Vectren sending out big bills after underestimates
Several thousand Vectren electricity customers in Indiana are facing huge bills after the company underestimated what they owed over the summer.
Environment
Articles
Plan to form reservoir planning board put on hold
A vote on the creation of a board to oversee plans for a proposed reservoir on the White River in central Indiana has been put on an indefinite hold.
Dow Agro’s Enlist weed killer cleared by EPA
Enlist Duo can be used in six states, with approval pending in another 10, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday. Dow is counting on the system to help double earnings at Dow AgroSciences in five to seven years.
Votes delayed on forming agency for planned lake
Project advocate Rob Sparks said he's asked the Madison County Council to push back consideration of the proposed Mounds Lake Commission until at least next month.
USDA ups expected record corn, soybean harvest
The Department of Agriculture says 22 states will set corn record yields this year. Corn farmers are expected to harvest a national average of 174.2 bushels per acre, a significant increase over the record of 169.
Indiana farm fatalities continue downward trend
The report says Indiana has had fewer than 30 documented deaths from farm-related accidents each year since 1996.
Neighbors file suit to block 2,000-hog facility
Nearby residents raised worries that the hog facility would lower the water table, cause odors and increase truck traffic near their homes in the rural area about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Second solar farm slated for Indy airport
Airport officials have agreed to lease about 76 acres of land at the airport to the same private developers who created the current, 44,000-panel field by the Interstate 70 exit.
State energy trade association replaces longtime leader
The Indiana Energy Association has appointed former Northern Indiana Public Service Co. President Mark Maassel as president, succeeding longtime leader Ed Simcox, the organization announced Thursday.
Wal-Mart targeted by lawsuit for local PCB discovery
The complaint stems from the discovery of the carcinogen at a Wal-Mart return center on the east side of Indianapolis. The suit seeks class-action status on behalf of its 600 workers.
USDA approves new modified corn, soybean seeds
The farmers won't be able to take full advantage of the seeds until the EPA issues a second ruling allowing the use of weed killer Enlist. The EPA has said it will rule this fall on Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences' application to market the chemical.
Paper companies sue over Indianapolis recycling deal
A lawsuit filed by two paper companies and an Indianapolis resident seeks to invalidate a city agreement with Covanta to build a $45 million recycling center.
Indiana gives initial OK to off-site manure ponds
A state panel gave preliminary approval Wednesday to Indiana's first rules governing big stand-alone ponds and lagoons built to hold manure trucked in from livestock farms.
Banner year for central Indiana crops nothing to bank on
Hoosier farmers are expecting a record haul in corn and soybeans this year, but crop revenue might fall below production costs.
Renault teams with Bollore to promote electric cars
Renault SA is teaming up with French billionaire Vincent Bollore to make electric cars as the two struggle to establish a market for the emission-free vehicles, including one in Indianapolis.
Work progressing on eastern Indiana wind farm
Dozens of 320-foot-tall towers are going up in an eastern Indiana county for what will be another wind farm in the state.
U.S. farm income seen falling from record 2013 levels
Lower prices for corn and soybeans will drive the profits of U.S. farmers down to an estimated $113.2 billion in 2014, a decline of 14 percent from last year’s record, according to the Department of Agriculture.
U.S. farmers may grow more corn than they can handle
From Ohio to Nebraska, corn and soybean output is expected to be even higher than the record amounts predicted earlier this year.
Central Indiana reservoir foes back river trails
Environmental groups are proposing a system of trails to promote use of the White River in central Indiana rather than damming it for a proposed $450 million, seven-mile-long reservoir.
IPL moves to drop coal from Harding Street power plant
Indianapolis' electricity utility plans to convert its aging Harding Street power plant entirely to natural gas by 2016, after facing growing pressure to do so from environmental groups and politicians.