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Grant County board OKs contractor access to drainage easement after review of Lomax wetlands
Summary
The Grant County Drainage Board reviewed IDEM and Army Corps documents on the Lomax wetlands, affirmed restrictions on a mitigated area, and voted to permit L&W Estimating to mow and spray a drainage easement behind Arbor Homes subject to those regulatory limits.
The Grant County Drainage Board voted Oct. 14 to give a contractor permission to enter and maintain a drainage easement behind the Arbor Homes subdivision after reviewing mitigation maps and inspection reports from Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
A presenter for the project summarized a packet of documents and said the original 2008 Army Corps application described filling about 2,200 linear feet of regulated drain that affected roughly 4.43 acres of wetlands and called for mitigation of approximately 2,478 linear feet and 1.45 acres of replacement wetlands. The consultant told the board that IDEM and the Army Corps inspected the site and “there was no violation” and the agencies had stopped work before any violation occurred.
The board heard that a mitigated wetland and an associated “East Open Ditch” feed and control the wetland and are subject to restrictions. The presenter described signage and limits on maintenance: “We cannot cut those trees, and we can trim straight up from a certain area,” and said the west side berm and the lower area marked in the packet cannot be sprayed or mowed where the signs indicate. The board was told the berm cannot be enlarged without further Corps approval.
IDEM guidance cited during the meeting also clarified some volunteer activity: a county contact identified as Molly Early (as noted in the packet) said state law permits volunteers to pick up trash in a wetland but that other activities (cutting, mechanical trimming, spraying that would cause drift) require permitting.
Board members discussed access challenges for maintenance equipment, including possible need for a short causeway or pipe south of 38th Street to move machinery across existing ground without disturbing the mitigated area. The presenter acknowledged some areas will require careful coordination and additional permits if work would impinge on the protected zones.
After questions from several members about the easement’s width and where it begins, the board voted to give L&W Estimating permission to work in the drainage easement to mow and spray the portion of the Lomax drainage easement that is outside the Corps/IDEM protected zones. The motion included a second and passed unanimously on voice vote.
Next steps recorded at the meeting: staff will coordinate required notifications to adjacent landowners before any mowing or spraying and will confirm permit needs with IDEM and the Army Corps prior to work that could affect the mitigated wetland.
