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Discriminatory Effects of Indianapolis’ Combined Sewer System

Indianapolis draft wastewater discharge permit was published for a 60-day notice and comment period on December 17.  See IDEM press release.  For a copy of the complaint, contact Tom Neltner of IKE at 317-442-3973 or email at  mccabe@ikecoalition.org or download it in pdf version (3 MB)

A temporary restraining order to stop a wastewater discharge permit from being issued! Claims that household sewer bills would skyrocket to $151 per month! Assurances from the state that the strict conditions of the permit would not be enforced. And four public meetings to air differences before concerned citizens. Numbers were flying all around and so were the accusations. Such was the zany atmosphere in Indianapolis this fall — all over combined sewer overflows.

With a team consisting of Phyllis Zimmerman, Sandy Miles, Ed Paynter, Kevin Hardie, Rae Schnapp, John Chavez, Victoria Cluck, Dick Van Frank, Brant Cowser, John Winters, Pete Drum, Glenn Pratt and other long familiar with the issues, we knew we needed to get to the heart of the matter and find a way to communicate it to the public.

At the team’s request, IDEM agreed to let us make a coordinated, formal presentation at the hearings. We decided to go beyond the numbers and show the real impact of Indy’s CSOs on the community. A computer-generated slideshow with extensive photo documentation of the problem was essential.

After touring several streams, canoeing down one, and working through variance applications from the city that were several inches thick, Tom Neltner, IKE’s president, became convinced that the problem was larger than just fish in a stream. He found that:

• Fall Creek downstream from Keystone Ave. and White River downstream from 30th Street have the most severe impacts from the overflows;
• The city made the problem worse by encouraging a housing boom on the north and northeast sides that consumed limited capacity;
• The city preferentially invested in neighborhoods with low minority populations;
• The city’s goals fall far short of remedying the problem; and
• The city was opposed to meeting the state’s water quality standards for its CSOs to the extent of requesting a variance to exempt all CSOs from meeting any water quality standards.

Fall Creek outfalls were especially bad. The city’s own estimates revealed that the sewer system along the creek performed much worse than the others. In a normal year, it would capture less of the wet weather flow (between 33% and 40% would go into the stream) and had a larger overflow volume (1,400,000,000 gallons) than the other systems. And for 85 days a year, neighbors would have to endure the stench of sewage and industrial waste flowing through the stream in this densely populated residential area.

The figure above provides demographics of the affected neighborhoods. Just upstream of where the CSOs start on Fall Creek, the percentage of minority residents, almost entirely African-American, goes well above county averages with levels between 60% and 99%. Yet farther upstream of the overflows, the levels are typically below the county average.

Therefore, IKE filed an administrative complaint with EPA against the City of Indianapolis. The complaint alleges discriminatory effects but not intentional discrimination. IKE seeks to have EPA leverage federal funding to set the city on the course to eliminate the disproportionate impact. The city should also notify schools, stream users and interested residents when an overflow happens.

It is still too early to tell what will happen. Stay tuned!

See also article in IKE's April 2000 Newsletter.

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