The EPA's work benefits Bloomington directly. Cuts to agency threaten us all | OPINION
- The Trump Administration's proposed cuts to the EPA threaten the health of Hoosiers by undermining clean air and water programs.
- EPA grants and expertise support Bloomington's clean energy, water quality, and recycling programs.
- The EPA has a proven track record of cleaning up hazardous waste sites in Bloomington, protecting residents from harmful chemicals.
The rushed, ill-considered, and drastic cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency now being proposed by the Trump Administration — the President and Administrator Zeldin have threatened cuts of 65% or more — will undermine decades of progress in cleaning up Indiana’s air, water and land and cause real harm to Hoosiers in coming years.
This kind of reduction would severely weaken effective clean air and water programs, delay hazardous waste cleanups, and stall programs that are critical to our way and quality of life in Indiana. We have both worked at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the EPA and speak from our personal experience in these roles.
In Bloomington, residents count on EPA programs that clean up brownfields and hazardous waste sites so they no longer threaten our health and blight our neighborhoods, and that replace lead pipes that threaten the safety of our drinking water. EPA is the cop on the beat to ensure that companies are not emitting air and water pollution in violation of the law.
Through grants and technical expertise, EPA supports programs in Bloomington that provide clean and affordable energy, improve water quality, and encourage recycling. EPA experts are ready to deploy within hours when a natural or human-caused disaster puts families and businesses at risk of exposure to harmful chemicals. Who will we be able to count on if EPA experts aren’t there to do this vital and important work?
EPA work benefits Bloomington directly. EPA has worked for years to clean up the Bennett Stone Quarry, Lemon Lake Landfill, and Neal’s Landfill sites. Bennett Stone Quarry was used to dispose of demolition debris and electrical parts that contained PCBs. Lemon Lake Landfill was also used to dispose of PCBs until an EPA-mandated cleanup removed more than 80,000 tons of PCB contaminated soil. And the Viacom/CBS corporation dumped equipment containing PCBs at Neal’s Landfill. As a result of EPA’s work, PCBs were removed, the landfills capped, and wastewater treatment systems protect the waters.
Both President Trump and Administrator Zeldin have said they are committed to clean air and clean water for Americans. We must hold them to that promise. Slashing the budget, eliminating programs lawfully passed by Congress for the good of our communities, and hollowing out the expert and dedicated public servants who work at the agency will be bad for Bloomington both now and in the years to come. Your voice matters, and we encourage Hoosiers to let their elected representatives know that they support a clean environment.
Janet McCabe was assistant commissioner of IDEM Office of Air Quality from 1993 to 2005 and deputy administrator of the U.S. EPA from 2021 to 2024. Bruno Pigott was IDEM commissioner from 2017 to 2021 and acting assistant administrator for water at the U.S. EPA from 2021 to 2024.