walk'; I think I picked up some of my appreciation for the need for conservation and environmental awareness from hearing about those experiences -- it is possible to mess things up really badly. So call me a tree-hugger if you like...these folks would, I'm sure, appreciate a few trees. [note: Eastern Kansas has quite a few trees, and wasn't too badly hit by the Dust Bowl]

This marks the 11th anniversery of bigeastern.com, which long predates 'blogging' [check out an early version of bigeastern.com courtesy of the WayBack Machine].

The web is a landscape totally transformed since August 1, 1996 -- in the early days bigeastern.com focused on resources about prairie plants, an area where much more professional resources are now available. As web publishing has become ever more accessible my enthusiasm for reading on the web has increased, and my enthusiasm for publishing has ebbed. Why write something when somebody else is doing it better? So instead of spending tons of time here, I've been learning to play the guitar, after a lifetime of piano playing. Sort of a low-budget midlife thing, perhaps.

The BP permit row continues to dominate local environmental news. I'm a little amused by the reaction of Chicago officials -- the City of Chicago is currently draining the big lake at a thoroughly irresponsible rate, around sixty-five million gallons per day [source - 'Great Lakes Water Wars: A Brief History of the Chicago Diversion'. Not that this fact excuses Indiana officials -- the problem with BP is that it's an increase in pollution, and there has been so much work to improve the lake that backsliding of any sort is unacceptable. One can't help but wonder why IDEM allows administrative extensions of permits of large industrial polluters to go on year after year -- but, alas, the problem spans more than one administration.

BP has been mounting a major PR campaign, inlcuding purchasing Google Ad links. You'll probably see one on the right side of this page. It's possible to ban links that are unacceptable, but I don't do it very often and anyway I encourage you to follow it -- if enough of you do, BP will help fund this website. For a full round-up of the BP and US Steel permit stories see Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law blog: Environment - More on the U.S. Steel Gary Works/Grand Calumet permit, and related issues. One thing I can't help commenting on is my disappointment with the Times of NWI: to me their coverage has bordered on BP cheerleading.

2aug2007 - links

Today, just some links of interest.

Yesterday, I posted a comment about why I voted against a motion proposed at Saturday's regional HEC meeting calling for ouster of IDEM Com'r Easterly. Counterpunch posted a piece by Thomas Healy making the opposite argument: The Toxic Career of Indiana's Environmental Commissioner. Did Healy's argument change my position? Not really, the bottom line is that we need to elect a governor who will view environmental protection as beneficial. One who doesn't feel compelled to hide in a gated community, perhaps.

The Gary Post Tribune has been providing good coverage of environmental issues in NWI's industrial core. Related to the well publicized BP permit controversy, but possibly a more significant story is: IDEM gets an earful at U.S. Steel open meeting. [8.2.2007 - Laasby - Gary P-T]

A reader recently wrote about a prior posting here, where I wondered what officially constitutes a BMP for drainage projects in Indiana. Here's a useful link for anyone interested in the subject -- download the Indiana Drainage Handbook [IN-DNR, Div/Water]. Here's a quote I found interesting:

'Vegetation is probably the single most component of wildlife habitat. Deep-rooted native plants (grasses, shrubs and trees) are usually the most economical means of bank stabilization and erosion control. Therefore, extensive use of debrushing should be reserved only where such activity is absolutely needed for maintaining access, maintaining the flow capacity and conveyance, or selectively controlling nuisance species.' [page 5.3-1, last paragraph]

Here's a link another reader sent, this one about CAFOs: A Factory Farm Near You - [7.31.2007 - Editorial - New York Times]. Be sure to check out the link to Food and Water Watch, Factory Farm Map, a detailed interactive map of where CAFOs are around the US.

2aug2007 - 4th C2C of Indiana photos posted

The fourth annual Race Coast to Coast of Indiana was the biggest and bestest yet. For 2007 the race started in Evansville and ended in Dunes State Park. We've posted some photos:

Photo Album of the 2007 C2C of Indiana. Feel free to download, print and share the photos.

1aug2007 - HEC NWI meeting

A rarity for me: I attended a meeting voluntarily -- HEC's NWI regional meeting in Chesterton. Like most practicing attorneys, I suspect, I get more than my fill of meetings at work, so going to one on a Saturday isn't something I relish. But it seems the time may be ripe for some sorely needed environmental progress here, and the concept of a regional meeting seemed sound. Plus, Chesterton is a pleasant destination. Its old downtown is quite cutsified since the days of my youth, but that's better than decay.

I was considering writing about the meeting here, but as it turns out I don't need to. Vicki Urbanik from the Chesterton Trib attended and wrote an excellent overview of the meeting, and also a piece focusing on the debate about the IDEM permit for the BP refinery. Here are the links:

Residents meet to help form statewide environmental strategy [7.30.2007 - Urbanik - Chesterton Trib] (small point: actually the meeting was about a regional environmental strategy)

Area residents debate calling for ouster of Daniels' IDEM chief [7.30.2007 - Urbanik - Chesterton Trib],

For the record, I was one of the seven 'nay' votes regarding the resolution for Com'r Easterly's ouster. I am definitely opposed to increases in pollution discharges in Lake Michigan, but I'm not opposed to upgrading the refinery, and I don't think it's productive to make these issues personal. Most things Gov. Daniels stands for I am utterly opposed to, but he is nonetheless the duly elected governor and is entitled to select IDEM's commissioner.

As for social context, we'll need to move 'beyond petroleum', but it's going to take awhile.

Speaking of BP, I mentioned in an earlier post that I sent an e-mail to BP's web site editor. I was somewhat surprised, but pleased, to get a response. Basically, they say (a) they are in compliance with all environmental regulations, (b) the permit set maximum effluent amounts, and they expect to do better than that, and (c) the silt is very fine non-toxic particulate matter that is both benign and exceedingly difficult to filter out. Even if all of that is true (and I wonder how they can be sure that some of the silt particles are not toxic materials) the fact remains that they intend to increase pollution into Lake Michigan. I, along with lots of other people, have a problem with that.

26jul2007 - ruminations on the BP permit row

The outcry over IDEM's permit allowing BP to increase pollutant discharges into Lake Michigan has (thankfully) largely bypassed Indianapolis; most notably a bipartisan resolution criticizing the permit passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a resounding 387-26 vote. Here's some good coverage of the current state of matters in the Post-Tribune: Congress votes to disapprove. I was pleased to see my Congressman, Joe Donnelly voting 'yea' alongside of Pete Visclosky.

For a survey of recent press accounts visit Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law Blog: Environment - Much more on: Protests grow over BP permit to increase dumping in Lake Michigan.

Looking at the press accounts and the related blog and online discussion posts, I had a few thoughts that aren't directly related to the merits of the permit. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. IDEM lacks credibility. Nobody believes they possess or exercise the highly skilled and independent judgment that is a requisite feature of establishing credibility. Unfortunately, the press also lacks credibility: the confusion as to whether the permit would result in 'silt' or 'sludge' going into the big lake is an obvious example, there were many other examples of confusion in the coverage. Also unfortunately, there are no environmental spokespeople with the credentials and position to have a lot of credibility either. So we're left more or less guessing who's right. It almost made me sympathize with the BP techs. Almost. Better information would make for a better debate; it's particularly difficult to understand (a) why BP feels the increased discharges are necessary, and (b) what exactly is the composition of the silty material. There is no question that more ammonia in the lake will result in eutrophication, and that's bad.

2. Indiana has a terrible reputation as a backwater of pollution, ignorance and bigotry. Like most stereotypes, it may be based to some degree in fact but it's nevertheless unfairly prejudicial. However, as long as our government is out there reinforcing the stereotype, we're unlikely to shake it.

3. The Great Lakes are very special places, shared with other states, and with Canada, and in some sense with the whole world. You don't dump junk in the Grand Canyon, even though it most certainly has the capacity to hold a lot of junk. You don't spray paint your name on the Washington Monument even though 'scientifically' it would not cause any structural damage. The debate is not strictly science based: to those of us who have a reverence for these, the crown jewels of the American heartland, no increase in harm is acceptable. The only acceptable course is to reverse the past and make them cleaner, year by year. Or, said another way, Lake Michigan is not the White River.

I continue to suggest avoiding buying BP products. I also sent their website editor a brief e-mail criticizing the plan to increase pollutant discharges into Lake Michigan.

18jul2007 - No BP for Me

BP's Whiting refinery has received approval from Indiana regulators to significantly increase ammonia and sludge dumping in Lake Michigan. The Whiting refinery is one of the oldest in the nation, and has been slated for a $3.8 billion expansion which will create about 80 new jobs. One of the purposes of the upgrades is to allow the facility to process oil from Canada.

Legislators from other Great Lakes states have protested and are asking the fed's to step in. No doubt we can rely on the Bush administration to save us from the excesses of the Daniels administration.

There doesn't seem to be much controversy about the need for the upgrades at the Whiting refinery, but it's difficult to understand why BP is unable to find the funds to control their pollution discharges into the big lake in their $3.8 billion budget. But then you can't see Lake Michigan from Indianapolis, or from London for that matter. BP claims there's no room for improved pollution control facilities at their 1400 acre site; apparently they found room for what they really wanted to do. I guess they've used up all their environmental funds buying ads telling us how they're all green and stuff.

My suggestion: don't buy fuel at BP.

Here are some links: Legislators blast waiver for BP plant near lake - [Chicago Tribune - Hawthorne - 7.18.2007]
BP to dump more toxins in Lake Michigan - [Money Times of Indiana]
Lawmaker wants answers on BP, Horseshoe - [NWI-Times - Guinane - 7.18.2007]

12jul2007 - updated C2C course

Luke Becknell has made a minor adjustment to the course for the 2007 running of the Coast to Coast of Indiana. Get details here and pay attention to the ending section in the dunes area.

12jun2007 - CWARA, and pouring pollution into loopholes

Recent court decisions have raised questions about the extent of federal regulatory jurisdiction over certain non-navigable waters. For legal purposes, the issue is expressed as whether a particular river, stream, wetland or whatever, constitutes 'waters of the United States.' If a particular body of water -- an 'isolated wetland' or an 'intrastate stream' -- is not a water of the United States, then the reach of federal jurisdiction does not extend to matters related to that body of water. In the absence of federal jurisdiction, federal regulatory agencies, including the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, lack authority to take action regarding pollutants, wetland drainage, and other potentially harmful activities.

The court decisions involved are sometimes referred to as the 'post-Rapanos' line of cases. I won't attempt to explain the precise state of the law on this subject; it's not easily done and I'd probably get it wrong. In light of these decisions the Army Corps of Engineers ('ACOE') recently announced they would henceforth limit their application of the Clean Water Act ('CWA') more narrowly than they had done in the past. [details here]

Some have decried the ACOE decision, some have decried the court decisions; personally, I think both are reasonable given the legislation that the jurisdiction is based on. Both ACOE and the courts are required to determine the scope of jurisdiction conferred by the CWA primarily on the language of the CWA, not on their opinion about what would be the best policy for the government to pursue. Generally, at least in this particular arena, the legislative branch has primary authority over policy making decisions.

Regardless of their policy viewpoints, most observers agree that uncertainty now exists as to the jurisdictional reach of federal regulatory agencies with respect to non-navigable intrastate waters. Some uncertainty almost always exists on these kinds of issues, but in this instance the uncertainty is impeding progress on dealing with pressing needs to address serious water issues including wetlands preservation and control on non-point water pollution, such as agricultural runoff.

One solution has been proposed in the form of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA). Jeff Kray and Laura Fandino at the Marten Law Group have posted an overview entitled: Democrats Introduce Controversial Legislation to Broaden EPA's Clean Water Act Authority.

Basically, CWARA solves the problem by specifying a broad definition of waters of the United States -- under CWARA surface waters in the US would presumably be waters of the US. That's logical, easy to understand, and consistent with achieving progress towards clean water, but it's not popular with those whose businesses benefit from pouring pollution into loopholes.

CWARA was first proposed a couple of years ago, but languished in the Republican controlled Congress. With Democrats now positioned better in Congress, CWARA is being considered again. Environmental organizations have universally expressed support for CWARA. An association of interests opposed to effective environmental regulation -- they call themselves the 'regulated community' -- called the 'Waters Action Coalition' ('WAC') has responded by a campaign opposing the passage of CWARA. Here are some links that outline the debate surrounding CWARA:

Clean Water Action's 'Myths and Fact' - Clean Water Action counters arguments posed by groups opposed to CWARA
Waters Advocacy Coalition letter opposing CWA - summarizes the opposition to CWARA by industry and agriculture, and provides a list of the organizations lobbying against passage of CWARA.
The Clean Water Restoration Act - A statement of the Sierra Club explaining their support for CWARA.
No boats needed: New clean water bill would make gutters 'waters of the U.S.' - by Julie Ufner, on the National Association of Counties web site argues that the CWARA is an unfunded mandate, and slow ACOE permitting would delay needed infrastructure projects without significant environmental benefits. NACo is a member of WAC.

My opinion: the waters of the United States are a single system, and are critical to the functioning of nature, commerce, and indeed all life on this fine chunk of planet Earth. Development and population have surpassed the point where piecemeal efforts to control pollution, waste, and environmental degradation will be effective, and a patchwork of regulation in a competition driven economy encourages localities to save a buck by trashing the folks downstream. 'Isolated wetlands' and 'intrastate waters' are mythological beasts created by corporate lawyers and previously unknown to hydrologists, and the fact that waterway is a dredged ditch is irrelevant to its functioning as part of the nation's vascular network. Waters in the United States are waters of the United States. Pass CWARA; if there are activities that deserve faster permitting promulgate rules to facilitate that end.

4jun2007 - Race Coast to Coast of Indiana Route now posted

The official course for the fourth annual running of the Race Coast to Coast of Indiana is now posted -- here's the link. This year the race will start in Evansville, with stage one going to Crawfordsville. The second stage on day two starts in Crawfordsville and ends at Indiana Dunes State Park near Chesterton.

The Race Coast to Coast of Indiana is a four person team relay, and a benefit for cystic fibrosis research. This year's race is July 28 and 29, so there's still time to get together a team.

8may2007 - tall fescue

Tall fescue. Bootstrap Analysis has a brief review of a scholarly paper Forest succession suppressed by an introduced plant-fungal symbiosis. [J. A. Rudgers, J. Holah, S. P. Orr, and K. Clay. 2007. Ecology 88: 18-25]. The study shows that a common agricultural grass, tall fescue, inoculated with an endophyte fungus, causes very serious disruption of ecological progression. Stated simply, once tall fescue is established on a piece of ground nothing else is likely to grow there. In particular, trees and other woody vegetation can't grow once a tall fescue monoculture is established.

Tall fescue is probably the most commonly planted agricultural grass for ditch banks, and it's often planted on roadsides. While many contracts specify 'low endophyte' fescue, I'm doubtful that anybody bothers with that. Ironically, many people would probably think it's great that nothing else can grow in a planting of tall fescue. To me, it's worse than wasting the land, it's like planting kudzu. Vast mileages of stream banks in northern Indiana are planted in this worse-than-worthless species every year, and it's a subtle and pervasive aspect of the environmental harm caused by wrongheaded governmental resource management policies.

There's a constant flow of accounts about how damaging exotic, aggresive invasive plants are to the environment and the economy. But these plants are often planted extensively, especially after an area is stripped of natural vegetation. That's partly because people like to see an area 'green up' very quickly, and they don't want it to get too 'weedy'. Aggressive plants like tall fescue will take hold quickly, suppress messy weeds, and they are certainly green, in color at least. It takes time, and therefore patience, to re-establish something with even a shadow of the complexity of a natural ecosystem.

3may2007 - Viscloskey promotes commuter rail expansion

Congressman Pete Viscloskey (Dem. Ind. Dist 1) has an op-ed in Insided Indiana Business: Invest in South Shore For Future of Northwest Indiana. In my opinion no investment would be more beneficial to NWI than extensions of the South Shore. Less traffic, easier access to Chicago from her -- and vice versa -- less pollution, more non-gasoline sucking travel options. Well I could go on. Here's a simple way to look at the future: train good, car bad.

1may2007 - Meat factory action goes local

I'm disappointed to see that the Indiana legislature made no progress in dealing with the CAFO issue this session. However, the issue is now 'up on the screen', and is ripe for action at the local level. I think citizen blogs like Kemplog and WAHMDiary have shown they can have an impact.

It's difficult to read the machinations of the legislature from afar, but it's tempting to conclude that CAFO promoters were working to achieve an impasse and managed to get the job done.

Here are some links:
CAFO regulations die over impasse on setbacks [5.1.2007 - Yencer - Muncie StarPress]
Animal farm setback rules receive setback [5.1.2007 - Tharp - Richmond PalItem]
Indiana Farm Bureau Disappointed that Livestock Bill Didn't Pass General Assembly [5.1.2007 - MuncieFreePress]
Senator Gard Calls Us Losers [4.30.2007 - Karen Myers - WAHMDiary]
Sen. Gard loses cool at CAFO meeting [4.25.2007 - Slabaugh - Muncie StarPress]

All-in-all it appears that the one mile setback was more than the meat producers would accept. They argue that planning and zoning should be done at the county level -- and that argument has merit, so I'm giving Senator Gard just a teeny bit of support on that point despite my dissappointment with the results. I would suggest that nuisance jurisdiction should also be at the local level, and the setbacks wouldn't be needed if meat factories didn't have a special exemption from nuisance liability.

I was never convinced that the proposed setbacks were the right answer anyway. The proposed system would have created privileged areas (incorporated towns, schools), and therefore, by default would have established disfavored zones. Does it make sense to say that it's okay to trash your neighbor's property, just so long as you do it in an unincorporated area? That's an environmental justice shortcoming, in my opinion. All lawfully established homes in Indiana deserve to be protected from ruination by irresponsible neighbors. If an offending neighbors' activities are so mission-critical to society that the impact is unavoidable, then there should be just compensation paid to the damaged party.

Incorporated communities generally have the power to extend their zoning jurisdiction beyond their corporate boundaries, so localities have the power to act. Some will, some won't.

All is most certainly not lost. Meat factory operators have heard the complaints. It appears there is some effort among them to clean house. My suggestion to the operators: cooperate with legitimate university research projects.

One area of clear progress - the legislature has ramped up funding for IDEM inspections. IDEM's jurisdiction is limited, but more inspections should help a little.

Now that the legislature is out of session, the hot arenas are your local county and municipal zoning boards. Opponents of the CAFO bill said they want local control -- so they're not in a position to argue against it now. It's a great, but brief, window of opportunity. Some localities will enact meaningful controls and they will be rewarded with residential, recreational and other upscale developments in the future. Others, sometimes where the meat factory operators are actually local elected officials, will let anything go, and their communities will also reap just what they sow.

27apr2007 - Arbor Day 2007

Arbor Day isn't necessarily one particular day, but today is a good one in our climate. I've personally planted thousands of trees, both with a shovel and by collecting and planting acorns, nuts, seeds. In fact, if you count all the seeds and acorns, I've planted over 100,000 trees (most didn't survive, but thousands did). So I'm not an armchair Arbor Day guy, tree planting is something I have some opinions about, and Arbor Day seems like a good time to share them. So here are some random thoughts about trees, and planting them, in no particular order.

Row planting is ugly. Machines plant trees in rows, and yes, we've planted lots of trees with machines at Big Eastern, but I'm never really happy with the results. The result looks like, well, a farm. If you're really growing trees purely as a crop, that makes sense, but if you're trying to reforest an area it looks a lot better if the trees are planted to simulate the natural distribution of species in the area, keeping in mind slopes, exposures, soil types and that sort of thing. Sometimes I hand plant through a machine plantation to try to disguise the lines, it helps a little. Of course, pro foresters use the rows for chemical treatments, and no doubt that improves the growth and survival rates of the trees. That's probably good business, but if your goal is forest restoration, such chemicals seem like an unnecessary expense and environmental burden.

Don't just plant native species, preserve them. If you buy trees from a nursery, mostly they're going to sell you trees that are (a) easy to grow in a nursery, and (b) easy to transplant, and to some extent (c) produce something people find useful. That all makes sense, but it leaves out some species that really deserve to be maintained as part of our forestry mix. Whether we're talking about a forest restoration on a landscape scale, or a few trees in a lawn and garden setting there are trees that you won't find at your nursersy, but are worth keeping around. The sassafras is a great example: they grow wild throughout Indiana, are attractive year around, have excellent autumn foliage color, and seem to be mostly pest-free. They rarely break off big limbs and fall on things, and even if they did most aren't massive enough to be dangerous. All-in-all they are excellent lawn and garden, and roadside trees. But because they are difficult to transplant they are slowly being pushed out of developed areas, and the only remedy is to preserve existing sassafras trees and allow them some degree of natural regeneration.

Don't just plant native species, foster natural regeneration. Oaks are the finest hardwoods in Indiana and most landowners prize a fine old oak. Many oak species, especially white oaks, have the potential to live for a long time, even centuries, but the truth is most don't live beyond 150 years. That's a long time from a human perspective, but in many Indiana communities the stock of ancient native oaks is declining. I have a big dead black oak in my front lawn. These trees are a legacy of native America, and the time has come to get serious about fostering a new generation. Sure, you can buy oak trees at the nursery, but those are probably not local native genotypes. Who knows where the seed came from? Every locality has unique genetic variants, and there's no substitute for preserving the truly local trees. You can collect acorns and plant a few. It's said that mighty oaks grow from tiny acorns, but in nature, about a zillion acorns come and go for every one that develops into a really fine tree. Perhaps most of the acorns possess the potential to develop, but then again, maybe not. So, eco-conscious gardeners, it's worth keeping an eye out for a promising young volunteer sapling that appears to be the progeny of a fine old oak. Give it a chance to grow, future generations will thank you. If we don't blow the place up first.

Never say 'debrushing'. There are ugly words that should never be said. Never say the 'n' word anywhere (unless you are actually Patti Smith). Never say the 'f' word in public discourse, or in front of children. Here's another one -- 'debrushing' -- this so-called word is used by tree-haters to make their heinous destructive actions sound like some sort of cleaning. Most commonly the 'd' word is used by developers or drainage boards in reference to a total bulldozing and denuding of the land. One doesn't refer to tree-planting as 'rebrushing'. One does not call today 'Brush Day'. There are forms of woody vegetation that are invasive or oppresive enough to deserve being called 'brush' but behind the 'd' word lurks a plan to destroy without even first determining what is there.

26apr2007 - pollution of Chinese farmland could be warning for US

In the Chesterton Trib: IDEM boss kicks off Porter County Earth Day, written by Vicki Urbanik. Easterly recounts the many areas of environmental progress in NWI over the past few decades. Easterly points out that economic progress is often hand-in-hand with environmental progress.

I'd suggest that this is not solely the product of the availability of funds for improving pollution controls in more affluent economies, but also that people with money leave environmentally degraded areas behind as soon as they can, prompting a sort of death spiral. It's also why communities need to be very careful about welcoming 'environmentally challenged' operations into their communities. The costs, and the loss of attractiveness in the community, can easily outweigh the benefits.

I got to the Urbanik piece from Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law Blog. Marcia also pointed out this interesting quote: 'Easterly said permit issues are not the same as land use decisions, which should be made by local officials, not the state. Just because IDEM determines that projects meet environmental standards, 'doesn't mean you should allow them,' he said.'

It reminded me of recent reports from China describing extensive soil pollution, see for example Soil survey to monitor pollution [2007.04.09 - Sun Xiaohua - China Daily]:

'The Yangtze River Delta region, the country's granary, has shown the results of soil degraded by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants.

The weekly said that 2,000 tons of mercury, from more than 2 billion tons of coal burned every year, finds its ways into soil and poses a threat to human health.

Vegetables and fruits have also been polluted by excessive amount of nitrate in the soil.'

Once soil is polluted, fixing it isn't going to be easy, in fact it might not be feasible at all. The combination of causes behind the destruction of Chinese farmland -- heavy metals from airborne industrial sources, mercury from coal-fired plants, and nitrates from excessive manure applications -- ought to give Hoosiers pause. I hope folks at Indiana's new Dept. of Agriculture will keep the Chinese experience in mind.

3apr2007 - food burning revisited

More about food burning. I couldn't help but notice the Cuban 'president for life' Fidel Castro has recently criticized corn based ethanol production, here's a link: Castro ends 8-month silence to slam US ethanol plans [29.3.2007 - jurnalo]. Bigeastern readers will no doubt recall that I've questioned corn-based ethanol production over the past couple of years in part because there's not a large net gain in energy, and because I have doubts about 'food burning'. Castro's comments set me thinking about this again -- because, in truth, my thinking has changed a little.

First, I think if you've got a corn crop (just like if you have pertroleum) you have the right to sell it to the highest bidder. If corn production becomes more profitable, that's a good thing -- farmers make more, have more to spend, and maybe the government could cut back on subsidies.

The environmental costs of corn production are considerable, no doubt, but an improvement in profitability might mean more funds for controlling some of these problems. I've talked to some farmers about this, and I think most see corn-based ethanol as a transitory strategy and not a long-term solution. For now, we have the infrastructure in place to grow a lot of corn, and it'll take awhile to develop alternative systems on the huge scale required.

The environmental issues are not all one way either -- what's worse for the environment, ethanol, or CAFOs? Ethanol plants produce an odor, but the workers are relatively skilled and well-paid, and there's little risk of groundwater contamination. Ethanol production uses a lot of water, but so do CAFOs. If ethanol production demands push corn prices too high for CAFO operators, well, there are many of us in rural Indiana who wouldn't shed a tear about that. Here's a question: do you want a pork tenderloin, or do you want to be able to drive your car? Most Americans are too fat anyway, and eating less meat would be a good thing.

So I think Castro is simply stating the obvious when he says corn can't run everybody's car, and I do share his concern that every tree will be chopped down to grow another ear of corn, but I'm hopeful that landowners now understand the importance of conservation. I don't doubt that he has a sincere concern for low income people who will find it more difficult to buy staple foods (esp. tortillas), but I can't help but observe that his policies have a nasty way of keeping people poor -- maybe an improving price for farm commodities will help revitalize rural areas in Latinamerica, so folks won't have to leave home to get work. That would be good, wouldn't it?

Eventually, low-input agriculture for production of biomass for ethanol production will be developed. Perennial plants that require little in the way of fertilizer, pesticides or other attention will grow out in a field and be chopped down and hauled away on a train every couple of years. The residue will be dried and brought back to reduce nutrient loss. Food-burning will be a thing of the past.

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