Local group files comments against Citizens water allocation for LEAP 

Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) filed comments earlier this week opposing Citizens’ proposal to allocate 25 million galls of water per day to Lebanon Utilities to supply the LEAP district. LEAP is& a more than 9,000-acre sustainable community offering advanced manufacturing, mixed use and corporate campus space on I-65’s Hard Tech Corridor. The proposal would be funded up to $700 million from the Indiana Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which was originally slated to improve drinking water quality, CAC said in a statement. “This proposal boils down to diverting public funds meant to help provide clean drinking water for people so a few companies looking to build factories in a relative water desert can financially benefit,” CAC said in a press release. “The state and federal government should use this funding instead to improve water quality for residents and improve utility affordability for existing customers. It is grossly inappropriate to use these funds for an economic development project that is rapidly turning into a financial boondoggle.”Potential land use for the LEAP industrial development project. (Photo/Indiana For the Bold)CAC alleges that Citizens has not been transparent about the financial or environmental impacts of the proposal.According to their statements, Citizens has provided very...