http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=41914.51

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/200...467000cef5b.txt

Is my memory failing me? Didn't our mayor support this venture initially because it would allegedly create about six jobs, then do an about face when the citizens group (can't recall the name) started protesting?

I still can't really figure out how this thing has gotten as far as it has. Didn't Jayco go out of business or declare bankruptcy or something at some point?

Dennis Metheny of Coolspring Twp. fame said on WIMS this morning that this is just a way to get the thing going and then a big company will buy it out. This "developer" is just trying to cash in. And he reminded us that the Mayor wrote a letter supporting this dump. Let's get this letter on the board.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=14790

Can La Porte Co. STILL grant or not grant a variance? Exactly where is this site?

Do you mean Dennis Metheny, the Coolspring Twp Trustee?
Good luck getting a copy of that letter. I'm sure that has long since been destroyed.

I've grown up on the beach and the water. I'm an avid sailer and love pushing my little Laser out in the water on a good windy day. One of the great things about the winds here in the summer is that when it blows hard, it's often an offshore breeze which causes the lake to sit down and is basically perfect for sailing. I can only imagine what tourists (yes there are still people who come to the region for recreation) are going to think on a 90 degree day with 20mph winds out of the south. Isn't that going to get kinda smelly? Heck, I can smell the Bakery (that smell I like) while out on the lake on certain days.

It didn't need a variance, only a special exception. The LaPorte County BZA granted that in 2004.

Can that be revoked?

MC is a in a lawsuit over that very samething right now...

Not likely...the BZA had the chance to revoke it in 2007.... see below. (The rest of the article is in the " I want to have a garbage dump on my backyard" thread)


"By a 3-0-1 vote, the board agreed to continue the special exception until a driveway permit is obtained, and gave Great Lakes 30 days after all permits are in hand to apply for a building permit from LaPorte County. Voting in favor of the motion were Dwayne Hogan, Ed Kogut and Paul Zona. Melissa Mischke abstained."

Not exactly....The lawsuit appealed IDEM's granting of the permit. That's over unless they take it to the state Supreme Court.

What is still in question is whether Porter County will grant them a driveway permit. Even though the proposed facility is in LaPorte County, Porter County controls County Line Rd. So far, they have refused the permit request. So, Porter County will be sued by the garbage fanboys.

Here it is, along with the letter of "questionable authenticity". Click to view attachment

"A letter of questionable authenticity supporting a waste-transfer station on County Line Road was stricken from the record during a hearing Wednesday in Indianapolis.

LaPorte County Attorney Shaw Friedman argued that County Commission President Marlow Harmon never wrote the letter to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to support a waste-transfer station by Great Lakes Transfer"

Well, technically Friedman is right, as least in regards to the Harmon letter in the attachment -- seeing as the Harmon letter is addressed to Blieden, not the IDEM.

The other letter, on what appears to be Michigan City letterhead from Oberlie, well, I wonder if they're contesting the authenticity of that one too. I seem to remember reading about that one in the News Dispatch.

Oh, here it is --



Might not be a letter, but Oberlie voted for the waste transfer station in his role of member of the Solid Waste District Board.

Both letters were included in the application for the IDEM permit. A copy of the permit was provided by IDEM for review (prior to the public hearing) at the Michigan City Library. IIRC, both letters went missing from the library copy.

Wow. Maybe Michelle has some info there from the inside?

By gad, it IS Dennis, not Roger, Metheney. I will go edit.

The La Porte Co. seems to ok the special permit if the driveway is ok'd by Porter Co. Why don't they put a time limit on it, say 60 days, and then it will 'sunset.'

Because LaPorte County, or some powerful folks in LaPorte County want the transfer station, they just want to give the appearance of opposition? or is it just my cynical nature?

You aren't alone.

Enough people think NW Indiana is made entirely of brownfields. Putting something like this waste transfer station so near the Dunes is frighteningly stupid, and for anyone holding political office not to see how stupid it is may even be stupider.

One thing I can tell you -- we all have to make sure that any elected official who supports this, or appoints someone to a board who supports this, is reminded of it repeatedly before the next time they stand for election.

You know how I feel about Oberlie. This is typical of how he impacts the City and area. Why is he in office? Oh, yeah, no one ran against him in the general election. Hats off to those who tried in the primary.

I hadn't heard this.

It is up to us, then, to publicize this letter.

Oberlie has never denied writing the letter. In fact, he answered a question about his support of the garbage transfer station at a Primary Candidates Forum that was held at City Hall and broadcast on WEFM. Funny thing... there were technical difficulties and the last portion of the Forum wasn't recorded. His endorsement of the transfer station would've made a great campaign commercial....for LaRocco or Winski.

Very true...especially since they both opposed it.

WEFM is therefore unreliable. WIMS should have been there.

Too bad the News-Dispatch didn't cover this story.


Porter County wins battle in transfer station war
By Phil Wieland phil.wieland@nwi.com, (219) 548-4352 | Posted: Monday, October 4, 2010 6:00 pm
MICHIGAN CITY | A LaPorte County Superior Court judge has ruled in Porter County's favor in the ongoing battle over plans to build a trash transfer station on County Line Road in LaPorte County.

Judge Richard Stalbrink granted Porter County's request for a summary judgment dismissing the suit filed by Great Lakes Transfer LLC and the property owners, Darren and Gina Kaletha. Great Lakes received a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to build the trash transfer station on about 64 acres owned by the Kalethas on the LaPorte County side of County Line Road.

The dispute resulted from Porter County's refusal to allow a driveway cut to the property from County Line Road, which is the only access road. The county has jurisdiction over all roads on its eastern and southern boundaries, and it rejected several applications to allow the driveway cut saying the road was not built to handle the steady flow of heavy trucks that would be using the transfer station.

Bob Harper, president of the Porter County Board of Commissioners, said the county fought the project from the beginning because the proposed driveway is "not that far from the Dunes park, there is residential across the street and the road can't handle the semis."
"It needs to be a major highway," Harper said of wherever a transfer station would be built. "We are talking hundreds of semis a week, and that (County Line Road) is a very simple county road. Traditionally it's been a low-traveled road. It was wetlands all around where they are going to put the transfer station. I am very pleased with this decision."
John Lloyd, lawyer for Great Lakes and the Kalethas, could not be reached for comment.
The ruling was handed down Thursday by Stalbrink and marked the first big win for the county in its effort to block the station's construction. Its appeals of the IDEM decision to issue the permit have been rejected, but those rulings said Great Lakes still must comply with local laws and permit requirements for the road.

A hearing on the summary judgment request originally filed by Great Lakes and the Kalethas against Porter County was held in February. In granting the judgment in favor of the county instead, the judge said its decision to deny the permit is a discretionary one "based on policy considerations and a conscious weighing of the risk and benefits" and therefore was not reviewable by the courts.

Great Lakes and the Kalethas have the right to appeal the decision.

Waste station lawsuit dismissed
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 5:13 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — La Porte Superior Court 2 Judge Richard Stalbrink has dismissed a lawsuit
against Porter County brought by a waste-processing facility that has fought for years to locate on
County Line Road.

Stalbrink issued his order granting summary judgement to Porter County last week, maintaining the
court has no power to review the case. It was the first victory for those who fought against the
transfer station proposed by Great Lakes Transfer LLC.

“I’m glad to hear that decision was made. It wasn’t a good location for the transfer station from the
beginning. There are wetlands, and the water there drains directly to Lake Michigan,” said County
Commissioner Mike Bohacek, who took up the issue when he ran for office in 2006. “The county
really needs one in the northern part of the county, but this wasn’t the place for it.”
Great Lakes Transfer sued the Porter County Highway Department and Porter County Board of
Commissioners in 2008 after county officials repeatedly denied it permission to build a driveway cut
to the proposed facility location, 5335 N. County Line Road. Michigan City resident Sean Blieden,
who operated Great Lakes Transfer, wanted to build the transfer station on a 64-acre plot on the
east side of the road, which is inside La Porte County. The road, however, straddles the county line,
and state law says any road that does so is under jurisdiction of the county to the west.
Neither Blieden nor his lawyers, John Lloyd of South Bend and Barry McDonnell of Michigan City,
returned calls for comment Tuesday.

In his motion, Stalbrink wrote state case law indicates the county was allowed to deny the permits
based on county ordinances “because they were made in consideration of certain specific and
specified policies and concerns ... regarding traffic safety policies that were deemed important
enough to deny the application.”

Porter County officials claimed the road was not built to handle the steady flow of heavy trucks that
would be using the transfer station, citing traffic and safety concerns.

This lawsuit was filed among appeals by both Porter and La Porte counties of the transfer station’s
permit to construct and operate a facility there, granted by the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management in November 2005. That permit expires Nov. 10. Blieden’s former
business, Jayco Recycling Services at 1617 E. U.S. 12, filed for bankruptcy in 2007 before it closed.
Great Lakes and Darren and Gina Kaletha, who own the property at 5335 N. County Line Road, have
the right to appeal Stalbrink’s decision.

“Transfer stations are an unpopular thing to pass,” Bohacek said. “Blieden found a site that had the
proper zoning, but unfortunately it had other issues. The county should help him find another site
for it. It’s stupid from an environmental standpoint to keep hauling all of our trash down to
Kingsbury.”

Not so fast Mr. Bohacek....According to the EPA, "Although cost-effectiveness will vary, transfer stations generally become economically viable when the hauling distance to the disposal facility is greater than 15 to 20 miles." We are a little less than 20 miles from Kingsbury.

Bohacek's interest in saddling Michigan City with a transfer station has more to do with tipping fees for the Solid Waste District. The SWD made a fortune from tipping fees at the Deercroft landfill....and squandered most of it on bad investments....but that's another story.

Good to know!

Great Lakes Transfer has applied for a permit renewal for the garbage transfer station proposed for County Line Rd. Sean Blieden filed for a renewal on 10/12/10, which puts him outside the 120 day limit specified in Indiana Code, 329 IAC 11-9-4. Of course, it looks like IDEM will try and accommodate him.

Several local officials were notified including Mayor Oberlie, the LaPorte County Commissioners, and the SWD. Maybe they would like to hear from us concerning this permit.

Through IDEM's heroic effort, the garbage transfer station permit was renewed. The permit holder missed the 120 day window, but IDEM worked valiantly to make sure that they got this done before the deadline.

We should be very proud of our state regulators.

This is what the Governor means by making Indiana business-friendly. As a businessman, I resent his co-opting the "business" part to mean anything goes for corporate interests and to hell with people. Can you imagine if this guy is in the White House? YIKES

Totally not surprising. When your community elected leaders refuse to stand up publicly and fight, why would IDEM block this?

All the local officials stepped up for this one with the exception of Oberlie.

IDEM gave this guy a pass on the 120 day rule, the road access issue, and numerous other deficiencies in the original permit. IDEM is the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, they are regulators. It is their job to regulate.

Isn't the Mayor suppose to listen to public opinion?
I'm being naive

Tell me this is dead, if he can't get trucks to the site.

Now see..... this is what confused me about this whole issue. If the guy can't get easement rights for the trucks, how can he have a transfer station?

Last night on WIMS they were discussing this with a well informed caller, whose name I didn't catch...but she's been fighting this for a long time and gave more information on the subject than anyone I've heard. Even "don't give a f**k Chuck."

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...e7646705506.txt

The guy renewing the permit thinks it has a shot. He can appeal the LaPorte County Court ruling, he can try to get access down Hitchcock and through city property.

I have a questions for you Edgey, in two parts...

Does the transfer station generate tipping fees like the dump did, and if so, where does that money go to exactly?

Yes, transfer stations charge tipping fees for their services to the garbage haulers.

At one point, Great Lakes Transfer offered a percentage of the tipping fees to some government entity, can't remember if it was the Solid Waste District or the city. I don't know if they are required to pay a percentage to local government.

e.g. the Deercroft Landfill generated millions of dollars in tipping fees over the life of the dump. A percentage of those fees were paid to the LaPorte County Solid Waste District. The SWD funded local ventures IMM to the tune of $900K and kicked in a million to Cable Plastics. Cable Plastics went bankrupt and the entire "investment" was lost. IMM also had financial difficulties and ended up selling out to another company, diluting the SWD's interest in the company.

But hey, it wasn't bad news for everyone. Former Solids Waster District Director, Lynn Waters became the CEO of IMM. And the Lubeznik Center got around a million from the SWD. Don't worry about the future funding of the SWD...they have taxing authority.

Now it makes sense why the Mayor has been silently assenting to this project. Follow the money.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...be973684246.txt

Officials to meet over permit renewal
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, January 4, 2011 5:07 PM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — Commissioners from La Porte and Porter counties will meet with state officials next week about their appeal of a permit renewal for a County Line Road waste transfer station.

The county heads, including those from the La Porte County Health Department and Porter County Highway Department, sent separate appeals of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s mid-November decision to renew the permit for Great Lakes Transfer LLC. The appeals will be heard together by the state’s Office of Environmental Adjudication, officials said. A pre-hearing conference is Jan. 13 in Indianapolis.

The counties’ commissioners have consistently opposed the renewal of operator Sean Blieden’s permit to operate a waste transfer station on five acres at 5535 N. County Line Road near Earl Road. Several area residents also wrote letters opposing the possibility that IDEM may grant the renewal.

Blieden filed his application a month before the permit was to expire. IDEM rules require permit renewals be submitted at least 120 days before expiration.

Blieden’s first permit to operate the transfer station was issued in November 2005, but nothing was built. Porter County officials have repeatedly denied curb-cut access to the site from County Line Road, claiming it was not built to handle the steady flow of heavy trucks that would use a transfer station, and citing traffic and safety concerns. The new permit would expire Nov. 1, 2015.

According to Indiana Code, road access is required for permit application to be complete, but they will never have that, the appeal states.

“IDEM should not approve a permit or renew a permit when it has knowledge that a key requirement such as road access does not exist. To do so places an unfair burden on local government to challenge an action by IDEM that should not have occurred,” wrote Douglas Biege, a La Porte attorney representing La Porte County.


Copyright © 2011 - The News Dispatch

Yes, maybe it bring jobs to Michigan City, but why there, near your park?

In my old country, factorys can be bilt anywhere. But here in America, is there not say in this?

Why bild recycling factory near park? Why not bild factory in industrial area?

Yes, I know as you say, NIMBY, not in my backyard. People will protest, anywhere you bild it. BUT WHY BILD FACTORY NEAR YOUR PARK? I am confused.

I am sorry for my english. I am working hard at righting better. I love America.

The garbage transfer station is rumored to be the work of THRUSH! ;-)

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...56545724016.txt

Does all of this have anything to do with Darren (Scott) and Gina Kaletha filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and foreclosing on their mansion in Coolspring Twp? I don't think they could afford that big of a house anyway, working for the City!

What goes around, comes around!

The previous post is pure "slander" and is beyond belief....and what the heck does this type of hate toward Scott and his wife hav to do with the topic??? The individual that posted such a personal and difficult piece of someone else's personal life on a public blog must be in some deep pain...
Here is a clip for you....maybe this guy can help your pain. Someone need to.

http://youtu.be/Ny4lRibuh9A