Indiana stops all action on the development of LEAP pipeline until study is finished

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Greater Lafayette Commerce announced Tuesday that the state of Indiana ceased all action on the development of a pipeline to transport water from Tippecanoe County to the Lebanon LEAP district until the Indiana Finance Authority completes its major water study.

This news comes hours after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb released a statement regarding his visit to Tippecanoe County last week with House Speaker Todd Huston and state Senator Rodric Bray to discuss water issues with local stakeholders in the county.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. proposed to tap the Wabash River aquifer southwest of Lafayette and pump up to 100 million gallons of water across one-third of the state to the Lebanon site for the LEAP industrial site along Interstate 65.

All three leaders provided assurances the state would not take any action to advance the water project before the Indiana Finance Authority's study is completed which is expected to take until the fall of 2024.

“Friday’s meeting provided the opportunity to have an unfiltered conversation around the issue of water and a chance to reiterate what has been said all along, and that is the data — yet still to be gathered — will drive any or all future decisions,” Holcomb said in the statement.

“By joining Speaker Huston and Sen. Bray in Tippecanoe County, it is my hope we demonstrated the close working partnership we share and our commitment to making sure we have the right statewide water policy in place to support the entire state’s economic growth and needs.

“Finally, it was especially nice to hear directly from local leaders as they shared their individual perspectives and discussed how we can all best cooperate and share data as the Indiana Finance Authority continues its work on its regional water study.”

The meeting provided an opportunity for local leaders to express their concerns regarding the status of the LEAP district and its potential utilization of area water resources to the three top leaders in state government.

To try and halt any additional movement on the project, the Tippecanoe County Commissioners passed an ordinance earlier this month that placed a nine-month moratorium on the high-volume export of water outside of Tippecanoe County.

“We understand a well is not going to be built in nine months, but they could sign a contract and then we would have no recourse whatsoever if this moratorium wasn’t on the books,” Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said at the meeting earlier this month.

“So it is actually very valuable to have something on the books," Murtaugh said earlier this month. "Nobody is saying we think they’re going to build wells in the next nine months. We know that’s not possible, but it’s for the whole situation of preemption. It’s important that we have that in place.”

The three state leaders met with Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, West Lafayette Mayor-elect Erin Easter, Murtaugh, Greater Lafayette Commerce Board Chairwoman Rachel Hazaray, Greater Lafayette Commerce President Scott Walker, Purdue University Trustee Gary Lehman, and representatives from Purdue University President Mung Chiang’s office last Friday after the three called for a last-minute meeting on Thursday.

“We appreciate our state leaders coming to our region and talking through the issues that concern us and our local constituents. We are committed to keeping the public informed about the process,” Roswarski said in a Greater Lafayette Commerce announcement news release.

At the meeting, Indiana Finance Authority’s Chief of Environmental Programs Jim McGoff noted that his agency is committed to being fully transparent with the public regarding developments on the project and that the state's economic development corporation's consultant, Intera, would not be drilling any additional test wells.

The state and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. faced severe criticism earlier this year after it was discovered how much progress was made on the LEAP project without the input, and knowledge of the public and a lack of data-driven studies that would highlight how the project would affect the county.

The state's economic development corporation also faced criticism because of its unwillingness to provide unredacted documents to news agencies that required them via the request to inspect public documents.

“While the (Indiana Economic Development Corp.) is tasked with the important role of attracting business investment to the state, the many associated aspects of a major project like LEAP, including environmental impact, infrastructure development, tax and appropriation implications and workforce policy are the joint responsibility of the executive branch and the legislature, Brad said in Holcomb's news release. "The (Indiana Economic Development Corp.) has been a vital and successful driver of Indiana’s job growth, but they are not and will not be the final decision maker on water issues related to the LEAP project."

Murtaugh summed up the meeting, saying, “They were very willing to hear our concerns and I think they were responsive. We were relieved to hear that they would not be processing anything at this point in regard to a pipeline until a lot further into the project.”

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette water pipeline for LEAP on hold until study is completed