Concerned Citizen's Expectations of State

 Regarding December 1999

Chemical Spill into Indiana's White River

January 4, 2000 Press Release

A coalition of community activists, concerned citizens and environmental organizations say they plan to participate in State-sponsored public meetings concerning the White River chemical spill to make sure that Indiana's environmental agencies provide complete and accurate information to the public in a timely fashion. The coalition will call for better preparedness and communication by the state in the event of future pollution spills. State officials say they will schedule these public meetings in the counties impacted by December's chemical spill.

Coalition members want to make sure that the meetings are scheduled soon.  Coalition members, the Friends of White River, the Audubon Society, the Hoosier Environmental Council, Improving Kids' Environment, the Sierra Club and many individuals who have served as technical advisors on past pollution problems also want to make sure that angry and frustrated citizens who are contacting them will get timely answers about this and any future similar situations.

The coalition has expressed concern about the speed at which answers are being provided. They will ask members of the General Assembly who represent constituencies in Madison, Hamilton and Marion counties to participate in the meetings in hopes that answers will be provided more quickly than they have been to date.

Coalition spokesperson Ed Paynter called the chemical spill and resulting loss of over 100,000 fish an environmental tragedy. On December 27, IDNR Director Larry Macklin said that there was "massive destruction to the ecology of the river," and called it "devastated."

Paynter expressed the coalition's hope that the damage does not go any further than what has already been seen. 

Questions continue to be raised about the timeliness of IDEM's response. The coalition has expressed special concerns that Marion and Hamilton counties' health departments weren't notified, instead learning about the discharge of the chemical, a neurotoxin at high concentrations, through media coverage generated by coalition members well after their counties had been affected.

The suspected toxic chemical, reported by IDEM as dimethyl dithiocarbamate, and other chemicals resulting from its chemical breakdown in the river such as carbon disulfide, dimethylamine, and thiram, are still killing some fish in Marion County. Its effects further downstream have apparently been diminished.

IDEM reports that wells have not been impacted, according to their initial assessments. But some whose drinking water is drawn from wells near White River are not comforted by IDEM's assurances, given its slow response and lack of communication. Brant Cowser, President of Friends of the White River, said "this is a right-to-know issue that needs to be addressed. It is not simply an environmental concern or a topic for partisan debate. It's about good government."

The coalition will be posting updates on the spill's timeline and other information at www.ikecoalition.org/home/whiteriver