For years, Madison County officials have bitten their tongues in regard to the proposed Mallard Lake landfill.
That silence may be coming to an end.
Litigation brought against the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals by opponents of Mallard Lake landfill in 2000 has been dismissed in an attempt to facilitate communication between the parties.
On June 7, petitioners Steve Wilkinson, Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association Inc. and Anderson Community Schools agreed to drop the suit against the BZA before special judge William Hughes of Hamilton County. Hughes was brought in after several Madison County judges declined to intervene in what has become a polarizing issue.
“It was done to open the lines of communication. By the same token, (the suit) didn’t accomplish its intended goal to begin with,” said Sheryl Myers, president of the KCCA. “Elected officials, especially the county commissioners, have refused to talk to the public because of pending litigation. We’re the public; now that excuse doesn’t work.”
Last month, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) cut off talks with JM Corp., sending the matter JM’s landfill permit back to Marion (County) Superior Court. Jerry Shine, attorney for the Madison County planning department, drainage board and health department, said this legal action could also prove a stumbling block.
“There’s no approval now,” Shine said. “Until that litigation is resolved there’s nothing to talk about. We need to find out what the courts are going to do and what IDEM is going to do.”
In November 1995, an administrative appeal was filed claiming that Special Use No. 12 — permitting JM Corp. to create a landfill at county roads 300 East and 300 North — violated the terms under which the permit was granted in 1979 and that it should be revoked or deemed void. KCCA and ACS filed suit in October 2000 for the entry of special findings of fact.
“In the past, we did not make comment because of the lawsuit,” said Madison County Commissioner Paul Wilson, D-South District. “It’s still a matter for the board of zoning appeals, but we will listen to anybody that comes before us.”
Jim Wilson, attorney for the Madison County Board of Commissioners, said state statute prevents the commissioners from interfering with an appellate board such as the BZA. But not everyone buys it.
“If a government entity sees something that adversely affects public health and safety, it’s their charge to do something about it,” said Helen Wean, former president of the KCCA. “They wouldn’t be influencing the BZA, they would be doing their job by showing them that, and that’s not against the law.”
In April, the commissioners announced they would enlist Indianapolis law firm Baker and Daniels to determine the relationship between the board and the BZA.
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