"Judge reinstates landfill permit" is the headline to this story today in the Muncie Star-Press. Some quotes:
ANDERSON - A state environmental law judge has ruled in favor of J.M. Corp. in its quarter-century struggle to build the proposed Mallard Lake Landfill across the road from Killbuck Elementary School. But opponents once again will appeal. * * *Here is a copy of the Oct. 20, 2004 Final Order in the Mallard Lake Landfill permit dispute.Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association, an organization created in April 1979 to stop the landfill * * * has been battling JM for 25 years in administrative, trial and appeals courts; zoning hearings; the state Legislature, and other venues. * * *
In an interview Tuesday, Ralph Reed Jr. of JM said: "They can appeal, but it isn't going to do any good. What this judge did was make IDEM (Indiana Department of Environmental Management) follow the law. We've been in court 14 or 15 times, and they've never won a suit in their lives."
The latest ruling, as Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, said at Monday night's meeting, reads like the last 10 pages of a book, considering all of the legal proceedings that have occurred before it.
In the ruling, Judge Catherine Gibbs found that IDEM had issued an operating permit to JM in 1998. But it was never finalized because of disagreements between IDEM and JM over a prior judge's ruling.
In early 2003, IDEM informed JM that the permit would expire unless a renewal application was filed by March 5. JM filed the renewal application March 4. IDEM determined the application was incomplete and asked for more information by June 4. On that date, JM asked for a 60-day extension, which was granted.
On July 14, IDEM met with Consolidated Waste Industries, a potential buyer of the landfill. On Aug. 5, CWI asked for an extension of time to provide the requested extra information. IDEM denied the request. On Aug. 5, JM asked for an extension of time. On Aug. 18, IDEM denied JM's request for an extension of time and denied the application for renewal of the operating permit because it was not timely filed and JM had not made a good faith effort to provide the extra information.
The judge ruled IDEM improperly denied JM's request for an extension of time and the permit renewal application, which the judge reinstated. The judge gave JM until Jan. 5, 2005, to submit the requested information.
[Note] Mallard Lake has filed a Motion to Reconsider that portion of the order that gives them until Jan. 5 to submit the information. I'll try to post the ruling on that motion here, as an update.
Posted by Marcia Oddi at November 17, 2004 08:58 AM