(INDIANAPOLIS) – State and federal authorities are investigating an oil discharge into the White River on Indy’s south side.
Oil came out of the sewer pipes near Bluff Road on Tuesday. It’s not clear where it came from. Citizens Energy says there’s no risk to the drinking water, and Hoosier Environmental Council executive director Jesse Kharbanda says fish weren’t harmed either.
It’s the second significant oil discharge in Marion County in two weeks — Speedway says somebody’s been dumping large amounts of oil in the sewers. And Kharbanda notes there was a cyanide and ammonia spill in Lake Michigan last month. He says he’s concerned the Indiana Department of Environmental Management may need more resources for monitoring and prevention.
Indiana is on pace for about two-thousand spills this year — that would be a 10-percent improvement after increases the last two years.
Kharbanda says Environmental Council leaders already had a meeting scheduled for next week with IDEM Commissioner Bruno Pigott. He says he’ll be raising the White River discharge in that meeting.
