Question: Indiana’s water quality is a critical concern, and CLC’s Water Report identified 14 recommendations to improve it. Could you highlight some of the most pressing water quality issues in Indiana, and how these recommendations address them?
Freveletti: Indiana has an abundance of fresh water that, for years, has acted as an economic driver across the state. While this has produced benefits, especially for some industries and sectors, it has also resulted in the majority of Indiana’s waterways being polluted. When the water quality is poor, future quantity available for producers and industries is also affected. CLC described this dynamic in its 2016 Water Report. For example, the Report recommends addressing the issue of E. coli contamination by creating vegetated buffers to reduce agricultural runoff. The Report also recommends that Indiana water management authorities should take the environmental, ecological, and social values, along with the economic value, into consideration when making water planning decisions. Indiana has made progress on some of these recommendations but there is more to be done.
CLC is proud to announce the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has continued their support of CLC’s Clean Water Indiana Program with a grant of $484,000 over the next two years. The Pulliam Trust and CLC have a long-standing partnership to improve water quality in the state.
(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.
We are proud of the progress that has been made in our landscape this past year and the bright future ahead. None of this could be possible without the hard work and time commitment from all of you, including both landowners dedicated to conservation and partnering organizations and agencies.
On October 31st, the US Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari filed by private landowners in the Pavlock case, declining to consider the legal questions posed by petitioners and to require further consideration by the 7th Circuit.
The Conservation Law Center is proud to announce the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has continued their support of CLC’s Clean Water Indiana Program with a grant of $180,000. This grant represents a longstanding partnership between the Pulliam Trust and CLC, with a shared goal of improving water quality in the state of Indiana.
Conservation Law Center is making that investment each day by working to protect and improve the health, diversity, beauty and resilience of the planet and defend our shared natural heritage in Indiana and beyond.
The designation of more than 3.5 million acres in southern Indiana as a Sentinel Landscape will protect critical habitats and species, conserve natural resources, strengthen military readiness, and help the state prepare for environmental change. Southern Indiana is one of 3 new additions to the federal program, bringing the total to 10 nationwide.
CLC is pleased to announce Executive Director, Christian Freitag, has joined the Board of Directors for the Lake Monroe Water Fund.
The Lake Monroe Water Fund is an active funder for watershed projects that conserve, protect and sustain Lake Monroe as a shared community water resource.
Conservation Law Center is excited to announce a $10,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to establish a new student fellowship program. The Duke Energy “Grass Roots” Conservation Fellowship will offer students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law a paid internship to gain hands-on experience advocating for water conservation and improved water quality in the state of Indiana.
Last 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.
Clean 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.
Water 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.
Having safe and reliable access to clean drinking water is something easily taken for granted by most Americans, but in reality, 2018 data showed that nearly 30 million Americans were consuming unsafe drinking water. Indiana, along with other states and townships across the country, is facing severe problems with being able to provide reliable drinking water to its citizens.
Thank you to the Herbert Simon Family Foundation who has awarded the Conservation Law Center a $60,000 grant to further our work in water quality and land conservation.
The Duke Energy Foundation recently awarded Conservation Law Center a grant for $20,000 to help improve water monitoring and management of Lake Monroe. The grant will help establish a water monitoring station on the South Fork of Salt Creek, one of the main feeder creeks for the lake. The monitoring station will provide valuable information on the inputs affecting water quantity and quality, while helping inform public officials and citizens on the challenges facing this important resource.
Mass production in Industry has revolutionised the way that we live and work, but like all good things, it comes at a cost. Water pollution can be caused by both legal and illegal discharges from factories and proccessong plants. Incorrect disposal of dangerous chemicals can permanently damage a watershed.
