About | Environmental Justice | Contact
IDEM’s Environmental Stakeholder Inclusion (ESI) program began development in June of 2020, with the announcement of a dedicated Environmental Justice program within the agency. By the summer of 2022, two full-time ESI Coordinators were hired to assist stakeholders with participating in or having a better understanding of, agency actions. The mission of IDEM’s Environmental Stakeholder Inclusion program is to ensure that stakeholders are included and represented in agency actions, as outlined in the agency’s Nondiscrimination Policy [PDF].
Within IDEM, the environmental stakeholder inclusion coordinator works with the agency’s program areas to enhance environmental stakeholder involvement in the various processes administered by the agency.
Services Provided
The environmental stakeholder inclusion coordinator assists agency staff with fulfilling requests from external stakeholders for:
- Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations
- Translation and interpretation services
- Notification assistance services
- Plain English guide services for interpreting complex vocabulary, the technical and scientific basis for decisions, and the appropriate involvement process steps.
- ESI requests
For assistance, please contact IDEM’s environmental stakeholder inclusion coordinator.
IDEM Resources
- Indiana Disadvantaged Communities Map
- An Environmental Justice analysis tool specifically for Indiana
- 2023 Report [PDF]
- Summary of annual ESI projects
- IDEM Public Notices:
- The IDEM Public Notice Site is designed to provide public access to all IDEM public notices, for Indiana, as required by statute or rule including: permitting, meeting and hearing notices, rules and regulatory notices, and non-rule policy document development.
- The Citizens Guide to IDEM:
- The Citizens’ Guide to IDEM describes the agency’s permitting and environmental cleanup programs. It explains the basic processes that occur once IDEM receives a permit application, becomes aware of a contaminated site, or is directed by law to develop a rule. The guide details how citizens can participate when IDEM makes decisions about issuing permits, conducting cleanup actions, preparing environmental reports and plans, and writing environmental rules.