Riverview Energy coal-to-diesel plant permit revoked
Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has revoked the permit for Riverview Energy’s planned coal-to-diesel refinery in Dale.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) notified Delaware-based Riverview in a letter dated August 1, 2023, that the state’s approval for the refinery “has expired” and Riverview’s permit “is no longer valid” under state law because the company failed to meet a key deadline regarding “commencing construction.”
Riverview was granted an extension on the deadline in 2020, but that extension expired in June of 2022, according to IDEM’s letter to the company. In it, IDEM noted that although a graded lot had been created with a concrete pad and a chainlink fence erected, no other site work had been completed on the project. Riverview also acknowledged that no work had been conducted on the site since June of 2022, according to the letter.
According to a press release from Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life (SWICQL), Valley Watch, and Earthjustice, the group has repeatedly called on IDEM and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke Riverview’s permit since the June 10, 2022 expiration without a response from either agency.
“Finally, IDEM’s action to revoke the permit came within weeks of a letter sent by Valley Watch to IDEM, which ‘respectfully demand(ed)’ that IDEM revoke the permit because Riverview had not met the criteria outlined in the national Clean Air Act for timely and continuous construction,” they noted in the press release.
The groups applauded IDEM’s decision and celebrated this victory over Riverview’s refinery, which would have dumped climate- and health-harming emissions on communities already overburdened by pollution.
“We have spent countless hours fighting for this outcome for a half a decade,” said Mary Hess, SWICQL president and Dale resident. “Riverview planned to use our community as the guinea pigs for its toxic refinery, and with IDEM’s decision to revoke the permit, we look forward to economic development that is safe and clean for all the communities nearby.”
Riverview has 18 days to appeal IDEM’s decision, and the groups have their own long-standing lawsuit pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals. However, the groups are hopeful that this development means the end for Riverview’s project.
“IDEM made the right decision to cancel Riverview’s permit, and we’re ready to say goodbye to this project for good and look forward to economic development that is safe and clean for all the communities nearby,” said Hess.
The Dubois County Free Press has reached out to Riverview for comment by email but has not received a reply on the status of the project or if they will appeal the expiration notice.
