The City of Lebanon released information regarding the progression of the LEAP Innovation District in Lebanon in its fourth quarter report.
– Photo courtesy of The City of Lebanon.
According to city officials, the $2.1 billion investment by Lilly has progressed smoothly through its first phases with the aid of ideal weather during the fourth quarter.
Currently, poles have been implemented that will supply temporary site power, workforce parking lots are being paved, and the contractors expect to recycle paving material when the build project is completed, trailers have been installed on the site that will be utilized by Fluor and Lilly staff and contractors throughout the project, temporary construction fencing around the perimeter of the area has been installed, and the fencing includes turnstiles that allow the staff to badge in and out for work on the site, interior roads remain under construction to and from the site for staff traveling during their workday and the north stormwater retention basin along County Road 450 is currently under construction.
The LEAP Innovation District was announced in 2022 as the company planned to invest $2.1 billion to further expand its operations in Indiana. The investment was initially projected to create 500 new jobs in central Indiana.
In October, the Community Schools of Frankfort announced its implementation of a new biotech pathway in partnership with Ivy Tech that is expected to prepare students for a career with Lilly upon graduation. Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda commented that the pathway was partially inspired by the implementation of a new Lilly site in Lebanon, and the pathway will replace the Project Lead the Way pathway at the corporation.
“The nice thing about this is that we will phase out Project Lead the Way, and we will phase this in–this biotech Ivy Tech course,” Rhoda said. “It’s another pathway that we’ll teach at Frankfort High School, but it will be available for any of our county school kids to attend at Frankfort High School.”
While many organizations in Central Indiana have expressed their support for the project, other entities have passed resolutions to express their disapproval of a pipeline expected to be necessary for the project to prosper once it reaches completion. In November, the Lafayette City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that opposes the transfer of water from Tippecanoe County to the LEAP Innovation District. The resolution officially opposes the construction of a Lafayette-Lebanon pipeline utilizing the Wabash and Teays River aquifers for the LEAP District. The Lafayette resolution joins Attica and West Lafayette in a series of resolutions to discourage the pipeline.
On Dec. 19, Josh Uitts, Clinton County Commissioner, also released a statement regarding the LEAP Innovation District and his disapproval of the pipeline, stating that the proposed pipeline would travel through a small portion of Clinton County. According to Uitts, local historians have raised concerns that a portion of the project could travel through four pioneer cemeteries in Perry Township. Uitts concluded his statements by stating that “as your Commissioner, I can say with absolute certainty that I do not support the LEAP Pipeline. I will do everything I can to ensure that Clinton County will be treated fairly, and that our history is not disturbed by this project.”
Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry commented in a podcast stating that he has been serving on the Indiana Water Task Force since 2017 or 2018 after being appointed by the Governor. Gentry stated that he always recognized that water availability was an underlying issue in Boone County while serving on the task force, but the introduction of the LEAP project helped put the concern into a new perspective.
“Central Indiana as a whole has a water challenge, you know, I wouldn’t say it’s empty, but you know, they can kind of see the bottom of the tank,” Gentry said. “Based on modeling, they would project that Central Indiana will be out of water for new development by 2050.”
Gentry commented that he brought the water concerns to the state when the LEAP project was initially proposed, stating that Boone County would be unable to support the new developments with the limited amount of water available in the area. Gentry stated that he was met with encouragement that local counties, such as Tippecanoe County would be possible partners in creating a way for water to be delivered to Lebanon for the new development, and Gentry commented that Lebanon could greatly benefit from the state project for more local projects in the future.
“I pretty quickly realized (that) this could be a great opportunity for us to solve our water problem, right, and let’s make Lebanon 50-year or 100-year water secure,” Gentry said. “As industry comes in, water is going to be needed, so the state’s making a big investment here, and we can latch onto that.”
Gentry stated that Lebanon currently hosts around a max pull from its water supply close to 4.6 to 5 million gallons a day, and he continued to state that supporting new development would not be possible as a result of the limited supply. Gentry stated that as much as the public and the counties should have a say in the water transferals and supply, the water is ultimately a state resource.
“The IEDC has talked about numbers as large 100 million gallons of water a day,” Gentry said. “That’s a big number. It’s hard to wrap your head around that, but the flow of the Wabash River is two billion gallons of water of a day, so it’s like 5%, and that’s not including the 100-foot aquifer that’s below the Wabash River that’s all full of water too.”
Gentry expressed that he understands the concerns that have risen from Tippecanoe County residents and the governments in the county, but he encouraged Hoosiers to bind together to support all Hoosiers regardless of the county in which they reside. Gentry concluded by encouraging all Hoosiers to wait for the reports from scientists and hydrologists regarding the logistics behind the proposed pipeline before forming conclusions on whether the pipeline should be allowed in the area.