A special judge has approved a schedule that sets deadlines in a lawsuit challenging a Bartholomew County ordinance restricting out-of-county biosolids.
Jackson Superior Court 1 Judge Amy Marie Travis, who is serving as special judge in the case, has set a deadline for plaintiff Biocycle LLC to submit a motion for summary judgment by April 2, with the county having until May 4 to file a response brief and any motion for summary judgment of its own.
Travis also scheduled a hearing on a motion for summary judgment for July 22.
The lawsuit, filed by Biocycle LLC in February, alleges that the ordinance unfairly restricts its business, caused potential partners to back out of deals and gives unjust preferential treatment to local biosolids, according to a copy of the complaint.
The ordinance bars the import, storage and non-residential application of biosolids originating outside of Bartholomew County unless it is processed by Columbus City Utilities’ wastewater treatment plant.
The company received a permit in July 2024 from state environmental regulators to accept biosolids and industrial waste at a facility southeast of Columbus and apply them to agricultural land in Bartholomew, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties.
Biosolids are organic materials produced during the treatment of human sewage at wastewater treatment plants.
While Travis dismissed several of Biocycle’s claims last month, she allowed other arguments to proceed, including, among others, the claim that the ordinance is void because it is preempted by state law and not subject to Indiana’s Home Rule Doctrine.
Biocycle has argued that the regulation of biosolids falls into an exception to the Indiana’s Home Rule Doctrine that allegedly stipulates that local governments do not have the “power to regulate conduct that is regulated by a state agency, except as expressly granted by statute,” according to the order.
The county, for its part, has argued that the ordinance is expressly allowed by state statute, pointing to a provision in the Indiana Administrative Code that says local governments are not prohibited from “imposing requirements for the use or disposal of a biosolid … more stringent than the requirements in this article … or from imposing additional requirements for the use or disposal of a biosolid.”
The county also has cited another provision that states that “the determination of the manner in which biosolid, industrial waste product or pollutant-bearing water is used or disposed is a local determination.”
According to a July 16 notice of decision from IDEM, Biocycle LLC’s permit allows it to “accept biosolids and industrial waste products at their storage structure in Bartholomew County for blending and to land apply the blended biosolids and/or industrial waste products to agricultural land in Bartholomew, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties.”
County officials say public concerns range from other counties using Bartholomew as a sewer sludge dumping ground to potential adverse environmental effects. Some residents are concerned an unpleasant smell could permeate nearby residences and recreational activities.
Bartholomew County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said previously the commissioners intend to “protect our citizens against the hazards” of out-of-county biosolids but said he was unable to comment further, citing the pending lawsuit.
“We did pass an ordinance in 2024 prohibiting import and field applications of out-of-county biosolids generated in other counties,” Kleinhenz said previously. “Our intent is to protect our citizens against the hazards of such. I cannot comment further as advised by counsel.”
Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in later court action.
