A controversial coal-to-diesel plant proposed in southern Indiana has hit a major hurdle. The Riverview Energy plant is expected to increase the risk of cancer in Spencer County.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management sent a letter to the company on Tuesday and said its air permit is no longer valid. IDEM said Riverview hadn’t done enough on the site to show it had “commenced construction” and hadn’t entered into necessary contracts for the project.
Activist groups said they’re thrilled to hear the permit has been revoked, but they’ll stay vigilant.
Mary Hess is with Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life. The groups have expressed concerns about Riverview not following the construction criteria for months — but she said IDEM finally made the right decision.
“So often citizens are ignored. And they have to start being more transparent. And they need to follow the rules," Hess said.
IDEM granted the company an extension on its permit until June of last year. Riverview did some work on the site days before the deadline and an IDEM inspection soon after didn’t find any violations.
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Though it's not clear why the agency changed its mind, activists recently copied the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a letter challenging Riverview’s ability to meet the construction criteria.
Activist groups are also challenging Riverview’s permit in the Indiana Court of Appeals and Riverview has filed a separate challenge regarding the groups' legal standing in the case. With no valid permit, that makes these cases unclear.
John Blair is the president of Valley Watch. He said he believes this could be the final nail in the coffin for the project.
“It's been over a week now that they've missed their deadline for writing a brief that was supposed to be filed some days ago," Blair said.
In order for the plant to move forward, Riverview would have to either submit a new permit application or file a legal challenge with the state Office of Environmental Adjudication. Both processes could take years.
The plant expected to invest $2.5 billion in the state and create 225 jobs at the facility.
We couldn’t reach Riverview Energy for comment.
This story has been updated.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.
