EDITORIAL: Lapel should thoroughly vet auto salvage facility

Sep. 15—Flowing in western Madison County, the Mud Creek watershed, combined with nearby Sand Creek, empties into Fall Creek in Marion County.

Although we might consider that confluence two counties away, the watershed is vital.

That's why it is now incumbent upon Lapel town officials to investigate thoroughly a proposal facing them, one that would put an auto salvage yard directly next to Sand Creek.

Chicago-based LKQ Midwest is seeking a rezoning change for 102 acres near Indiana 38 and Indiana 13 in an area south of the crossroads known as Hardscrabble. The site is currently zoned agricultural. LKQ would like it zoned general industrial.

In Indiana, LKQ employs about 140 people with a pledge to create at least 60 jobs at Lapel. That would make the Lapel site the largest of its Indiana employers, topping Plainfield's workforce of 49.

LKQ is a subsidiary of the multi-state LKQ conglomerate; some affiliates have been penalized for environmental, labor or employment offenses, according to Good Jobs First, which tracks corporate violations.

Daily, the facility would bring in 40 tractor-trailers, with 85 trailers stored on site.

LKQ plans to build a storage yard around a building where employees would dismantle vehicles. Parts would also be stored outdoors. A fence would screen the storage yard with a drainage detention pond nearby. LKQ has pledged not to encroach on Mud Creek.

However, Lapel's comprehensive plan designates the area for light industry. The general industrial zoning district is not among recommended uses.

In addition, that area of Mud Creek has been designated as a possible nature park and greenway. A salvage yard, even one described as a recycling facility, hardly fits the vision of a clean, environmentally-friendly pathway.

Green Township Trustee Greg Valentine has expressed reservations about the plan. The southwestern Madison County site is in Green Township.

In an email to Lapel's plan commission, he noted that Pendleton and Anderson pushed back against the plan. The site sits atop an aquifer that supplies water to the south.

Valentine also acknowledged, "I own 13 acres across the field directly north of this location which currently is a potential site for my son to build a house. He should not have to look at this auto chassis storage lot for 5-7,000 vehicles."

Valentine's honesty is appreciated, though his perspective might be self-centered. But his views on aesthetics should also be valued: "For visitors or potential buyers coming into town on SR 13 being a main corridor off the interstate, do you want them to see a hundred-acre parts and car chassis storage business as they come into town?"

Boston-based Community Action Works has called for communities to organize and understand environmental threats. For one, the group cites a junk lot in Strafford, Vermont, that borders a stream.

"Neighbors regularly pull tires and scrap metal from the stream, which runs through many of their yards," the group claims. "The junkyard is not licensed and has continued to grow over the years."

If oil drips onto the ground, it can leak into groundwater. If mercury spreads from car batteries, it can lead to brain and blood damage. Heavy metals containing PCBs can enter drinking water.

These might seem distant and unlikely events based on LKQ's proposal. But Lapel should thoroughly vet the company and bring in experts to sort through the request and potential ramifications.