The Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) has filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OALP) after the agency upheld a permit allowing a power plant to release wastewater into the White River.
The permit, issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in 2023, allows the Eagle Valley Generating Station, a power plant owned by AES in Martinsville, to discharge untreated wastewater from coal ash ponds into the West Fork of the White River. This section of the river is located upstream of Martinsville’s municipal wells, which supply drinking water to the city.
HEC argues that the wastewater contains harmful substances, including neurotoxins and carcinogens, which can be dangerous to both the environment and public health. The group says the permit violates federal and state clean water laws, as well as regulations on coal ash disposal. HEC had asked for the permit to be revoked, but the OALP rejected their request and said the group did not have the legal right to challenge the permit. HEC disagrees and says this decision goes against Indiana law.
Because of this, HEC has taken the issue to the Morgan County Court.
In the lawsuit, they claim that the OALP ignored legal standards and procedures, making it harder for Indiana residents to challenge environmental decisions. They are asking the court to reverse the ruling and hold state agencies accountable for protecting public health and the environment.
Dr. Indra Frank, a coal ash advisor for HEC, stressed the importance of stopping pollution in Indiana waterways.
“We are bringing this legal action to stop AES’s contamination of the White River since it wasn’t stopped by our state agencies,” Frank said. “We need our state agencies to step in and protect Indiana’s land, air and water now more than ever since the ability of federal EPA to do so is being severely undermined.”
HEC is being represented by the Conservation Law Center (CLC), a public interest law firm focused on environmental protection. Christian Freitag, executive director of CLC, explained that recent changes in Indiana law allow courts to step in when state agencies fail to protect citizens.
“Indiana courts are no longer required to give deference to state agencies that abuse their administrative power at the expense of everyday Hoosiers, as IDEM and the OALP did in this case,” Freitag said.
He hopes the Morgan County Circuit Court will step in to protect the health and safety of Indiana residents.
This lawsuit highlights ongoing concerns about coal ash disposal and the enforcement of environmental laws in Indiana.
For more details on this case and the Hoosier Environmental Council’s efforts, visit hecweb.org. Updates on the lawsuit can also be found on the Conservation Law Center’s website at conservationlawcenter.org.
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
