I am not sure why the following paragraphs got buried so far down in the story as it leads me to even more questions (like: is this not just another sign that the current administration has no interest in its citizens?):MUNCIE -- Residents of the Shideler area expressed concerns to state officials Monday night about odor, truck exhaust and dust that would be generated by the proposed Muncie Ethanol refinery.
Dozens of people attended a public meeting sponsored by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which has issued a draft permit for the project to New York City investment banker David Khalilzad.
Another question would be: if the IDEM does not have the resources, then why does it lack the resources?The IDEM officials acknowledged to the audience that the agency did not visit the site of the proposed ethanol plant before issuing the draft permit. The siting of ethanol plants is a local zoning decision over which IDEM lacks jurisdiction, they said, so it doesn't matter to the agency how close the plant is to neighbors.
The two IDEM officials in attendance said it was the agency's commissioner, Tom Easterly, or his assistant who turned down about 10 requests for a public hearing that would have become an official part of the permit process for Muncie Ethanol.
Instead, Easterly ordered a public meeting, which lacks a court reporter and is not on the record.
The audience was told by IDEM officials that the agency lacked resources to provide a public hearing to every community that asked for one. Jerry Evans responded, "IDEM doesn't have the resources to manage this."
The comments are interesting, too.
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