Amid worries about transferring water for Boone County growth, Holcomb takes significant action

Indianapolis, Indiana – Governor Eric Holcomb revealed significant steps to solve the state’s water monitoring late on Monday afternoon, amidst a contentious plan to transfer water from northwest central Indiana to Boone County for economic development.

Data collection is intended “to gain a greater understanding of the amount of excess water that is truly available to support all the surrounding region’s growth prior to any action being taken that could inadvertently jeopardize this needed resource,” according to a news release from the Republican governor.

The LEAP Lebanon Innovation District, which is billed on the website of the Indiana Department of Economic Development as “the next location of global innovation” with “9,000+ available acres strategically situated on Indiana’s I-65 Hard Tech Corridor,” was given 642 acres by the city of Lebanon in Boone County in October.

The massive pharmaceutical company Lilly, situated in Indianapolis, revealed plans to invest $3.7 billion on the Boone County facility in April. It was dubbed the biggest transaction in the Department of Economic Development’s history by state representatives.

Plans to transfer water from northwest central Indiana to the Boone County project have been formally opposed by the city councils of Lafayette, West Lafayette, and Attica.

The news release that was released on Monday lists the governor’s acts as follows:

• Directing the Indiana Finance Authority to begin oversight of a study by Texas-based Intera “to evaluate the importance of water resources in sustaining economic growth throughout the state and raise awareness for establishing a formal statewide water planning process.”
• Directing the Indiana Finance Authority to move up the start of a planned northwest central Indiana water study for at least 12 counties: Benton, Cass, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Montgomery, Parke, Tipton, Vermillion, Warren, and White. The study, which will take into account future population and economic growth for the region as well as incorporating the Intera study, will be completed by autumn 2024.
• Directing the Indiana Finance Authority to add water monitoring devices as part of the regional study to provide “the public assurance that water use and availability will continue to be tracked accurately and in real-time.”

Holcomb also said in the release, “This is the natural next step to the data collection and will allow us the time to fully understand the region’s resource in order to continue our state’s unprecedented momentum in attracting employers that create high-wage careers.”