SWCD set to handle plans

Any and all Rule 5 plans in connection with the proposed Bluff Point Wind Farm will be reviewed and processed through the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District before being forwarded to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Bettie Jacobs of the JCSWCD told the Jay County Drainage Board this morning she had clarified the process with IDEM officials.
A Rule 5 plan addressing erosion concerns must be submitted whenever a construction project involves disturbing an acre of land or more.
Jacobs said it’s not clear whether the NextEra Energy would file separate Rule 5 plans for each of the 49 wind turbines slated for Jay County or if a single plan covering all of the construction would be submitted. If a single plan is submitted, fees will be adjusted accordingly, she said.
The review process can take up to 30 days, and if changes are required another 30-day review process is initiated.
“If they intend to be starting in June, things need to be crossing desks now,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs also told the board that the Section 319 grant application submitted on behalf of Jay and Blackford counties to develop a watershed management plan for the upper Salamonie River had cleared its first hurdle with IDEM.
“That’s a piece of good news,” she said, noting that an application submitted last year didn’t fare as well. The application is being revised by environmental consultant Connie Ronald and community developer Ami Huffman and will be resubmitted to IDEM on Feb. 22 so that it can be forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In other business, the drainage board:
•Directed county surveyor Brad Daniels to address concerns about debris accumulating where Halfway Creek crosses Ind. 1 in Redkey.
•Learned that Stacia Henderson had been hired as the new watershed coordinator for the upper Wabash River and will be implementing programs that pri-
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