Shop

A December 1999 chemical spill from a wastewater treatment plant killed fish along a 50-mile stretch of Indiana's White River. Once home to a variety of game fish - catfish, crappie and bass - the river now "offers about as much sport as a washbasin." The treatment plant apparently took a week to admit the incident to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. In turn, IDEM did not notify the public for several more days about the spill. For three decades before the spill, the river had made a comeback to a viable waterway. Fortunately for those who care about the river, "the poison that caused the damage seems to be gone" and the river will hopefully recover. Environmentalists say that IDEM needs to be staffed with more environmental professionals, and that plants should be required to report anomalies within two hours.

This file is not available for digital download. IRE members may place an order by emailing rescntr@ire.org