Gary Celebrates The End of Waste-to-Energy Company Fulcrum BioEnergy
Gary has narrowly avoided becoming home to a controversial $600 million waste-to-fuel plant , marking a rare environmental victory in a city often burdened by industrial pollution. After a five-year battle, Fulcrum Bioenergy's proposed facility has been suspended, ending fears that it would further degrade the city's fragile ecosystem.
This victory, led by community activists and environmental advocates, came as Fulcrum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and failed to meet city requirements. "This is a great thing for Gary, and we feel proud of ourselves for having, you know, helped to raise awareness of the problems of this plant and future plants of this nature," said Valerie Denny, a local resident who helped lead the community action critiquing Fulcrum. "This may not be the last one that we have to fight." Fulcrum Bioenergy did not respond to Capital B Gary's request for comment. When rumors surfaced of the facility's closure last month, residents gathered at Brownskin Coffee to celebrate. Drinks in hand, they toasted a rare community-led environmental win. "The Fulcrum project is dead," the flyers read, as glasses of non-alcoholic champagne clinked and celebratory chatter filled the room. While the community celebrated their hard-fought victory, the official reason behind Fulcrum's downfall was more procedural. According to Gary Redevelopment Division Director Christopher Harris, Fulcrum failed to meet its construction requirements and recently failed to close on city-owned property in Gary's lakefront Buffington Harbor, leading to a cessation of the project after a long five-year battle with the city.
The news was welcomed by residents, especially by the local environmental advocacy group, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, or GARD. "I think we need to celebrate our victories because not only does it reinforce the work we're doing, but also the community sees it, and also administrators," said GARD member Kwabena Rasuli. "Hopefully, they think twice again before OK'ing stuff like this again." Fulcrum arrived in Gary in 2018, touting a $600 million investment and 160 jobs, while offering only vague plans to convert trash into jet fuel. The city's chronic environmental hazards and preexisting plans for another waste facility across town fueled growing community concerns. Despite vocal opposition, Fulcrum secured a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to build the biorefinery at Buffington Harbor. The community mobilized, with GARD leading the charge.
Rasuli, a Gary resident, recalled the frustration that drove him to join the fight.
"Fulcrum is the reason why I got involved in GARD," Rasuli said. "We're just tired of all this environmental degradation that continues to come to our city." Many in the community shared Rasuli's frustration and had long felt Gary was being treated as a dumping ground for hazardous projects. As the details of Fulcrum's plans unfolded, concerns mounted over the potential environmental and health risks posed by the facility's emissions. GARD fought the project, even filing legal action against the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's decision to grant the air permit, signaling the community's refusal to give up. The fight against the waste-to-fuel plant quickly became emblematic of a larger struggle: balancing the city's already vulnerable environment with its dire economic needs. "We understand that, yes, the city needs to be funded, but at the same time, they want to attract more people to the city and build revenue by increasing the number of residents in the community," GARD member Jennie Rudderham said. "And you can't attract people when what you're doing in the interim is throwing a polluting industry and setting up trucking facilities in the middle of neighborhoods. It's the exact opposite of what people look for when they're looking to buy a home."
In one instance, Rasuli said he got a sombering answer after asking a city administrator how much the city needed the funds when a potentially polluting trucking company had proposed to come to the area during a previous administration. "I said, 'we're not that desperate are we?' He said, 'yes, we are.' So they act like they're desperate, but shouldn't do it at the expense of the people." The downfall of Fulcrum in Gary had been a long time coming. Last December, Fulcrum defaulted on $289 million in bonds, used to finance its Sierra plant in Reno, Nevada – its proof-of-concept example for what was planned for Gary.
As recently as August, Fulcrum faced lawsuits from several companies for missed payments, including against the flagship site in Nevada for being over $2 million in default to contractors. Then, on Sept. 9, the bioenergy company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Fulcrum BioEnergy did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Capital B Gary.
"When I was doing this research, there were kind of these proposals all over the country to do stuff like this," Denny said. "And, one by one, they've all fallen away." Denny, who helped lead the community action critiquing Fulcrum by creating press releases and reports like "Why is Fulcrum a Bad Deal for Gary," said that she first saw red flags while researching the company, citing lack of transparency in their waste to fuel process, doubts about its financial viability, and alleged net-zero carbon process. "We felt like they were liars. We felt like they weren't transparent. We felt like they were polluters, and we felt it wouldn't work. And in fact, all the things turned out to be true," Denny told Capital B Gary. Locals hope that this successful show of community action will inspire IDEM and local officials to consider long-term investments that are beneficial for the city and the health of its people. "I didn't sign up to be a guinea pig," she said, echoing the frustration of many who feared Gary was becoming a target for hazardous projects. "I just want to trust that people who are in positions to make decisions are doing it holistically, considering all of the potential impacts."
