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..... The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers. |
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Sprawl
Stopper in Castleton River conservationists received some welcome and long overdue news on October 30th when the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) revoked the permit which it had previously issued for a 15-acre floodway fill on the White River at 96th Street. The MCANA Board of Directors adopted a position in opposition to the proposed development in 1997 due to its likely adverse effects on the White River. The permit was issued to Centre Properties by the DNR in October 2001, after it determined that the proposed development would not unduly diminish the flood-handling capacity. This was a very controversial decision because environmental groups had begun challenging this Castleton-area retail proposal back in 1996, after the town of Fishers rezoned the property for commercial use -- without any review of its likely adverse impacts! The DNR's permit issuance of a year ago was followed immediately with a formal appeal to the Natural Resources Commission by Protect Our Rivers Now of Indianapolis and by the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC). This past summer, during the discovery phase of the litigation, HEC's hydraulics expert presented compelling evidence that the predictive computer model, which was used by the developer and the DNR, was erroneous because it did not accurately portray the true flooding effects of the development on flooding and the real-world risk to upstream homes. In fact, the depositions of DNR staff produced an admission that DNR knew substantial violations of the flood standard would result from the project, but did nothing to remedy it. This case has been another frustrating example of the communitarian's lament that "They fight you with your own money". The state's natural resources officials and lawyers, whose salaries we pay to protect the public interest, chose to erect obstacles at every turn to frustrate the remonstrance and appeal. Recently, with a breathtaking about-face, the DNR's public relations staffer even remarked to an Indianapolis Star reporter that the DNR is very grateful to the appellants for bringing this problem to the agency's attention. The legal maneuvering will likely continue for another several months until the developer's lawyer exhausts his appeal remedies. Our victory will hopefully become a final action early next year. This has been a lengthy and expensive court battle-- but one which has high potential to better identify true impact and risk and to better protect property from alterations to the stream channels in the future. Additional financial help from the community is still needed to help pay the costs of this very important, but very expensive, conservation litigation. If you would like to assist, you can make a tax-deductible donation to "HEC Legal Defense Fund", noting "White River project" on the memo line, and send it to HEC Legal Defense Fund, 1915 West 18th Street, Suite A, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202. send comments to webmaster@mcanaindy.org |
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2002
