On April 2, 2019, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) announced $9.83 million is available for clean air projects through the first round of the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Trust Fund Program. Awards ranging from $50,000 and $2 million will be given to projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions in Indiana.

On April 16, IndyBar’s Environmental Law Section will be hosting a one-hour seminar on environmental audits. Don Snemis of Ice Miller will discuss the legal requirements of EPA’s and IDEM’s self-disclosure and audit policies and EPA’s small business and new owner’s policies. He will also discuss EPA’s eDisclosure Portal. Christopher Bishop of ATC will discuss the nature, scope, and benefits of environmental audits from the environmental professional’s point of view.

A new Indiana bill proposes to significantly curb protests related to pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." Senate Bill 471, which recently passed the Senate, would enhance criminal penalties for peaceful protests against pipelines, refineries, and natural gas facilities, that occur on private property. 

In a recent opinion, the Indiana Court of Appeals found that IC 34-11-2-11.5 provides a 10-year statute of limitations for claims under Indiana’s Environmental Legal Action statute, IC 13-30-9-1 et seq., and that the limitations period commences when cleanup costs are incurred.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released its “PFAS Action Plan” to address Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals found in a wide array of products. Due to their widespread use since the 1940s, most people in the United States have been exposed to PFAS.

This year’s Symposium is entitled Environmental Resilience: The Legal and Policy Landscape.

A recent federal lawsuit is just the latest in a decade-long battle over whether livestock producers should be required to report air emissions from animal waste. A quick history lesson sets the stage for the lawsuit.

In his October 12 post, Colin Connor reported that the first case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this term involved a clash of private property rights and the efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect the Dusky Gopher Frog under the Endangered Species Act. In a November 27 opinion, the court remanded the dispute back to the Fifth Circuit for further consideration on an 8-0 vote. Justice Kavanaugh did not participate in the decision. 

The Natural Resources Commission has published a Notice of Intent to adopt a new rule governing the representation of parties by lawyers and non-lawyers during NRC proceedings. Proposed rule 312 IAC 3-1-3.5 provides as follows.

The state of Indiana’s plan to utilize almost $41 million in settlement trust funds from the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is nearing completion. On October 24, 2018, the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund Advisory Committee met to consider final comments to IDEM's proposed Beneficiary Mitigation Plan and provisionally approved several last-minute changes.