Lebanon officials to vote on adding more acreage to LEAP project
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Lebanon, Ind., could be adding more acreage designated for economic development and to a project aimed at drawing as much as 100 million gallons of water from Tippecanoe County.
On Monday, the Lebanon City Council considered a request to annex 642 acres of land in Boone County for the LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District, adding to the 9,000 acres already designated for the project, according to The Lebanon Reporter.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has purchased land near the Wabash River aquifer with plans to extract water and pipe it to Lebanon for an economic district in Boone County. On the same day the Lebanon City Council considered adding more land to LEAP, leaders in West Lafayette passed a resolution opposing the drawing of water from Tippecanoe County resources.
The additional land, according to The Lebanon Reporter, sits within the already purchased 9,000 acres designated for the LEAP project.
"Lebanon has every right to seek opportunities for economic development," said West Lafayette City Council Member David Sanders, when asked about Lebanon's interest in additional acreage. "What they do not have the right to do is pursue businesses that require vast amounts of water they do not have."
The proposed land purchase was a motion in its first reading, according to The Lebanon Reporter, and a vote on the annexation of some 43 parcels of land will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Lebanon Municipal Building, 401 S. Meridian St.
The 642 acres, the paper reported, is being voluntarily offered by the property owners, although a Facebook group devoted to the preservation of Boone County presents a citizenry not entirely enthused by LEAP.
"Watching the West Lafayette local government work should make the Lebanon City Council and officials feel absolutely ashamed," posted Britt Reese, a member of the Facebook group, on Tuesday. "West Lafayette brought to the table a group of elected officials that truly educated themselves to the matter at hand (from reading a graduate thesis, studying Supreme Court cases, and engaging with the citizens in the community) and listened to the concerns in their community. Shame on you Matt Gentry and the rest of Lebanon’s officials. Take some time to watch the meeting recording and take note of how a local government should function."
Sanders on Wednesday referenced the Facebook group and said members had saluted how West Lafayette and Lafayette leaders seem to be listening to their constituents who do not want this project to go ahead as planned.
"They see the loss of their farmland, for one thing" Sanders said, "their way of life."
A big attraction for Lebanon's LEAP district is Eli Lilly and Co., which is building two manufacturing sites on 600 acres in Lebanon, the newspaper reported.
As the Journal & Courier has reported, the IEDC considers Lebanon as the ideal location for a economic development "megasite" that could host 50,000 people working in advance manufacturing, mixed-use and corporate campuses.
One mega hitch — the LEAP project requires water, and lots of it, reportedly between between 10 million and 100 million gallons a day. Lebanon's water resources cannot support that need, so the IEDC has eyes on water resources in Tippecanoe County, namely the Wabash River and Teays River aquifers.
Purchasing the land, under state law, would give the municipality rights to the water under that land.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lebanon officials to vote on adding more acreage to LEAP project
