By Stephen Dick, Herald Bulletin Associate Editor
ANDERSON — The decades-long legal challenge to a landfill north of Anderson is proceeding toward a trial on Sept. 30 despite the unexpected death of Mark Reed, president of JM Corporation.
Reed was found dead July 29, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department ruled the matter a suicide.
Ron Fowler, local attorney for JM Corporation, said Reed’s death will not interfere with a lawsuit filed by the Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association (KCCA) in April.
“(The death) will have no effect,” said Fowler.
According to Larry Whitham, counsel for KCCA, Reed was on his witness list for the trial.
“I don’t know if (Reed’s death) will have any effect on the trial. This thing’s in motion,” said Whitham.
Gerald Shine, attorney for the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals, which is an interested party in the lawsuit, had not heard of Reed’s death when reached. He said he expects a hearing of summary judgment in the case, one where the parties will argue whether the state law is valid without going into particulars of the landfill exception.
The current KCCA suit stems from legislation passed in the 2008 General Assembly session requiring JM Corporation to go back in front of the county BZA and reapply for a special exception needed to set up a landfill. In 1981, the county BZA approved the special exception but the landfill has never been operable.
The KCCA lawsuit, which was filed in Madison Superior Court 1 but will be heard in Indianapolis after JM requested a change of venue, says that JM Corporation intends to proceed with the construction of a landfill without going in front of the BZA for another hearing.
Over the years, JM has continually filed for a renewal of its landfill permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The current suit states that any entity holding such a permit be required to petition the BZA for a hearing.
Whitham says reapplying for the exception is reasonable since the original was given out nearly 30 years ago.
Fowler maintains that JM has met every requirement the state has given it and says JM is losing a lot of money by not having the landfill open. Fowler says the statute doesn’t apply to JM.
JM Corporation’s attorney named in the suit, John Ketcham of Plews, Shadley Racher and Braun law firm in Indianapolis, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Shine says the county, as an interested party, will do whatever the court decides after the Sept. 30 trail in Indianapolis, which will be heard by Judge Michael Keele.
Shine said whichever side loses the trial will appeal, but the county, as an interested party, will not be able to appeal.
He said the ruling will allow another KCCA suit — being heard in Hamilton County but on hold until a ruling is made in the current suit — to move forward, one that challenged the BZA for its 1981 granting of the special exception.
What’s next
A trial is scheduled in Indianapolis on Sept. 30 to determine the validity of a state law that requires JM Corporation to petition the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals and reapply for special exception in order to operate a landfill.
