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Photo courtesy John Winters Thanks to The Boren Foundation, and Jack and Karen Kay Leonard for making this website possible. |
Looking Beyond the White River
Chemical Spill and Fish Kill
Prepared by Tom Neltner on January 14, 2000
This document reflects only IKE's view of the situation.
As we respond to the damage done to the White River, we obviously need to help the river recover and address shortcomings in the incident response. But the incident is only a bellwether. A similar incident could happen in almost any city in Indiana at any time. Therefore, we need to look beyond the incident and set ourselves on a path to prevent future incidents.
Protect our Rivers and Streams
Our rivers are treasured resources. Sometimes it takes a disaster such as this to realize how fragile they are. We need to stop discharges that threaten the health of the rivers and our ability to enjoy them regardless of whether the discharge is from industry or combined sewer overflows. And we need legislation that takes us forward towards our goals instead on backtracking on long-established goals.
Get a Handle on Toxics
Ignorance may be bliss, but it is a recipe for disaster when it comes to toxics. There are thousands of toxics chemicals in use every day. We know little about the damage they may cause, especially the ecological damage such as we have seen in the White River. And even when we are aware of the potential danger, very few permits contain effective limits on their discharge. We need effective limits on toxic releases that don’t simply hope for the best and ignore the unknowns.
Make Right-to-Know a Reality
The public has a right to know when there is a threat to their health, their children, or their neighborhood. The government has no right to withhold important information out of a fear that Hoosiers cannot handle it or will be frustrated. Hoosiers do not expect government to have all of the answers. But they demand it be honest with them, especially when it comes to the unknowns surrounding toxic chemicals in our neighborhoods.
Invest Fines in Affected Community
When a community suffers the impact from the violation of the law, a significant portion of the fine should be reinvested in the affected community to redress the harm, monitor performance of the regulated community, and to help prevent reoccurrences. While this approach is too late to protect the initial damage, the investment will pay dividends in the long run.