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The Merom Generating Station in Sullivan County is one of seven coal plants that could get a two-year waiver to bypass Biden-era air pollution rules.
FILE PHOTO: Seth Tackett / WTIUSome of Indiana's most polluting facilities could get a temporary pass on Biden-era updates to major air pollution rules. The Trump administration invited them to apply for a two-year presidential exemption.
Companies had until last week to explain why technology to comply with the rules isn't available and how complying would threaten national security.
Rob Michaels is an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. He said these exemptions are rare — and generally it's the federal government that explains what emergency warrants a pause, not industry.
"This is the first time that there's been some mass invitation to submit requests to an email box saying, hey, we want to be exempted from this," Michaels said.
The Biden administration did allow such an exemption for companies that use ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment. Companies had to prove that their inability to comply with the new pollution rules on time would likely shut down their facility and lead to a serious lack of medical supplies, threatening public health.
Michaels said, like all Environmental Protection Agency standards, the rules the Trump administration is allowing some companies to bypass were a compromise between the agency and industry. He said it's unlikely that technology to help companies comply with these rules isn't readily available.
It's not clear if these exemptions are legal. Michaels said that will all come down to when or if they're issued and whether they meet the standard set forth for presidential exemptions in the Clean Air Act.
Have Indiana facilities applied? For the most part, we don't know
Lobbyists representing the American Chemistry Council and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers have applied for the Trump administration's exemptions on behalf of their members. Though no other applications have been made public, an analysis by the Environmental Law and Policy Center shows 18 facilities in Indiana would be eligible — including coal plants, steel mills, chemical and lime manufacturers, and coke ovens.
READ MORE: Report shows living near a steel plant can harm your health, residents hope for change.
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Many of them are located in northwest Indiana, which is already overburdened by air pollution. Resident and retired gastroenterologist Allan Halline said these exemptions could have a direct impact on his family and community.
He said, though there are many risk factors for colorectal cancers, some studies have linked particle pollution to cancers of the colon, pancreas, liver and bile duct.
"We're starting to see them in younger individuals and it's really unclear within the GI community, what's the etiology of that. So I have to think that air pollution is part of that," Halline said.
Halline is also part of a cohort of northwest Indiana residents that took a five-month course on green steel technology.
We reached out to several companies to ask if they applied. Only Evonik Corporation, which has a laboratory in Tippecanoe County, replied and said it hadn't. White House officials didn't respond in time for comment.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.
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