Council authorizes petition to form regional sewer district as procedural step

The Boone County Council voted to authorize a petition to establish a regional sewer district, a procedural step required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to proceed with the proposed district.

County attorney Kevin Van Horn told the council the resolution mirrors one the county commissioners approved last week and is required for IDEM to accept the filing. "This is a procedural step that must be taken in order to continue with the idea of having a regional sewer district," Van Horn said. "IDEM requires a petition from each governing body just to authorize the filing to take step 1."

Commissioner (surname Pail) attended a portion of the council discussion and said he had spoken with the Lebanon mayor; according to Pail, Lebanonofficials indicated they would make city sewer and water available only if annexation occurred, and Pail said the county's plan was to move forward with its own program rather than annexation.

After brief questions from council members about coordination with the city of Lebanon and the next steps in forming a sewer district board, the council moved and seconded the resolution and approved it by voice vote. A council member summarized that the regional sewer district board has not yet been created and that the council's petition is the initial statutory step to form that board.

No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the public record; the motion carried by voice vote.