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IDEM > Your Community > CLEAN Community Challenge CLEAN Community Challenge

The Indiana Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) Community Challenge is a voluntary recognition program for local Indiana government. CLEAN helps communities take steps to plan, develop, and implement a quality of life plan. This plan includes gathering input and support from the community and local businesses.

Find out more about the CLEAN Challenge:

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Finance Authority.

Who is eligible for the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge?

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is open to all local governments in the state of Indiana. For the purpose of the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge, local government is defined as an organized governing entity authorized by the state of Indiana's constitution and statutes, and is established to provide general government and municipal services for a defined area. Eligible local governments include any city or town within the state of Indiana; excludes private entities that provide municipal services under contract.

To be recognized as an Indiana CLEAN Community, municipalities must have a positive environmental, health, and safety record. Those local governments with negative past records must demonstrate improvement in recent history and provide a detailed plan of continual improvement in the future. Unresolved compliance issues or enforcement actions involving the local government may eliminate it from consideration. The following compliance policy outlines examples of when a CLEAN designation may be denied from an applicant or revoked from a participating community:

Criminal Activity

  • Corporate criminal conviction or plea for environmentally related violations of criminal laws involving the corporation or a corporate officer within the past 5 years.
  • Criminal conviction or plea of employee at the same facility for environmentally related violations of criminal laws within the past 5 years.
  • Ongoing criminal investigation/prosecution of the community, community official, or employee at the same facility for violations of environmental law.

Civil Activity

  • Three or more significant violations with the local government in the past 3 years (those violations referred to IDEM's Office of Enforcement).
  • Unresolved, unaddressed Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) or Significant Violations (SV).
  • Planned but not yet filed judicial or administrative action.
  • Ongoing EPA or state initiated litigation with the local government.
  • Situation where a local government is not in compliance with the schedule and terms of an order or decree.

As with other recognition programs, those communities with outstanding violations and enforcement actions may not be eligible for the CLEAN Program until each is remedied to IDEM's satisfaction. Those applicants with a history of non-compliance may not be eligible for the CLEAN Program until they have demonstrated at least one to two years of satisfactory compliance.

Why should local governments and municipalities participate?

Participants of the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge program may see a variety of benefits including:

  • Improved ability to meet compliance requirements;
  • Increased efficiency, reduced costs, and greater operational consistency;
  • Improved environmental awareness, involvement, and competency throughout the local government;
  • Better communication about environmental issues throughout the community; and
  • Better relationships with regulators.

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge program challenges Hoosier cities, towns, and counties to make Indiana a cleaner, healthier place to live by taking part in a program that offers public recognition and financial incentives in exchange for implementing environmentally beneficial actions and improving the quality of life.

The Challenge is designed to be flexible - local governments implement an environmental management system, called a Quality of Life Plan, and choose the activities that fit their community goals. The CLEAN Community Challenge program manager will assist local governments in the planning, development, and implementation of a comprehensive Quality of Life Plan. Sample activities are described in the following link:

Sample Activities

In addition, municipalities who qualify as an Indiana CLEAN Community will have implemented a less expensive, more effective, and greener management system for their community's environmental issues. Indiana's air, land, and water will be cleaner, and the state will be a healthier place to live.

What is the cost to local governments who participate?

There is no fee to participate in the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge. Meeting the requirements of the Challenge will involve municipal employee time during the planning, development, and implementation phases, but participants will receive free assistance during each step of the challenge. IDEM is developing tools to help municipalities determine the costs of potential environmental and pollution prevention projects.

Is technical assistance available?

IDEM maintains a CLEAN Team to support CLEAN communities. The CLEAN Team consists of members representing each major IDEM office and one liaison to act as the point of contact for municipalities with environmental questions. Members of this team are designated as contacts for questions about municipal environmental concerns. Service is focused on regulatory and grant assistance. In addition, several other technical and financial assistance opportunities are described in the corresponding links.

Contact the CLEAN Program Manager at:

Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance
100 North Senate Avenue
Mail Code 64-00
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2251

Toll Free: 800.988.7901
FAX: 317.233.5627

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