From 2010 to 2024, Indiana has faced funding and staffing cuts, according to a new Environmental Integrity Project report. Northwest Indiana activists say the impact has been felt in the region. “The consequences of these EPA cuts are being felt acutely in the region,” Ashley Williams, executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said in a statement. “Our region, long exploited as a polluter’s paradise by heavy industry, is bearing the brunt of this destructive deregulatory agenda: stalled pollution controls at our steel mills, delayed closure of leaking coal ash ponds poisoning our waters, and a growing list of preventable harms.” On Wednesday, the Environmental Integrity Project released its report, which said 27 states have cut environmental agency budgets in the last 15 years, according to a news release. The organization also found that 31 states cut jobs at environmental agencies between 2010 to 2024, the timeframe in which it was studied. According to the report, 22 states cut at least 10% of funding for their respective environmental agencies, with Indiana cutting 19%. The 27 states with decreases cut their budgets by about $1.4 billion, when adjusted for inflation, according to the report. Staffing in Indiana also decreased by 14%, according to the report. Cuts have occurred in states controlled by Democrats and Republicans. “The evidence in this report bolsters the case against severe cuts to EPA’s budget and staff, because many states have already weakened critically important programs that are supposed to protect our nation’s waters, lands, and air,” Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a Wednesday news release. “If both lines of defense fail — with harsh cuts to environmental agencies at both the federal and state level — public health, our natural resources, and the global climate will suffer grave harm.” Discovery of the cuts comes more than nine months after President Donald Trump’s administration announced staffing and funding changes for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In late February, a White House spokeswoman announced that EPA budget cuts were likely, according to the Associated Press. The New York Times reported that more than 1,100 employees hired in the past year or on probationary status who work on climate change, reducing air pollution, enforcing environmental laws and other programs were told they could be fired at any time, according to Post-Tribune archives. A White House spokeswoman said Trump, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Department of Government Efficiency “are committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse,” and Zeldin is “committed to eliminating 65% of the EPA’s wasteful spending,” according to Post-Tribune archives. “The Trump Administration is attempting to dismantle EPA and rollback common sense federal pollution rules, claiming that the states can pick up the slack and protect our communities — but that’s not the case,” Duggan said. “The implementation of our environmental laws depend on both a strong EPA and state agencies that have the resources they need to do their jobs. But our research found that many states have already cut their pollution control agencies and so more cuts at the federal level will only put more Americans at risk.” A spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management responded to the report in a Friday email, claiming Indiana is a national leader and has one of the “most efficient environmental permitting programs in the country.” “IDEM is in a stable financial position due to a diversity of revenue sources, including permitting, waste disposal, cleanup programs, recycling activities, and the state general fund,” the agency’s statement said. “A smaller portion comes from federal categorical grant programs. Funding from these programs has remained largely flat over the last two decades, and there has been no disruption in IDEM’s operation of key air, land, and water quality programs in the state of Indiana.” IDEM administers nearly all air, water and land quality permits in Indiana, and also most of its compliance and enforcement activities, according to the agency. The agency claims to be “among the smallest backlog of state-issued permits,” with less than 1%, while other states have more than 20% backlogged. IDEM also claims to beat state permitting deadlines by about 50%, and issue permits in months compared to years. “EPA found that IDEM’s air permit program strengths include robust online public access to various types of supporting permit records and detailed technical support documents that clearly identify any changes to the current permit and that provide justification for IDEM’s decisions,” former President Joe Biden’s EPA said about IDEM, according to the agency. “In addition, IDEM’s permit development and issuance process is well-supported by permit drafting tools and resources, internal review procedures, and training for permit writers. We also acknowledge IDEM’s achievement in maintaining a very low Title V permit renewal backlog of 1% — significantly lower than Region 5’s backlog goal of less than 10%.” In her statement, Williams said that IDEM “routinely rubber-stamps directives from the Trump EPA.” “Now, as we confront an onslaught of unchecked (artificial intelligence) data center sprawl in the region, our communities are left dangerously exposed,” Williams said. “With little recourse at the state or federal levels, we have no choice but to do what we’ve always done: organize and push back, community by community.” Carolyn McCrady, member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, had a similar response, saying the Trump administration is “systematically destroying” environmental protections. “Cuts to IDEM’s budget have been ongoing and are a reflection of the bias toward the industry, especially in Indiana, where IDEM decisions in the vast majority of cases favor the original permit proposed by the industry,” McCrady said in a statement. “All this has meant more illness in fenceline communities. Protection of industry at the expense of the health and wellbeing of people, particularly in Black and Brown communities, remains outrageous and is the reason that people will continue to fight these injustices.” [email protected] ...read more read less