The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) will not stand in the way of a Madison County landfill.

On Tuesday, IDEM officials said the agency will not appeal the most recent court ruling that returned to JM Corp. its operating permit.

“IDEM contacted our attorney saying they had not filed an appeal,” said Ralph Reed, founder of JM Corp. “I think they looked at it realistically; we’ve never lost in court.”

Reed said JM Corp. is still in negotiations with potential buyers, but construction at the site could begin later this year.

Michael D. Keele, a judge in Marion Superior Court Environmental Division, ruled Dec. 8 that an environmental law judge acted appropriately when she ordered IDEM to reinstate JM Corp.’s permit application and grant a time extension for information. A week ago, IDEM’s 30-day window to appeal the decision expired.

“IDEM has chosen not to pursue an appeal of the Dec. 8 decision,” said Amy Hartsock, public information officer for IDEM. Marianne Petriskey, secretary for Marion Superior Court Environmental Division, confirmed that no appeals had been filed by the Jan. 8 deadline.

In his decision, Keele wrote that JM Corp. was “.... financially exhausted by IDEM’s unreasonable delay causing irreparable injury.”

Sheryl Myers is president of Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association (KCAA), which opposes the landfill.

“We have legal counsel, and we are pursuing some interesting angles. We know we have no recourse at the state level right now. We’re looking at some other levels,” she said. “Waiting is the same thing as welcoming this to town.”

Myers said Madison County officials have never heard the facts on an above-ground landfill, only a subterranean or trench-style landfill.

“The planning commission ordinances state that if evidence is brought that a special use was granted based on erroneous information, that that matter may be brought before the BZA,” said KCCA Secretary Bill Kutschera. “The method of operation in the initial proposal was a trench-type landfill and that’s not what has been submitted to IDEM.”

“We’re disappointed, certainly, but it’s no surprise,” Kutschera said of the lack of appeal. “This has been going on forever and there have been encouraging decisions and some setbacks, but we’re going to continue. There’s no loss of resolve in the group.”

In 1978, JM Corp. announced plans to bring a landfill to Madison County. The following year, the company purchased 154 acres at the corner of County Road 300 East and County Road 300 North in rural Richland Township. But the project has been mired in controversy and legal opposition for parts of four decades.

On Nov. 2, 1979, Special Judge Alva Cox reversed a ruling by the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals and granted JM Corp. a special-use exception for a trench landfill.





Killbuck Elementary School is directly across the street from the proposed Mallard Lake Landfill site. Opposition group Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association (KCCA) recently compiled a list of notable institutions in close proximity. They are shown below with the number of miles from the proposed landfill.

Highland High School 1

Little Killbuck Creek 1

Lake Clearwater 1 1/2

White River 2

East Side Middle School 2 1/4

Shadyside Park 2 1/4

Chesterfield city limit 2 1/2

Interstate 69 2 1/2

Anderson Municipal Airport 2 3/4

Mounds State Park 3

Maplewood Cemetery 3

10th Street Elementary 3

Anderson Golf Course 3 1/4

Rangeline Nature Preserve 3 1/2

Anderson University 3 1/2

Hoosier Park 5 1/2



Source: Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association