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Residents urge county to oppose filling of wetlands near Amazon data center site
Summary
Multiple residents urged the St. Joseph County Council to oppose Amazon Web Services' permit to fill approximately 9.7 acres of wetlands and 5,000 feet of streams near Bendix Woods; commenters requested that the council and federal/state agencies prioritize local wetlands and wildlife when reviewing permit mitigation plans.
Several residents used the privilege-of-the-floor and public comment periods to urge the county council and federal regulators to oppose an Army Corps of Engineers permit application that would allow fill of wetlands near the proposed Amazon data center in western St. Joseph County.
Tom Rowe told the council he had seen reporting that Amazon “is requesting roughly 7.8–8 acres to be filled in” just south of Bendix Woods Park and expressed concern that the land-filling was not part of the original agreement. He asked whether the council had been fully informed and whether the change might be “steamrolled through.”
Multiple speakers elaborated on environmental and wildlife concerns. Deborah Dural provided a packet and highlighted the role of wetlands and sentinel species (amphibians and migratory birds) as indicators of ecosystem health. Brian Will and Cheryl Nicks described local wildlife and quantified the area they say Amazon is seeking to fill: Nicks said 9.7 acres (422,532 square feet) and said the project would fill about 5,000 feet of streams near Bendix Woods.
Dan Caruso and others raised questions about whether Amazon had reasonably evaluated alternative locations on the Indiana Enterprise Center property and said the company’s permit application stated it evaluated building outside wetland areas but found logistics infeasible. Caruso also said Amazon had applied for a minor-source air permit related to emergency generators and that the company had characterized two nearby sites as separate for permitting purposes.
Several commenters noted that the permit application is currently in a public-comment period with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and urged residents to submit comments; one commenter referenced the Hoosier Environmental Council as a resource for public comment instructions. Mary Countryman said she had read press accounts that Amazon must mitigate wetlands and streams elsewhere and argued mitigation “does nothing for the wildlife in our area.”
No formal council action on the Amazon permits was taken during the meeting; speakers encouraged the council and residents to engage in the Corps’ public comment process and to involve the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and other regulators. Council members did not record a directive or vote on the matter during the session.
