More than 15 Northwest Indiana residents testified during an online public hearing Wednesday evening for permit changes at the R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield — saying the permit would decrease air quality and increase pollution in the area.
“I suffer from a heart condition, and my fiance suffers from breathing issues. Scar tissue is already on his lungs, and he has migraines,” said Patricia Gardner, a Wheatfield resident. “Our farm animals will be breathing this air. … Our animals are going to suffer because of this pollution.”
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management hosted Wednesday’s online hearing for comments about two proposed air permit changes at Schahfer. A department spokesperson was unable to immediately provide an explanation as to why the hearing was virtual rather than in-person.
According to the permit application, Northern Indiana Public Service Company applied to construct four combined cycle combustion turbines, two auxiliary boilers, two mechanical draft cooling towers, one natural gas-fired dew point heater, six lube oil tanks with demister vents, two diesel-fired emergency generators, two diesel-fired fire pumps and one diesel storage tank.
Local activists say the permit application is part of NIPSCO’s proposal to build a 2.6 gigawatt combined-cycle gas plant in Jasper County to power Amazon’s data centers, including in Hobart.
“This permit before you tonight for a massive industrial development of mad science proportions is happening by design,” said Ashley Williams, executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, who spoke during Wednesday’s hearing. “Indiana is quickly mirroring a dystopian nightmare where artificial intelligence machines guzzle every last resource on our dime, including our air, water and soil in the name of technological progress.”
Jenny Acker, air permits branch chief in the IDEM Office of Air Quality, oversaw Wednesday’s hearing. Participants were given two minutes for comment, and she said the department wouldn’t answer questions or respond to comments during the hearing.
Acker also encouraged speakers to submit written comments. IDEM will issue its decision on the permit application at a later date.
In her comment, Williams also said the facility would produce about 1,735 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, “choking the lungs of seniors, children and people with heart and lung conditions.”
Williams told IDEM officials that it would affect nearby residents, fish and wildlife, including sandhill cranes that stop in Wheatfield during migration.
“Prosperity cannot come at the sacrifice of human and ecological health,” Williams said. “IDEM, you’re approving these permits contrary to your own mission, please don’t let this be the next.”
Steve Herlinger, another Wheatfield resident, told IDEM officials that he wants to see environmental studies before the permit’s approval. During his comment, he said that the permit application should be tabled rather than denied.
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“Spend a little more time on this,” Herlinger said. “If you’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”
Residents across Northwest Indiana testified during Wednesday’s hearing, including Angelita Soriano, a Hobart resident who has been outspoken about the city’s incoming Amazon data center.
Soriano told IDEM officials that pollution controls are necessary, and the agency needs to protect its residents. She believes turbines could add seven million tons of carbon dioxide each year and use about 16 million gallons of water each day from the Kankakee River watershed.
“Our region is once again being treated like a sacrifice zone,” Soriano said. “For generations, Northwest Indiana has carried the burden of pollution from steel and oil industries. Now, instead of learning from that history, we are watching the same pattern repeat itself under a new name: the big tech boom.”
Keith Weber, environmental principal for NIPSCO’s parent company NiSource, testified during Wednesday’s hearing, saying the organization requested for IDEM to host the hearing. He also said the company is committed to the community, and they’ve worked to reduce air emissions.
A NIPSCO spokesperson was unable to immediately provide additional comment on the draft permit.
Since 2005, NIPSCO reduced nitrogen oxides by more than 15,000 tons per year and sulfur dioxide by more than 40,000 tons per year at Schahfer, Weber said. Carbon dioxide emissions have reduced by more than 14 million tons by year, he added.
“We’re committed to operating responsibly and transparently,” Weber said. “We are complying with all environmental requirements. … We ask IDEM to address comments on the draft permit and issue a final permit that continues to protect both the community and the environment.”