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Speedway approves IDEM agreed order tied to 2022 Merrill Brothers zinc discharge; town to submit compliance plan
Summary
The Speedway Town Council voted unanimously to approve an Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) agreed order addressing a September 2022 zinc discharge attributed to Merrill Brothers. The order requires a compliance plan within 30 days and assesses a $16,500 fine the town intends mostly to pass on to Merrill Brothers.
The Speedway Town Council on Jan. 26 approved an agreed order from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management requiring the town to address permit exceedances linked to a September 2022 discharge by Merrill Brothers.
Town Manager Grant Kleinhenz told the council the incident “discharged a large load of zinc into our system, killing and damaging our biology and leading to various violations” under Speedway’s NPDES permit, including exceedances for phosphorus, E. coli and pH. He said the agreed order lists the violations and that IDEM proposed a $16,500 fine. Kleinhenz said the town will submit a compliance plan within 30 days of signing and intends to pass the majority of the fine on to Merrill Brothers because their actions caused the enforcement action.
Vice President Sarah Gardner moved to approve the agreed order and to authorize Treasurer Philip Faust to handle payment when an invoice is received. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously 5-0.
Kleinhenz described steps already underway: additional monthly metals testing by Merrill Brothers and by the town (both parties bearing testing costs), consideration of diverting some effluent away from the town plant at Merrill Brothers’ expense, and potential pretreatment at the source. He said those measures and an internal plant-review and preventative-maintenance plan — required under the agreed order — should address the problems going forward.
Councilor Sean Harold asked how the town plans to work with Merrill Brothers going forward; Kleinhenz said Merrill Brothers is already conducting extra testing and is exploring effluent diversion and pretreatment options, and that the company has paid prior costs tied to testing. No representative for Merrill Brothers spoke at the meeting.
The council’s approval obligates the town to prepare and submit a compliance plan on the schedule set by IDEM; the order and the fine will formalize the oversight steps the town must take to return to permit compliance.
