From a citywide clean-up campaign to resisting the arrival of behemoth polluting facilities, the fight to make Gary greener and more sustainable never stops.
Gary, one of Indiana’s most polluted areas, is burdened by toxic air pollution, flagrant zoning and land use violations, and decades of economic disinvestment, which only heighten the stakes of the city’s vulnerability to environmental hazards. However, with high stakes comes a stronger commitment from its local organizations to fight for their city and sustainability. From forming advisory councils to switching to sustainable transportation strategies, here are the ways Gary’s residents and businesses have fought for a cleaner, greener city this year.
Gary celebrates the end of Fulcrum BioEnergy
Fulcrum Bioenergy, a waste-to-jet-fuel plant, has finally ceased construction plans in Gary after attempting to come to the city for over five years. The construction project drew backlash and attention from local environmentalist groups, including Gary Advocates for Responsible Development and Just Transition Northwest Indiana, which brought attention to the issue nationally. After defaulting on their sister Nevada plant, which was touted as an example of what the proposed Gary facility would be like, Fulcrum filed for bankruptcy and ceased its construction operations. The Gary Redevelopment office officially declared the project concluded in June.
The plant, which has been protested by GARD since 2021, was challenged by the environmental group for its potential risk to public health and pollution from environmentally hazardous chemicals.
“I think we need to celebrate our victories, because not only does it reinforce the work we’re doing, but also the community sees it, and also administrators,” said Kwabena Rasuli, a member of GARD, after plans for the $600 million plant fell through.
“Hopefully, they think twice again before OK’ing stuff like this again.”
Read More: Gary Celebrates the End of Waste-to-Energy Company Fulcrum BioEnergy
Think B.I.G. citywide cleanup campaign
Starting in the crisp spring months and lasting to late fall, a team of volunteers hit the streets of Gary to do their part and pick up trash. As part of a new campaign called Think B.I.G. (Beauty in Gary), it mobilizes a volunteer workforce to tackle trash accumulation from illegal dumping, littering, and overgrowth in neglected parks.
“We want to do it through every neighborhood, because it’s all our city,” said Markael Watkins, coordinator of Think B.I.G., during a spring cleanup. “We wanted to get the community engaged to help bring pride back to the city, and show people we care and love the city.”
Read More: Gary Residents Join Forces with City Hall in Cleanup Campaign
Gary forms new environmental advisory council
This summer, the Melton administration recently began recruiting residents to join a new environmentally focused advisory council headed by local sustainability and community leaders to help the city address critical challenges in the region. The council, which includes Mayor Eddie Melton, aims to advance sustainable practices, improve climate resiliency, and engage more Gary residents to get their perspectives and feedback around climate issues.
In a first for the city, the move marks an improvement in cooperation between the city and environmental advocates. Now, with a seat at the table, environmentalists and residents alike will have more representation in sustainability policies that will affect the city.
Read More: Environmental Advocates Gain ‘A Seat at the Table’ at Gary City Hall
Gary goes electric
Gary Public Transportation Corporation introduced four new electric buses to Gary and Northwest Indiana in September 2023. Since the buses’ launch on the Broadway Metro Express route, monthly bus ridership has grown about 30%, and it is the most energy-efficient transportation line in the region, according to David Wright, GPTC’s planning and marketing manager. By increasing bus ridership and reducing air pollution from ridership in cars, the move not only marked a transition toward reducing the city’s carbon footprint but also established Gary as only the second city in the state to adopt electric vehicles.
In addition, this summer, GPTC added a bike-share service to provide another transit option between trips that would use less pollution.
Read More: Gary Test Drives New Electric Transit Vehicles to Help Reduce Emissions, Costs
Gary cracks down on illegal dumping
Blending environmental action with political will, a citywide crackdown on illegal dumping has supported sustainability practices.
This year, the city of Gary has charged at least 180 people and businesses with illegally dumping garbage within city limits, according to a previous Capital B analysis of court records. Illegal dumping is not just a legal issue. Discarded tires, a common type of dumping in the city, release carcinogens into the air and can contaminate soil as they break down.
Read More: Gary Taps Law Enforcement, County Resources to Crack Down on Illegal Dumping
Gary gets groundbreaking data on the emissions of Northwest Indiana’s steel mills
An October report released by Industrious Labs, an environmental organization focused on industry, provided Gary residents with the data behind what they always suspected — their health issues were tied to the region’s steel and coke mills.
The report is a first for the steel industry, which gives a facility-by-facility breakdown of the U.S.’ coal-based steel and coke plants, exposing a staggering human toll of the facilities. According to the report, Gary Works released 182 tons of 24 hazardous air pollutants into the air in 2022 — the most emissions of any steelmaker in Indiana. Moreover, the pollution from these emissions takes a steep personal toll on local communities. The Gary Works plant, the largest integrated steel mill in North America, contributes to 57 to 114 premature deaths, 48 emergency room visits, over 11,000 school and work loss days, and almost 32,000 asthma attacks each year, according to the report. Finally, data also shows that most residents living in Gary are in the top 10% of the nation for risk of developing asthma due to the release of toxic pollutants like benzene and lead from manufacturing plants.
The report links these health impacts, which total $75 million in annual economic loss, directly to emissions from Northwest Indiana’s steel and coke plants.
Read More: Gary’s Steel Industry Is Linked to Increased Health Risks and Lower Life Expectancy
Gary School Board rejects cellphone tower proposal
In August, a proposal by Crown Castle, a national cell tower firm, proposed building two cell towers near two Gary schools: Banneker at Marquette Elementary School and Gary Middle School. The proposed 50-year lease faced backlash from parents and environmentalists, notably GARD, who had concerns over the tower radiation on the health of their students and on the environment, with one of the towers placed on the neighboring edge of Marquette Trail, near the Indiana Dunes National Park. GARD member Jennie Rudderham created a petition with more than 200 signatures voicing opposition to the proposal, citing the uncertainty of the effects of cell tower radiation on people, particularly vulnerable populations like youth, and the environment.
With five decades of student health and safety at risk, the school board rejected the proposal in November, marking a success for community and environmental protection.
Read More: Gary’s School Board Considers a Proposal for New Cell Towers in the Area.
Canoemobiles come to Gary
Once a year, students, parents, and elders are invited to sail the Marquette Lagoon in a 24-foot Voyageur “canoemobile” to explore the great outdoors right in their backyard.
In October, Kimmie Gordon, Brown Faces Green Spaces founder and GARD vice president, partnered with Wilderness Inquiry to bring students on to the Marquette Lagoon, turning canoes into a “floating classroom” on nature, science and sustainability in Gary – offering locals a unique chance to explore nature in a city more often defined by its industrial landscape.
Gordon said she fostered this opportunity to get marginalized communities like those in Gary to get involved in the great outdoors.
“It creates a safe and welcoming atmosphere for those who want to be in the outdoors, and want to see people like us doing things in the outdoors, and doing things we would not otherwise have access to do,” Gordon told Capital B Gary.
Read More: Gary ‘Canoemobile’ makes a splash at Marquette Park