Midwest Environmental Enforcement Association—May 5, 2010

Thomas W. Easterly, P.E., DEE, QEPCommissioner, Indiana Department

of Environmental Management

Welcome to Indianapolis

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Welcome to Indianapolis

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Welcome to Indianapolis

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Welcome to Indianapolis

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IDEM’s MissionWe Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment

IDEM is responsible for protecting human health and the environment while providing for safe industrial, agricultural, commercial and governmental operation vital to a prosperous economy.

How Does IDEM Protect Hoosiers and Out Environment?

Develop regulations and issue permits to restrict discharges to the environment to safe levels.

Inspect and monitor permitted facilities to ensure compliance with the permits.

Use compliance assistance and/or enforcement when people exceed their permit levels or violate regulations.

Educate people on their environmental responsibilities.

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IDEM Enforcement2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Referrals 467 547 591 606 437 326

Violation Letters 4,980 4,268 4,024 3,958 4,092 4,085

Notices of Violation 318 202 427 420 321 280

Agreed Orders 314 258 417 372 364 314

Commissioner’s Orders 6 41 38 39 32 18

Dismissals 44 48 46 57 40 38

Complies/Closed 312 317 577 568 386 297

AG Referrals 17 4 33 52 22 24

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IDEM Enforcement Changes In Late 2008

• Returned the enforcement function to the air, water and land programs and eliminated the separate office of enforcement.

• Published our Compliance and Enforcement Response Policy as a Non-rule Policy Document to facilitate understanding of the enforcement process.

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Reasons for Enforcement Change• No improvement in compliance rates in 4 years.• EPA HQ (OECA) told me both enforcement models

(separate office or in program) are used effectively.• Enforcement was regularly “waiting on program

staff” under the control of other managers.• Unpublished enforcement policies resulted in

unexpected actions—too timid and too aggressive.

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Criminal Pleas and Convictions• Erler Industries, North Vernon, IN, Falsified

Title V Certifications– $1,000,000 criminal fine– $25,000 in restitution to Midwest Environmental

Enforcement Association– $100,000 in restitution to IDEM (hybrid vehicles)– Develop an environmental training program– Implement a zero tolerance policy for violations– Public apology in the local newspaper

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Criminal Pleas and Convictions• Herb Corn—Rochester Indiana POTW Operator,

falsification of DMRs, MROs and NPDES permit renewal application.– Sentenced to 12 months in federal prison

• Alan Hersh—Hassan Barrel RCRA felonies (Fort Wayne).– Sentenced to 15 months plus restitution

• Wainwright, Gary, IN—gun charges– Sentenced to 108 months in federal prison

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Agency Initiatives• Virtual File Cabinet—electronic filing system

with over 64,000,000 pages now online.• TEMPO—Enterprise wide electronic

integration of all IDEM information—part of the infrastructure to receive and process electronic permit applications and reports.

• Digital Inspector—Tablet Computers with Inspection Questions and Reports.

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Agency Initiatives• EDMR—Electronic reporting of waste water

discharge monitoring reports.– Currently available for all facilities.– EPA is considering a rule to require electronic

reporting for all DMRs.• Agency-wide adoption of Continuous

Improvement using Lean/Kaizen and other methodologies to improve processes and increase efficiency.

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Thank You

Tom EasterlyCommissioner

Indiana Department of Environmental Management317-232-8611

teasterly@idem.in.gov

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