Letter: Public health and our environmental sacrifice zone in rural Southern Indiana
As a state, U.S. News and World Report have rated Indiana as one of the worst states in Natural Environment. In 2023 Indiana ranked #48, and in their latest 2024 report Indiana is #50. Natural Environment is defined as metrics reflecting pollution threats and air and water quality, a direct reflection on the poor public health record in Indiana, especially in Southern Indiana. Over the years there have been number of articles written referencing how air and water pollution in Southern Indiana has had a negative impact on public health, including cancer rates, infant mortality, asthma, and other illnesses and diseases. It was not until recent did I learn of the term “sacrifice zone” and that Southern Indiana is in fact an environmental sacrifice zone.
Over the past several years I have followed the good work of the Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life (SWICQL) organization, and the citizen grass roots group, Healthy Dubois County. In their continued efforts to educate the residents, state legislators, and industry leaders, the work of Healthy Dubois County stopped the planned construction of a highly polluting biomass incinerator in Jasper, Indiana and more recently, after a seven-year effort, SWICQL stopped the proposed construction of a coal-to-diesel refinery in Dale, Indiana that would have drastically increased air and water pollution leading to longer term public health issues. In October, the work of the Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life with Dr. Norma Kreilein had the honor to be recognized for their work by the American Public Health Organization at their annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and were asked to present their work and the impact on public health. This is when I first learned of the term environmental “sacrifice zone,” defined as a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by environmental damage or economic disinvestment that profoundly affect the health and economic outcomes of their residents. Because sacrifice zones tend to remain under the radar of public information, families who have had to deal with severe health issues continue to be led with misinformation and wonder what they did wrong.
However, even with the success of stopping the construction of a biomass plant and coal-to-diesel operation, work needs to continue as the battle is not over. While not as devastating as the biomass incinerator or coal-to-diesel refinery, there is yet another proposed project in the “sacrifice zone” of Southern Indiana, the Mid-States Corridor, that will only add to the negative environmental impact and public health issues. This proposed 54-mile new terrain highway will rip through prime farmland, forests, wetlands, and the natural ecosystem, adding yet another misrepresentation of progress that will create more pollution and contribute to the already well documented climate issues. Several environmental groups including the Hoosier Environmental Council, the Indiana Forest Alliance and the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter along with the Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor have all presented the data and facts to clearly identify the negative impact this will have along with being just another project that will impact the deplorable natural environment rating and public health.
A much better job needs to happen with transparency of the issues and educating the residents of Indiana and rural Southern Indiana to advocate for more stringent pollution control, implement better regulatory measures, and to create policies that will improve public health. There is plenty of action that can and must be taken and it starts with the public advocating and holding our elected officials responsible for past actions. It calls for the public to demand our legislators to stop protecting companies that continue to pollute our residents for the sake of enhancing their profits.
We have a newly elected Governor starting in 2025 who ran on a platform of healthcare affordability and embracing clean and affordable energy. He labels himself as a conservationist and one that understands the climate issues facing us. His focus on healthcare is to reduce excessive costs. Unfortunately, we have not seen any acknowledgement from him that our public health issues based on our environmental ratings contribute to the cost of healthcare and if we put policies in place to dramatically improve our public health position it will help reduce healthcare costs. And while he embraces an energy policy to deliver clean and affordable energy, he also continues to support fossil fuel energy which is a primary pollution producer. The four super polluter coal plants in Southwest Indiana and numerous coal ash pits that continue to leak toxins in the air and seep into the land polluting our water supplies will only worsen our health ratings. Our incoming Governor stated on his campaign website “I will focus on issues that will raise the standard of living and improve the quality of life for hard working Hoosiers … reversing the poor infant and maternal mortality rates …” We need to hold him, his administration and all our political leaders to truly clean up our environmental sacrifice zones as a start toward improving our public health issues, our natural environment ranking, and improving our quality of life.
Mark Nowotarski
Mark Nowotarski, an environmental and climate advocate, is a retired business strategist and currently an Executive Committee member of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, an active member of the Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Forest Alliance and the Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor.
