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Residents press council for soil tests, transparency at Project Maze/Google site
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Summary
Public commenters urged the council to seek full soil- and groundwater-analytical results and called for Indiana Department of Environmental Management review before more construction at the Project Maze (data-center) site; several residents alleged incomplete remediation and asked the city to demand verifiable cleanup steps from the developer.
Multiple residents raised public-health and transparency concerns about the Project Maze data-center site at 402 Royal Road during the council’s public-comment period on April 21.
Ashley Williams, a resident speaking during public comment, said the development and its owner (named in public materials as Phoenix Investors) had not provided adequate information about contamination and site safety. "We are being denied site plans for the data centers. No water, no energy usage, no emergency management plans, no nothing," she said, adding that the developer had labeled many disclosures as "trade secret." Williams asked the council to demand verifiable, time‑bound cleanup and to call on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to halt work until cleanup commitments are implemented.
Council discussion noted outstanding requests for analytical data. Councilman Paul Przybylinski said the city had requested soil-analytical information tied to IDEM’s additional characterization sampling and that the request asked for submission by March 1, 2026. "As of now, we haven't received any information back and do not know if Phoenix has submitted that soil sample yet," he said, and the council pledged to continue following up with state regulators.
Other public commenters echoed concerns about truck traffic, lack of timely responses from multiple city departments, and requested clearer communications from the developer and the city about potential hazards. One commenter said IDEM had cited a violation in October and residents were still waiting for full analytical results months later.
Why it matters: Residents and at least one council member sought concrete verification of whether excavation and handling of soils at the project site meet state remediation standards and whether off-site exposure pathways exist. The council does not itself perform IDEM’s regulatory role, but members said they would continue to press for data and follow up with the state agency.
Next steps: Council members reported they had directed city attorneys to request public records and analytical results and said they would keep pursuing IDEM and the developer for documentation; no regulatory injunction or formal city halt of construction was adopted at the meeting.
