INDIANAPOLIS | In what they deem an "ambitious time line," Indiana environmental regulators say they hope to adopt a new rule protecting state waters from increased water pollution by the end of the year.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management met with industry, environmental and municipal leaders Friday to discuss how to overhaul the state's antidegradation rule, which aims to ensure water quality.

IDEM has developed new rule language, which will be reviewed internally and later by work groups of community leaders, Martha Clark Mettler, deputy assistant commissioner of IDEM's office of water quality said.

Developing a rule typically takes up to 18 months, but IDEM has made establishing the rule a priority, spokeswoman Amy Hartsock said.

IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly admitted Friday that addressing antidegradation has been "troublesome" and time consuming for Indiana regulators.

"We need to come to a solution that is both effective and workable for all," Easterly said. "I would like to finish this rule before I'm not the commissioner, whenever that is."

Indiana's current rule grants exceptions allowing quality to be lowered, with some restrictions, if the water discharge helps support important social or economic development in the state.

But last year's outcry regarding BP Whiting's new wastewater permit prompted concerns that Indiana's law does not do enough to protect water quality.

IDEM has delayed renewing wastewater permits for U.S. Steel's Gary and Portage plants, as well as three ArcelorMittal facilities until a new rule is in place.

Gary environmental activist Lee Botts said she and her colleagues expected that the draft rule would be released Friday. Botts made the nearly 3-hour trip to Indianapolis to attend the meeting, which ran 50 minutes.

"It's a long trip. Next time, we'll ask for confirmation that we're really going to have something to talk about," she said.

Aside from Botts, four other activists who attended the meeting expressed disappointment that the meeting amounted to state officials presenting background.

Rae Schnapp, the Hoosier Environmental Council's water policy specialist, questioned whether IDEM will be able to get the new rule in place by year's end.

"They said they were going to be aggressive, but they're already behind schedule," she said.

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.