Hoosiers ask Braun, IDEM to maintain environmental rules protecting air, water and land
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Hoosiers ask Braun, IDEM to maintain environmental rules protecting air, water and land
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun ordered the agency to review environmental regulations and policies. The agency received more than 1,300 comments, the vast majority of which said Braun’s order would weaken public health and environmental protections in the state. A letter-writing campaign initiated by the Hoosier Environmental Council accounted for more than 900 of the submitted comments. Fewer than 30 submissions asked IDEM to review or rescind regulations, according to an IndyStar analysis. The governor’s office did not respond to IndyStar’s inquiry on the number of Hoosiers submitting comments requesting IDEM not water down existing regulations. The Indiana Energy Association, a trade organization representing investor-owned utilities across the state, wrote that some regulations “may be unduly burdensome, significantly raise the cost of living” and “do not benefit Indiana’s environment.” The Indiana Conservation Voters, the White River Alliance, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Save the Dunes submitted comments on behalf of their organizations.
IDEM opened a public comment period in June to solicit input on existing rules after Gov. Mike Braun ordered the agency to review environmental regulations and policies deemed excessive and burdensome. Braun’s executive order, Creating Opportunity through Reduction of Excessive Environmental Regulation, asked IDEM to report opportunities to revisit or rescind regulations by July 1.
The agency received more than 1,300 comments, the vast majority of which said Braun’s order would weaken public health and environmental protections in the state, according to an IndyStar analysis. A letter-writing campaign initiated by the Hoosier Environmental Council accounted for more than 900 of the submitted comments.
The HEC’s campaign focused on sustaining regulations on four topics: wetlands protection, hazardous waste disposal, open burning and industrial stormwater permitting.
Fewer than 30 submissions asked IDEM to review or rescind regulations.
Sam Carpenter, executive director of HEC, said the advocacy group is calling on Braun to respond to these comments.
“We think the governor should acknowledge them and say how he’s going to prioritize these issues,” Carpenter said. “We are at a point where our natural resources, through development and other means, have become more and more restricted, more and more limited, more and more has been destroyed.”
Braun, in a written statement following the public input period, wrote “we can be good stewards of our environment without stifling growth through excessive government mandates, and I’m proud to be leading that initiative here in Indiana.”
The governor’s office did not respond to IndyStar’s inquiry on the number of Hoosiers submitting comments requesting IDEM to not water down existing regulations.
Hoosiers want to keep environmental protections
David Van Gilder, senior policy and legal director with HEC, said the group will continue raising awareness around Braun’s order for deregulation.
“Hoosier Environmental Council is in favor of smart regulations,” Van Gilder said. “We’re not looking for extra bureaucracy or red tape, what we’re looking for is our natural resources, our environment and our health to be protected.”
Outside of HEC’s campaign, other groups and individuals also submitted comments relating to Braun’s order asking IDEM to roll back rules.
Indiana Conservation Voters, the White River Alliance, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Save the Dunes submitted comments on behalf of their organizations.
The ICV’s submission, supported by hundreds of signatures, recommended regional experts uphold science-based regulations and IDEM hold hearings for regulations up for review.
“We urge IDEM to prioritize the burdens of hard-working Hoosiers and hold a public hearing and chance for comment for each and every rule and regulation you intend to rescind or alter,” the letter said.
Business, industry request regulatory review
While mostly individuals wrote in asking IDEM to keep environmental regulations in place, about 25 industry groups and businesses made submissions recommending deregulation.
The Indiana Energy Association, a trade organization representing investor-owned utilities across the state, wrote that a few of IDEM’s regulations and policies “may be unduly burdensome, significantly raise the cost of living for Hoosiers, are not supported by current law and the best available science, or do not benefit Indiana’s environment.”
The IEA’s comments touched on issues of river temperature requirements, hazardous waste regulations and certain emissions monitoring.
Coal mining company Peabody Midwest Mining submitted comments saying certain coal-burning utility regulations are being reconsidered by the U.S. EPA following the agency’s deregulation push under President Donald Trump and IDEM should follow suit.
“Peabody support the current administration’s efforts to identify and revise unnecessary and overly-burdensome regulations that have been imposed on the utility and fossil fuel industries,” the company’s comments said.
As the state continues its review of environmental policy, Van Gilder said HEC will continue to raise the group’s concerns with the governor.
“We very politely, strongly, respectfully call on an appropriate reaction from the governor on these comments,” he said.
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social or X @karlstartswithk.