Voice of the People

So, Kevin Cornett is upset because the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued a new wastewater permit to BP, that he claims will increase pollution in Lake Michigan. Perhaps he should redirect his anger to an entity closer to home, namely, the Chesterton Sewer Utility.

Once again, during and after a substantial rainfall, the largest polluter of the Little Calumet River was allowed to bypass hundreds of thousands of gallons of diluted sewage, all done under the auspices of a permit issued by that devilish agency, IDEM. Where's the outrage? All we are given is a shrug of the shoulders, and the comment, "We did everything we could" (attributed to Town Engineer Mark O'Dell). But did we?

While other Indiana communities are busy upgrading their sewer systems, and eliminating combined sewage overflows (CSOs), Chesterton Sewer Utilities continues to drag its collective feet in separating the storm sewers from the sanitary, making bypasses of raw sewage during heavy rains an inevitability. All the while, the Town Council continues to approve additional annexation and sewer hookups that simply compound the problem.

If Pete Visclosky is such a wonderful Congressman, perhaps he can wrangle a few millions of our taxpayer dollars to correct this horrendous situation. If the sewer separation project cannot be implemented soon, perhaps IDEM should impose a building moratorium on the Town of Chesterton, until the problems with CSOs are solved.

I find it ironic that, in Mr. Cornett's letter, if one substitutes "Chesterton Sewer Utility" for "B.P." in the 4th paragraph of his letter, you would be describing the situation in Duneland to a T.

Contact your representatives, call the Statehouse or IDEM.

There is only ONE Lake Michigan. Don't allow the Chesterton Sewer Utility to poison it.

George Mrak

Porter

Posted 7/20/2007