IDEM making new demands on Decatur

Decatur Daily Democrat:

Here we go again!

IDEM (the Indiana Department of Environmental Management) is knocking on Decatur's door once again and ultimately it's going to be the residents of this community who are going to paying the bill to open that door.

All those millions of dollars the city spent to separate and upgrade its sewer systems in two major projects in the past 10 to 12 years was good, but apparently not quite good enough. So comes now the latest unfunded mandate and its cost may top $1 million ... maybe even $1.5 million ... maybe more.

Ben Adams, an engineer with Commonwealth Engineers of Fort Wayne, was the bearer of the bad tidings at Tuesday night's meeting of Decatur City Council. Adams has worked with city officials for several years, including on past sewer projects.