Legal Notice Spotlight in Honor of Newspaper Week

This recent legal notice published in The Republican gave the community important information about a proposed expansion of Waste Management of Indiana’s Twin Bridges RDF facility in Danville.

This spotlight on a recent legal notice in The Republican is meant to illustrate the importance of the government being required to post notices like this in the local newspapers. Legislators in Indiana advance bills every year slowly removing the requirement of government agencies having to publish notices like this in local newspapers.

Last week The Republican published a legal notice from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The notice referenced an application by Waste Management of Indiana LLC, to expand the capacity of their Twin Bridges RDF facility in Danville, Indiana.

The notice, as provided by IDEM, confirmed the application was complete and the public has until October 31, 2026, to send comments to IDEM. It also states that during the comment period you may request IDEM to hold a public hearing.

Following instructions provided in the legal notice, The Republican was able to easily obtain access to the 2,430 page application to IDEM. The application is a detailed report following every regulation as required by state and federal government when wanting to expand a disposal facility in Indiana.

The proposed modifications include: 

1. An increase in the area of the permitted solid waste boundary of approximately 21.5 acres, to a new total area of approximately 258.9 acres.

2. An increase in the area of the permitted facility boundary of from approximately 278 acres to a new total area of approximately 538.1 acres.

3. An updated set of base grades, encompassing the updated solid waste boundary, and

4. An updated permitted top of final cover (and corresponding top of waste) grades which results in a net airspace gain of approximately 7,233,930 cubic yards above the currently permitted airspace volume.

 Following the end of the public comment period, IDEM will issue a Notice of Decision stating whether the approval has been issued or denied. For anyone with questions or comments about this expansion The Republican recommends reviewing the application as submitted to IDEM before contacting them. There is a lot of information that may answer some of your questions.

Details of the application can be found in IDEM’s virtual cabinet. Go to: vfc.idem.in.gov/. Then select the “SW Program ID” in the Quick Search field in the upper right-hand corner of the page then enter 32-02. Then search by date for the more recent file.

Comments should be sent in writing with any corroborating documents to IDEM but email is preferred. Email address for this application should be directed to Trevor Willauer at Twillaue@idem.In.gov.