The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, acting as trustees, invite public comment on their draft plan to assess damage to natural resources resulting from the release of hazardous substances and oil into the East Branch Little Calumet River, the Burns Waterway and Lake Michigan, including land within the boundaries of the Indiana Dunes National Park.
As part of this Natural Resource Damage Assessment process, trustees have developed an assessment plan that identifies how they intend to assess injuries to fish, wildlife and habitat, and impacts to their use by the public in the river, waterway and associated Lake Michigan environments in Porter County, Indiana. The injuries to be assessed occurred as a result of releases of hazardous substances in August 2019.
The plan documents the trustees’ basis for conducting a damage assessment and offers a proposed approach for determining and quantifying natural resource injuries and calculating the damages associated with those injuries. This process ensures the assessment will be completed at a reasonable cost relative to the magnitude of damages sought. The plan also outlines proposed assessment methods to inform potentially responsible parties and the public so that these groups can productively participate in the assessment process.
Public participation is an important part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration process. Accordingly, the public may review the plan, beginning May 10, 2021, through June 9, 2021, on the NRDA site for the East Branch Little Calumet River. Agency representatives will also be available by phone or email to discuss the plan. Members of the public may submit their comments to:
Ms. Anne Remek
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
100 North Senate Avenue
P.O. Box 6015
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6015
aremek@idem.in.gov
or
Dan Sparks
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
602 S. Walker St
daniel_sparks@fws.gov
812-334-4261, x. 219
To obtain a copy of the assessment plan and to learn more about the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration process and the East Branch Little Calumet River, visit the Service’s website for Natural Resource Damage Assessment activities in India Check back to this site for updates and new information.
