Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment Permitting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Angola City council hears five-year IDEM permit extension while chloride issue remains unresolved
Summary
City officials told the council that the state extended the city's discharge permit for five years without the previously proposed chloride-correction requirement, giving local staff time to craft a long-term plan while acknowledging current technical limits.
Unidentified Speaker 3, speaking at the Angola City Council meeting on Dec. 1, said the state environmental agency reached back out and "they will now extend our permit for another 5 years without that requirement attached to it," referring to a longstanding chloride-discharge issue.
The update followed a recent meeting with the commissioner and deputy commissioner of iDem, the official referenced in the transcript. Unidentified Speaker 3 said the extension creates "a small window of opportunity" for the city to develop a long-term plan and that a local working group will convene "in the very near future" to develop strategy and next steps.
An unidentified technical staff member cautioned council members that the challenge is not simple. "One of the frustrating parts is all of the potential solutions or improvements will not fix the problem," the staff member said, adding that available upgrades still may not allow the city to meet the state's limits. "So even if we put all of this money into it and did these upgrades and investments, we're still unable to meet the limits. And so it's frustrating."
Council members discussed the extension and the need for a plan but did not enact any policy or binding timeline at the meeting. Unidentified Speaker 3 described the discussion with the agency as "very amicable," but added, "We have not resolved it, unfortunately." He urged the public to "stay tuned," saying staff and the working group will report back as they develop options.
Next steps reported at the meeting: the working group will meet to develop a strategy and the city will monitor permit and regulatory status. No formal vote or binding commitment to a specific engineering solution or funding package was taken during the session.
