IDEM honors Greencastle for environmental commitment

With the City of Greencastle's water plant expansion project under way, it was no surprise the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) commissioner might make a visit to City Hall.

Yet after recently agreeing to a six-month extension on the city's compliance with new water treatment necessities, IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly was not on hand Tuesday night to talk about what the city hasn't done but what it has accomplished.

IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly presents Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray with a CLEAN Community Award Tuesday night at the outset of the City Council meeting at City Hall. Joining in the ceremony are Carol Comer, IDEM chief of staff who holds a new sign the city can display streetside, and Eric Bryunseels, a DePauw University student interning at City Hall who took on the project to help improve the local environment.

Praising the local community for its efforts to improve the environment, Easterly presented the City of Greencastle with a CLEAN Community Award during a brief ceremony at the outset of the April City Council meeting.

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is a voluntary recognition program recognizing and rewarding Hoosier cities, towns and counties for proactively managing environmental impacts associated with governmental operations.

The acronym CLEAN stands for Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network.

"You've done all the work to become an Indiana CLEAN Community," Easterly said, noting that selection is based on three criteria -- a good record on environmental performance, a plan to add to the environmental aspects of the community and agreement to undertake five new environmental initiatives to further that plan.

"Greencastle is making a real commitment, and IDEM appreciates the hard work the city is putting into meeting the challenges set forth," Easterly added. "Greencastle residents can be proud and know their city's efforts will make a difference.

"We really appreciate you helping the environment," Easterly added, speaking for IDEM. "It helps all of us."

The city has worked to develop a Quality of Life Plan to minimize the potential environmental impacts from city operations and community-wide activities, the commissioner noted.

Greencastle selected five environmental improvement initiatives to focus on during a three-year period, including adding recreational walking/biking trails, adopting new stormwater standards and reducing energy consumption in city buildings. Greencastle will also work to eliminate invasive plant species and reduce litter citywide.

"The city is proud to receive this designation and we will continue to move forward with our efforts to be the green community in Indiana," Mayor Sue Murray said, praising the efforts of City Hall intern Eric Bryunseels, a DePauw University student.

Bryunseels wanted a project to work on, Mayor Murray said, "and Clean Communities just resonated with him."

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is a voluntary recognition program that recognizes and rewards Indiana cities, towns and counties for proactively managing environmental impacts associated with governmental operations. CLEAN stands for Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network.

For participants of CLEAN, making small changes in the way that local governments impact the environment can reap valuable rewards, including decreased costs, increased efficiencies, statewide recognition for your community, improved relationships with regulators, and certain financial and regulatory incentives from IDEM and state agency partners.