The status of a proposed waste transfer facility on the west side of Bloomington is up the air as a private company waits for clearance from state and local entities. The company, Indiana Green Transfer and Recycling, wants to expand waste and recycling options where municipal services are less available.
The proposed site of the transfer station would be located on Angelina Lane on the West Side of Bloomington across from the Printpack facility. On an initial state permit application, the company says they expect 100 to 200 tons of waste a day to move through the property.
Monroe County Council member Shelli Yoder originally served as the registered agent for the company. She stepped down from that role and from the company on Oct. 31. She detailed this decision in a statement explaining that she had been approached by Kevin Robling, who is now Plan Commission president, to serve in that role. According to the statement, she was not made aware that she would have a fiduciary responsibility to the company, and that realization prompted her decision to step down.
Indiana Green failed to receive local permission before submitting a permit application to the state. According to a 2007 ordinance, any entity seeking a solid waste facility permit through the state must bring certification to the county commissioners from the solid waste district. It is not yet clear why the company did not go to the county government first.
Executive Director of Monroe County Solid Waste Management District, Tom McGlasson, says he met with representatives from the company last week but he has not received an official request to start working on the certification. He expects to get that request soon, but he does not know how long that certification would take since this is the first time this process has been initiated. He says, ultimately, any decisions regarding the property would fall to the county commissioners.
"It's their ordinance," McGlasson says. "They're the ones that would take whatever needs determination that was presented to them and decide what options would be available to the applicant."
The facility isn't without detractors; many residents and business owners in the area surrounding the property oppose the facility, saying that it will be a nuisance and make the area less attractive for new businesses. Dwight Worker owns a farm less than a mile from the proposed facility. He fears the well he relies on for water could be contaminated by runoff from the facility.
"I did not move out here to deal with a trash site leeching into the water, and I have no doubt that would happen," Worker says.
Another opponent to Indiana Green, Robert Shaw, owns adjoining property to the proposed facility. Shaw has hired an attorney to appeal the zoning of the property. He expects that appeal to be heard in early January.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management received an initial permit application for a solid waste processing facility on September 29. Indiana Green received a request for additional information from IDEM on November 3. The company will have 60 days from that date to respond unless they request an extension.
Representatives from Indiana Green Transfer and Recycling did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
