EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP): An environmental group ranks Indiana 21st out of 30 states for beach water quality in 2013.
The Post-Tribune of Merrillville reports (http://bit.ly/1pMJwLa ) the ranking by the National Resources Defense Council is actually the highest the state has ranked since 2008, the earliest report available online, when the state was ranked at 28th.

Council senior policy analyst Karen Hobbs says the improved ranking doesn't mean too much because the state's actual water quality levels have stayed about the same.

Two Lake Michigan beaches in East Chicago, Jeorse Park Beach I and II, are labeled as among the habitually worst in the United States because they exceed limits for what is considered safe levels of bacteria. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management says it is working on the problem.