Standing in front of a former Martindale-Brightwood plating plant cleared of hazardous materials, environmental activists Tuesday ticked off the impacts that President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency budget could have across Indiana.
And less money for emergency clean-up projects like the one that removed hazardous chemicals from the former Williamson Polishing and Plating site.
“One of the key points is that the program that cleaned this up is slated for the 17 percent budget cuts,” said Dr. Indra Frank, director of environmental health and water policy for the Hoosier Environmental Council.
He has said that this move would help to promote job growth and that the states should assume the regulatory power that the agency currently holds.
Brown Ave. IDEM does not have the resources to do clean-ups at sites such as this one, which had a range of hazardous materials, including sodium cyanide, sodium hydroxide, silver, zinc, other metals and numerous acids.
It took the EPA about four months and $1.8 million to clean up the site.
“We know this type of industry pollution would not be tolerated in wealthier neighborhoods,” said Elizabeth Gore, president of the Martindale Brightwood Environmental Justice Collaborative and an Indianapolis Public Schools board member.
The area is still suffering the consequences of an explosion more than 45 years ago at a lead smelter.
In 2016, that program funded 84 projects in Indiana for a total of $125 million.
“People need to understand that EPA programs make a real and positive difference in Indiana communities… None of us wants the air to be dirtier, the water to be more dangerous to drink or abandoned sites like this one abandoned forever."