Northwest Indiana residents on Tuesday attended a public hearing for Tradebe waste management, with most opposing the company’s permit renewal.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management hosted a meeting at the East Chicago Public Library’s Pastrick Branch. IDEM administers the hazardous waste permit program and related requirements statewide, according to the agency.
Tradebe, a Barcelona-based waste management company, has a hazardous waste storage and treatment facility at 4343 Kennedy Ave. in East Chicago. The permit renewal would allow Tradebe to continue to store and treat hazardous wastes in containers and tanks at the facility, according to IDEM.
Tradebe is one of the largest toxic chemical processors in Lake County, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s toxics release inventory tracker.
The organization also wants to add a new storage unit at the facility, and IDEM merged the decisions into one permit process because it “is the same for both and the timing is such that it removes a process that is duplicative for all parties.”
Tradebe representatives were not at Tuesday’s meeting, which multiple residents said frustrated them.
“At a minimum, Tradebe can come here and tell people, ‘Here’s our plan. We understand we screwed up, but here’s the changes that we’re going to make’,” said Sam Heppell, a clinical teaching fellow at the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic. “But from a community perspective, we don’t have that.”
Some residents are concerned about the permit renewal because they said the company has a history of violations. Some violations include storing hazardous waste in damaged or leaking containers, incompatible hazardous materials stored near each other, cracks and deterioration in secondary containment systems and staff members being untrained in hazardous waste management, according to the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic.
The law clinic, Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development encouraged region residents to ask why Tradebe’s permit could be renewed.
Susan Thomas, legislative and policy director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, asked IDEM why a cumulative impact study wasn’t completed. A cumulative impact report looks at the combined effects of human activity and its effects to the environment, according to the EPA.
“This is inexcusable,” Thomas said. “It’s inexcusable that this is going on without that happening in the permit process.”
Connie Wachala, member of Highland Neighbors for Sustainability, said she wants a cumulative impact study to see how the permit renewal could impact East Chicago.
IDEM didn’t respond to residents’ requests and questions at Tuesday’s meeting. Tim Wolff, assistant commissioner in the Office of Land Quality, said responses will be sent to residents’ addresses.
Askeeshea Daniels is an East Chicago resident who has lived in the city for 48 years. She’s concerned about Tradebe and what they could do to the area.
“There’s a stench that comes from that part of town,” Daniels said. “They’re moving and doing things without telling us.”
Daniels is concerned about the lack of transparency from Tradebe, IDEM and local government. She believes residents should know more about Tradebe’s plans in the area earlier in the process.
“We have no idea what’s going on,” Daniels added. “We have no idea what they’re doing. We have no idea what’s coming, what’s being stored and what’s being moved around in the area.”
By law, Wolff said, IDEM only has to hold one public hearing.
IDEM tries to inform the public through events like hearings, Wolff said, and it’s the agency’s responsibility to enforce state laws and regulations.
“We try to go above and beyond the outreach requirements,” he added. “However, we require a lot on the local units of government and local organizations to help spread the work. It’s a shared responsibility.”
