UPDATE (1/10/24): Thank you to the nearly 2,300+ people who signed onto HEC’s letter requesting that IDEM deny a permit to impact a 45-acre wetland ecosystem in southern Indianapolis! Churches, businesses, environmental groups, university students and professors, and many others signed on, showing a broad range of support for wetland protections from all sorts of backgrounds. At this time, we are no longer accepting signatures. Be on the lookout for more updates in the future!

Developer Gershman Partners is applying for an Isolated Wetland Permit to impact a Class III wetland in southern Indianapolis along I-65 South and County Line Road. Class III wetlands are the highest-quality wetlands in Indiana. This wetland is part of a greater wetland ecosystem – about 45 acres – that will be developed into speculative warehouses. Residents have enjoyed the scenery of the wetlands and open space, and the wildlife they support, including sandhill cranes, bald eagles, and owls. Help HEC protect this ecosystem by signing onto our letter. Without this permit, the developers cannot move forward with impacting wetlands. We hope that you’ll join us in this incredibly important advocacy.

A brief history of the development

Developers submitted a request to rezone nearly 200 acres of farmland that contained historic wetlands and old forests along County Line Road and I-65 to construct a large industrial complex along the I-65 corridor back in 2021. Many of the natural areas are not incorporated into the proposed development, contrary to the principles of the I-65 & County Line Road Strategic Plan. HEC submitted written comments and testified at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Commission, advocating for the protection of the natural areas. The commission all voted in favor to approve the request.

HEC has submitted evidence to the public record on several of the permit applications for the development, demonstrating the importance of these wetlands and the need to protect them for water quality purposes to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Despite this, the Isolated Wetland Permit for the west wetlands has been approved. Since the decision on Sackett v. EPA removed many federal protections for wetlands, including the significant nexus rule, the developers withdrew their application for a 401 and 404 permit. HEC’s comments can be accessed below.

Why is it important that we protect these wetlands?

  • Rapid urbanization of the Pleasant Run Creek watershed means this area needs more wetlands than ever. The water quality of Pleasant Run Creek is impaired, and wetlands are virtually non-existent in this watershed. IDEM is not requiring the developer to mitigate the wetlands near or within the Pleasant Run Creek watershed, which means that the values and functions will be lost in this area, leading to a reduction in water quality.
  • A variety of wildlife has been observed within the wetlands and the surrounding area, including sandhill cranes, osprey, great egrets, solitary sandpipers, American bitterns, bald eagles, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, herons, foxes, deer, coyotes, bats, shrews, snakes, and tree frogs.
  • Data from the US Fish & Wildlife Service show that these wetlands are historic – meaning that they could be remnants of a lost wetland ecosystem and are a target area for wetland reestablishment and conservation.
  • According to government documents, Indiana’s mitigation program has been a challenge to implement, and wetlands are being lost without a timely replacement of the functions and values to the watershed as required. Further, those documents indicate that Indiana is at a point where the cumulative loss of wetlands is having a measurable negative impact on residents, particularly from a water quality standpoint.