Drainage board grants Fairmount permission to remove trees in easement for sewer project; DNR mitigation noted

The Grant County Drainage Board voted Jan. 13 to allow the Town of Fairmount to remove trees from the drainage easement along Back/Black Creek so the town’s sewer project can proceed.

Bud Shelton of Fairmount told the board the town’s wastewater project will require clearing and asked for permission to remove trees 10 inches in diameter and larger within the board’s easement. Commonwealth project manager Rob Baluchi told the board that if tree removal is performed as part of the sewer contractor’s change order the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will require a mitigation plan and a 5-to-1 replacement ratio for trees removed in the floodplain or drainage area.

Board members discussed limiting removal to the easement, coordinating mitigation plans with the board before submittal to DNR, and having the town or contractor haul brush to a nearby disposal site. The board approved a motion allowing the Town of Fairmount to remove trees in the board easement and to return later to bid brushing and bank work; an abstention was recorded during the vote.

The town said the sewer project is being financed in part by the state revolving loan fund and that now—while contractors are mobilized—would be the appropriate time to coordinate clearing and mitigation. Board members asked that the town provide proposed mitigation language and follow up with quotes for brushing and bank work so the drainage board can place remaining work out for bid.

The motion directs the town to coordinate mitigation planning with drainage-board staff before sending materials to DNR and to arrange for reasonable disposal of cut brush. The board did not set a specific dollar limit in the motion; it instructed staff to solicit bids for the subsequent brushing work and return to the board with cost estimates.