AMERICUS – A state lawmaker pushing a measure that could clear the way for a controversial quarry in a northeastern section of Tippecanoe County gave residents and local officials another reason to be on point this week.
State Rep. Jeff Ellington, a Bloomington Republican facing a stalled effort in the General Assembly to strip the power of local planners to restrict mining operations on private property, took a new tack by adding a version of his bill as an amendment to another, unrelated bill this week.
State Rep. Sally Siegrist, a West Lafayette Republican, said her phone and email had been stuffed since the start of the week, when county officials and neighbors living near Americus realized that a mining bill they thought had been shelved was back in play.
“We’re not going to let this happen,” Siegrist said Tuesday. “At least, not if I have anything to do with it.”
Bangert: Americus ready to fight, again, over bill that could clear way for quarry
Ellington, who has backed similar bills in previous sessions, said the measure would rein in local governments he believed were too eager to step on property rights and job creation. In an interview with the J&C in early February, Ellington equated some local governments to “little swamps” – borrowing language from President Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C.
Ellington’s House Bill 1289 would have limited local plan commissions, city councils and county commissioners from creating ordinances and regulations that stopped land owners from mining or harvesting timber.