Chemical Spill Closes Sections of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Statement by Colin Deverell, Midwest Program Manager for National Parks Conservation Association

“The chemical spill in Portage is nothing short of a disaster for the surrounding community and for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This spill threatens the health of those who get their drinking water from Lake Michigan, the health of the park’s natural resources and the health of the local economy that relies on the nearly two million people who visit the national park and its beaches each year. There is no telling what the long-term impacts will be for the community or the park, which makes the role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) critical to the clean-up effort. It’s emergencies like this that reinforce the very important point that we as a country simply cannot accept the Administration’s proposed cuts to the EPA’s budget. The costs to our communities and our natural resources would be far too great.”

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