The sewer project in Bean Blossom is still in the works, as state and federal funding has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the June 9 meeting of the Brown County Regional Sewer District Board, it was stated that the group’s application for funding through the State Revolving Loan Fund was not going to be affected by the state reallocating some funding to fight the pandemic.
But the application process could be delayed if the board cannot secure land for the sewer system that would serve the Bean Blossom area. The board will put an amendment on the application if the land is secured instead of withdrawing the application for funding.
The application would have to be submitted by the end of this year because no grant money from SRF would be available after December, project engineer Gary Ladd said. The board is also applying for funding from the USDA Rural Development program.
Between the two programs, the board would get around $9 million for the project which it would not have to pay back. An additional $1.2 million would be needed to cover project costs, Ladd said.
Vicki Perry, state coordinator of the Indiana Rural Community Assistance Program, said in June that the USDA was waiting to see how much money the board would receive from SRF and for the board to secure property for the wastewater treatment plant before making a decision on funding.
“The major holdup is the land. It needs to be at the top of the priority list,” said board President Mike Leggins.
Last December, the Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals granted the sewer board a special exception to put a sewer plant at 4687 State Road 135 North. A special exception would be needed anyplace a sewer plant would go in the county.
Whether or not it will be built there is still to be decided, as Brown County Parks and Recreation still owns that land, and the parks board hasn’t decided yet whether it will sell or transfer 5 acres of it to the sewer district board for this purpose.
At the sewer district board’s June meeting, member Clint Studebaker said that the board was waiting on a response from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which deeded the property to parks and rec with restrictions in place decades ago.
The restrictions in the deed for this property came to light when county residents began voicing their opinions about the tree cutting along 135 North more than a year ago. A statutory quit-claim deed was recorded in April 1986 in which the governor, the state auditor, and the director of the Department of Administration transferred nearly 160 acres on both sides of State Road 135 North to parks and rec.
The deed prohibits manmade structures within 300 feet of the highway, and also prohibits clear-cutting the trees.
A partial release of the restrictions was signed last fall to allow for a communications tower to be built on State Road 135 North. That change allowed for the tower to be placed on the parcel without violating the deed, but the rest of the property remains under the restrictions.
“We need a board person to step up and be board champion to wrestle this issue to the ground to find out what the concerns are, how we might participate more actively with DNR and our associates here at parks and rec and the commissioners,” Studebaker said.
At the parks and rec board meeting last month, there was no discussion or vote on transferring the land in question to the sewer board. The parks and rec board had an attorney look over the deed. The sewer board’s lawyer and newest member, Richard Hall, said at the June meeting that the parks and rec board lawyer believed building the plant would not violate the deed.
“One issue is would the current board deed the property to us and say it’s your issue to resolve with DNR, or will they require us to get DNR approval? What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” he said.
Parks and rec board President Linda Hobbs attended the June regional sewer board meeting, which was conducted virtually, but did not make any comments.
Not having property for the proposed sewer is slowing down other aspects of the project. The regional sewer board also voted to withdraw an anti-degradation permit request with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management since it does not have a final location for the treatment plant.
The sewer board was to meet next on Tuesday, July 14. The meeting will happen virtually on Zoom, starting at 6 p.m.
