St. Joseph County drainage board approves higher dewatering limits for two HRP projects amid resident concerns

The St. Joseph County Drainage Board voted to approve amended dewatering permits for two HRP Construction projects after hearing technical explanations from the contractor and safety concerns from residents.

HRP representatives said one permit change increases the allowable dewatering rate for the SPN 103 attenuation tank to 567,000 gallons per hour to allow additional pumps to run while crews work, and described separate dewatering for the Harrison (Larson) Road lift‑station and sewer installation, which will involve as many as 38 well points and trenches up to about 27 feet deep. A board member moved to approve the SPN 103 increase and the motion carried by voice vote; the board separately approved an amendment setting the Harrison project end date to March 1, 2025.

The approval came after lengthy public comment and discussion. Dan Caruso of New Carlisle told the board he calculated the two projects could discharge roughly 27,604,800 gallons per day beginning Dec. 30, 2024 (based on 567,000 and 583,000 gallons per hour figures cited in the hearing) and asked whether that would exceed a 24,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day limit the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners adopted in July 2024. "How is it possible that an aquifer that was rated by the Peerless Water Study in 2019 at a daily discharge rate of 44,000,000 gallons per day afford to flush 27,000,000 gallons per day down the ditch, particularly when there is a 24,000,000 gallon per day cap?" Caruso asked.

HRP and county staff responded with operational and regulatory details. HRP's Jared Baker said the SPN 103 attenuation tank is intended to collect process water and "dose[] it out to the city sanitary sewer. It won't go to the ditch." County counsel and staff noted that contractors hold responsibility to monitor their dewatering cones and that groundwater or dry‑well complaints involve state wellhead protections and other civil remedies: "They've gotta get permits from IDEM," the county attorney said, adding that IDEM requires at least annual discharge testing and can order more frequent monitoring if discharge tests flag concerns.

Board members said drainage staff and contractors have been monitoring ditch banks and flows and reported no visible bank failures at this time, but several members flagged the risk of an overlapping heavy rain event while dewatering is active. The board also noted HRP returned to request an amendment rather than proceed without notice.

Technical details discussed in the meeting include: - SPN 103 attenuation tank: HRP requested and the board approved raising the dewatering limit to 567,000 gallons per hour; the permit timeframe discussed extends into February 2025 for that project before the amended dates. (Requested increase described in meeting.) - Harrison/Larson Road lift‑station: HRP said roughly 1,000 feet of sanitary sewer will be installed with up to 38 well points installed along the work, but HRP expects to operate about 12 pumps at a time; the board approved an amended end date of March 1, 2025. - Resident calculations presented at the meeting: one commenter combined permit figures and presented estimated daily totals (13,996,800 gpd for one project, 13,608,000 gpd for the other, total ~27,604,800 gpd); the board noted a county policy cap of 24,000,000 gpd referenced by the commenter.

The meeting also included other routine actions: the board approved contractor payments, tabled final approval of the minutes until the next meeting, and scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 6, 2025.

What happens next: county staff and contractors will continue monitoring flows and meter readings for permitted discharges (board members noted meters are installed and biweekly reports are received). County counsel reiterated that if private wells are adversely affected, affected homeowners have recourse and contractors would need to determine causation. The board did not rescind the approvals; no further formal actions were announced at the meeting.

Quotes from the meeting capture the central positions voiced by participants. Dan Caruso: "How is it possible that an aquifer ... afford to flush 27,000,000 gallons per day down the ditch, particularly when there is a 24,000,000 gallon per day cap that was put in place in July of 2024 by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners." Jared Baker (HRP Construction): "The intention of it is it'll go into this tank, and then it doses it out to the city sanitary sewer. It won't go to the ditch." County attorney: "They've gotta get permits from IDEM... They do the testing at least annually, and if they find something that flags it, they'll test it more often."