The Sullivan County Commissioners learned details of a new business enterprise under construction at their bi-monthly meeting on Monday.
Indiana Rail Road is currently erecting the Merom Transload Facility, a new stationary facility for warehousing and transloading material from rail cars to semi trucks.
The complex is located near the southeast corner of CRs 275W and 150S, and is expected to fully operational in mid-March.
But it’s been kept a bit of a secret from the commissioners.
President Ray McCammon stated the commissioners had not been informed of the project, noting since it is located near Hoosier Energy, he thought the rail upgrades were for them, until learning recently it was INRR’s project.
“First of all, we were surprised; we didn’t realize you didn’t know about the project,” Patriot Engineering’s Tim Govert, who was representing INRR, said.
“We (only) knew about the project because the company doing the work out there bonded the roads to get his equipment in because he had done work with us before,” McCammon replied.
“So we don’t really know what you don’t know. I apologize. We’re here to answer any questions,” Govert said.
“We don’t know anything,” McCammon smiled, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Govert explained this is a partnership with Indiana Railroad, Hoosier Energy and Bear Run Mine that will allow the use of rail cars to distribute material to those facilities, bringing it in by rail and distributing it by truck.
Govert said the long-term facility will be operated by Nelson Brothers, LLC.
“It’s essentially providing a transfer station from rail to truck,” Nelson Brothers LLC Eastern Business Unit Manager Marty Petrunyak said. “So it comes in bulk on rail cars and is dispersed via semi truck — soda ash serving Hoosier Energy, ammonium nitrate serving Bear Run Mine.”
Petrunyak says his company operates one other facility in Indiana, multiple ones in Appalachia and in Alabama.
“So we’re very familiar with how these things operate,” he said.
Nelson Brothers was awarded the contract with Bear Run Mine a little over a year ago and has been operating until this project is completed at a temporary site in Switz City at the old Triad mine.
The project was granted a 60-day air quality permit on Jan. 25 by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
“It’s all powder, nothing liquid,” Petrunyak explained. “It’s all powder in pneumatic trucks.”
McCammon asked what volume of semi truck traffic is expected, with Petrunyak saying plans call for seven to 10 trucks a day, seven days a week.
“Everything will be going out on CR 150S (about 3/4-mile) to the west,” Petrunyak said. “Heading out to the east will not work, it being undeveloped it wouldn’t last long. We’ll be putting in scales so everything going out will be weighed.”
“Our concern is with 10 trucks a day running on a blacktop road that’s basically made for cars, it’s not going to hold up,” McCammon said. “So I guess we’re just kind of concerned about what your plans are for the road.
“On the proactive side, what would the county … what would you guys want to see in terms of a maintenance agreement or bonding?” Govert asked. “Obviously, we want to be good neighbors to you guys.”
McCammon said the commissioners haven’t had an opportunity to discuss how best to maintain the road, saying “We had really no idea what was taking place out there.
“We’ll have to get with our (Sullivan County) engineer (Benji Boyd) because I know the road won’t hold up three weeks,” McCammon added. “There’s a lot of traffic that uses that road to the south and to Sullivan.”
After reviewing the project’s impact, the commissioners agreed to get back with Indiana Railroad as soon as possible with a proposed solution.
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