Opinion on trash-to-ethanol ownership could be out next month

A controversial contract clause placing ownership of a planned trash-to-ethanol facility in the hands of Lake County taxpayers could be resolved by the end of next month, county officials said.

At a board meeting Thursday, Lake County Solid Waste Management District officials said the Indianapolis-based law firm Barnes & Thornburg planned to make a presentation to district board members regarding the county-ownership clause as early as mid-September.

Elected officials of at least three Lake County municipalities have said they fear the clause could open taxpayers to liability for any mishaps or financial snags that could occur at the plant. The plant has not been built yet and would rely on technology not yet proven on a commercial scale. It aims to convert the county's trash into ethanol, an alternative fuel similar to gasoline.

The waste management district approved a contract with Powers Energy One of Indiana LLC in 2008 for the private company to build and operate the facility with private funds and a private work force. The contract, however, places actual ownership of the plant in the hands of the district.

Powers, whose business now is called Powers Energy of America, and the district now hope that municipalities in the county individually will sign an interolocal agreement that would route trash to the facility for the next 20 years. But municipal officials in Griffith, Crown Point and Merrillville have balked at the agreement, with some saying their communities won't consider signing on to any plan that includes taxpayer ownership.

Waste management district officials have said a hold-harmless clause in the contract would protect the county, placing all liability on Powers. However, a contract attorney contacted by The Times has said the clause may not protect the county from all liability.

Powers Energy officials earlier this year offered to remove the county ownership clause from the contract to assuage any concerns. Because of the controversy, the waste management district asked Barnes & Thornburg to review all possible ownership scenarios and any legal ramifications.

Waste management district attorney Clifford Duggan said that opinion should be ready for board review before the September board meeting.