Silver Lake Working To Come Into Compliance With IDEM
Posted
Kaitie Vanderpool-
SILVER LAKE – The Town of Silver Lake incurred a $2,000 fine from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management after the town’s previous superintendent was found to be out of compliance with IDEM regulations. According to Town Council President Chad Miner, IDEM performs town inspections periodically and the recent violations only just came to light. “There were several violations that were primarily administrative,” he said. “They largely centered around not doing paperwork properly or not doing it at all.” The superintendent has since resigned. The town is now required to submit a plan of how it is going to re-establish regulation compliance, and Miner said the town has been very proactive in doing so. In fact, he said, the fine should be lessened to about $1,340. “As to why things weren’t done (properly), I don’t know,” he said. The council has since re-established authority over the sewer department in particular, and that individual, JP Prater, will be working with IDEM to re-establish compliance. He said the town hopes to have everything resolved within six months or less. The Town Council also announced Tuesday it will hold a public hearing Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. to discuss maintenance issues surrounding the Silver Lake dam. According to Miner and a representative of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the lake water currently sits below the court-appointed order by approximately 6 inches. The town must decide whether to petition the courts to lower the level mandate or just replace the dam and raise the water level to meet current court standards. Should the lake level rise, Miner said many lakeside homeowners may experience yard flooding, which is why the public hearing has been scheduled. “We need to get feedback from the lakers and see what folks want,” he said.
