That's the question posed by Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune this morning, and the answer from Governor Daniels and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is clear: Money.At a recent speech in Valparaiso, Gov. Mitch Daniels said he set IDEM's goal of increasing personal income.
"It's coming from me. That is the object of our administration, to raise the personal, after-tax income of Hoosiers. We told every department that they were to look for those steps they could take, what could you do faster, or stop doing, to make it more likely the next job happens in Indiana and not somewhere else," Daniels said.
"We protect the environment first and foremost. We have not changed a single regulation except to toughen some. But the way IDEM can contribute is by making its decisions more promptly and more consistently." First of all, if that's the object of your administration, you should really look at getting a new object. Because to be brutally honest, Mitch, you're pretty damn terrible at it.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that IDEM shouldn't work with businesses to find solutions to problems that serve to benefit the state both economically and environmentally. What I'm saying is that you should make it the mission to do both.
Not one, or the other, but both. What's so hard about that?
IDEM chief Tom Easterly refused to be interviewed, but his counterparts from Illinois and Michigan were more than happy to discuss what structures their decisions. Easterly's Michigan counterpart, who was also available for an interview on a day's notice, said states' environmental departments have similar day-to-day operations and struggles, but may differ on bigger issues.
"Where you might see a difference is on the larger policy issues. For instance, Michigan is developing a mercury rule that mandates a 90 percent reduction by 2015. I doubt IDEM is doing that. It's not something they're currently comfortable with," Steven Chester, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said.
He said politics may have an influence on environmental agencies because most agency directors are appointed and serve at the will of the governor.
"With a change in administration, clearly there can be a change in perspective," Chester said. "Whomever is the head of that agency obviously can have an impact on the thinking and acting of the agency." |
