Residents urge commissioners to halt wetlands filling for proposed Amazon data center; public hearing scheduled

Multiple residents used the public‑comment period at the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 29 to urge the county and project decision‑makers to stop planned filling of wetlands for a proposed Amazon development and to reconsider mitigation plans. Speakers noted a public hearing scheduled for the next day at New Prairie High School.

Deborah Doral and Dan Caruso addressed commissioners about a planned Amazon campus east of New Carlisle and south of State Road 2, saying the project would destroy more than 10 acres of wetlands and that mitigation frequently fails to replace wetland functions. Doral cited a U.S. EPA report (2018) in her materials, saying mitigation nationwide has not achieved “no net loss” and that regulators have struggled to enforce time limits and long‑term protections. Caruso and Cheryl Nicks said the lost wetlands cannot be fully replaced and urged decision‑makers to consider alternative sites or designs that preserve the habitat and filtration services that wetlands provide.

Doral told the board she and others distributed a two‑page flyer to local decision‑makers and legislators, and she encouraged the county to research corridor connections to Bendix Woods and to ask Amazon to honor its stated corporate sustainability commitments. Caruso said meetings with county planning staff indicated an original list of 16–18 data centers was discussed, and he urged the company and county to fit development to community needs rather than expanding wetland fills.

Cheryl Nicks said she would attend the New Prairie High School hearing the following evening at 5:30 p.m. and advocated protecting the wetlands for their biodiversity, aquifer filtration and wildlife migration benefits. Commissioners did not take action on the comments during the meeting; the public hearing on the wetlands was identified as occurring the next evening.