Hoosier Environmental Council

Statewide advocates for electric ratepayers and the environment came to Granger Wednesday night to talk about the data center that Microsoft will start building this summer. They urged Microsoft to be more transparent and they called on St. Joseph County officials to watch out for constituents as they negotiate a development agreement.

Amazon will have to reapply for a wetland permit for its New Carlisle data center project, after it was learned that a contractor impacted a nearby wetland without permission.

Environmental groups worry an amendment to House Bill 1623 could prevent Indiana from doing what’s best to handle its coal ash — or at the very least, create confusion.

The bill cuts the amount of power utilities can buy from the grid during peak demand in half. That means they’d have to show they can generate about 85 percent of their energy themselves or from contracts with other companies.

Both bills passed unanimously and no one spoke in opposition.

Sam Carpenter, the new executive director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said he hopes to tackle some big issues in his new role.

As part of the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, the forest service wants to cut down trees, do prescribed fires and use some herbicides on thousands of acres near Patoka Lake.

The Mid-States Corridor Project aims to link highways in southern Indiana and spur economic development there. It likely won’t impact the state’s caves, but could still negatively affect forests and wetlands.

An Indiana bill could change the way trial court judges look at the facts when they review decisions by state agencies. HB 1063 already passed the House and is now being considered in the Senate.

The Indiana Forest Alliance has come up with a strategy for how to better protect urban forests in Indianapolis. The group said urban forests help cool…