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Board recommends favorable council action for new wastewater treatment plant site after technical presentation
Summary
The BZA recommended approval for petition 26-09 to allow a wastewater treatment plant at 2051 E. 121st Avenue. Engineers said the site and permitting were vetted since 2021 under a 2007 state judicial agreement with IDEM; a local landowner requested additional drainage assurances.
The Crown Point Board of Zoning Appeals on May 21 recommended that City Council approve petition 26-09, a variance-of-use to allow a wastewater treatment plant at 2051 East 121st Avenue.
Al Stong of Commonwealth Engineers said the plant is part of a multi-phase program tied to a 2007 state judicial agreement with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and that the site selection and permitting process has been ongoing since 2021. “This project dates back all the way to 2007… the outfall for the treatment plant had to go through a two-year permitting process,” Stong said, describing state and federal permitting with IDEM, the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Staff explained the property was annexed into the city this year, that the application seeks a variance of use to retain oversight while enabling essential services, and that planning recommends a favorable recommendation to council. Board members pressed engineers on regulatory stringency, floodplain analysis and whether adjacent property values would be affected; the engineer said permitting included floodplain and no-rise certifications and argued the facility would improve utility infrastructure and raise property values by providing service.
A nearby landowner, Vern Hine, urged the board to pause the project for up to 90 days pending county drainage work, asserting historic flooding of adjacent farmland and asking that the county dredge local ditches before the plant discharges treated effluent. Engineers responded with design details (36-inch outfall sized for expansion, 2 MGD initial capacity with potential to expand) and said they would coordinate with county drainage authorities and that their calculations show no anticipated adverse impacts.
Mr. Roaley moved to adopt the findings of fact and render a favorable recommendation to City Council; board members voted in favor on roll call. The matter advances to City Council for final action and to subsequent permitting and construction phases required under the state judicial agreement.
