MOUNT VERNON -- Posey County officials have taken a major step toward making a proposed fertilizer plant a reality.
Wednesday morning, the Posey County Council voted unanimously to reissue $1.3 billion in bonds that will be part of the financing for the project.
The bonds were originally issued in December by the Indiana Finance Authority, using federal disaster bond money. Those bonds are set to expire July 1.
Last month, Gov. Mike Pence announced he was withdrawing the state's offer of support for the fertilizer plant project, whose developer is Midwest Fertilizer Corp.
The project is backed by an international group of investors including Pakistan-based Fatima Group.
On Tuesday, Pence cleared the way for Posey County to step in as the bonds' issuer.
"We're getting there one hurdle at a time, and today we did a big hurdle," Posey County Council President Bob Gentil said after the vote took place.
Tom Campbell, a Houston attorney who is acting as Fatima Group's U.S. adviser, said Wednesday's action was important to the project's future.
Had the bonds been allowed to expire without another public body stepping in to reissue them, Midwest Fertilizer would have missed out on the chance to benefit from the disaster bond program.
Without the bonds, Campbell said, the company would have faced a stiff challenge in trying to find a replacement funding source.
The bonds will mature December 5, and funds will be held in escrow until the maturity date while the company selects a site, secures environmental permits and lines up other aspects of the deal. Midwest Fertilizer Corp. will have access to the money only after the Dec. 5 maturity date.
As with the original deal, Posey County is acting as a conduit issuer for the bonds. This means that it is not on the hook financially, and loses no money if the company should fail. That risk is borne by the investors who purchase the bonds.