Knox, IN

Moderate Risk (43/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Knox in Indiana · Population: 36,108

Knox, IN is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 7 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 10 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 4.5M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 5 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 38 and a peak AQI of 90 in 2024, with 87% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
36,108
TRI Facilities
7
Water Systems
10
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
4.5M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 314 (87%) 46 0 90
2023 313 (86%) 43 8 126
2022 321 (93%) 23 0 87
2021 320 (89%) 38 2 108
2020 328 (93%) 22 1 105
2024 Good Air Quality: 87% of days
Median AQI: 38

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Indiana, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (10)

System Population Violations
VINCENNES WATER DEPARTMENT 18,701 0
BICKNELL MUNICIPAL UTILITIES 4,064 0
KNOX COUNTY WATER, INC. 3,525 0
FREELANDVILLE WATER ASSOCIATION 1,175 1
MONROE CITY WATER UTILITIES 813 5
EDWARDSPORT WATER UTILITY 488 6
WHEATLAND WATER WORKS 474 0
BRUCEVILLE WATER UTILITY 449 1
SANDBORN WATER DEPARTMENT 449 1
DECKER WATER WORKS 273 0

TRI Facilities (7)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Duke Energy Indiana Inc. - Edwardsport Igcc 2.8M lbs
2 Scepter Inc 1.7M lbs
3 Futaba Indiana America 1.0K lbs
4 Wabash Steel Co LLC 925 lbs
5 Farbest Foods Inc. 385 lbs
6 Riley Equipment 2 lbs
7 Hixson Lumber Co. LLC 0 lbs

Cities in Knox (3)

Bicknell
Pop: -
1 facilities · 1 water
Edwardsport
Pop: -
1 facilities · 0 water
Vincennes
Pop: -
5 facilities · 2 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Knox, Indiana?
Knox, IN has an environmental risk score of 43/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 7 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 10 water systems on record. 5 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Knox?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Knox, IN in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Knox?
Knox, IN has 7 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 4.5M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Knox?
In 2024, Knox, IN recorded a median AQI of 38 and a peak AQI of 90. 87% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Knox?
Knox, IN has 10 EPA-regulated water systems. 5 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Knox?
Environmental compliance in Knox, Indiana is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Indiana state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial