Aquifer
The site sits on top of one of the most prolific aquifers in the Midwest. As such, there is great interest from the County, the Town of New Carlisle, the Township and General Motors in ensuring the aquifer is protected, and that development does not harm the aquifer.
General Motors agrees to connect to the Town of New Carlisle Water Treatment Plants (the "Plants"). General Motors further agrees that, so long as the Plants provide water at a reasonable cost in the quantity and quality needed for the Facility, the Plants will be General Motors only source of operational water for the Facility and that it will not draw water from any wells on the site with the exceptions that General Motors may use the existing wells on the site during the construction phase of the project and may also use other water for miscellaneous uses, e.g., post-construction landscaping irrigation, the use of vending machines that dispense bottled water, etc.
In addition, General Motors agrees to install four monitoring wells on the site. The sampling parameters and location will be determined by the Parties at a future date with the understanding that at least one well will be positioned on the north property line of the site (assumed hydraulically upgradient) and three wells will be positioned hydraulically downgradient from the manufacturing facility. The monitoring wells will be used to monitor groundwater depth and water quality with a water sample collected and analyzed from each well to occur twice a year for a minimum of 5 years commencing with the start of production operations (the "Monitoring Period"). Subsequent monitoring will be in accordance with any Wellhead Protection Permit. General Motors will provide quarterly reporting to the County, the Commission, and the Town of New Carlisle. General Motors will be responsible for installing and maintaining the monitoring wells and the cost associated with data collection and analysis (the “Water Monitoring Costs”) during the Monitoring Period.
The Development Agreement (Resolution No. R-12-C-2023) is available online at the St. Joseph County Agenda Center (Board of Commissioners and Redevelopment Commission, May 23, 2023).
Monitoring
- Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) requires regular testing of raw and finished flow from the potable plant. In 2020, Indiana approved the Well Head Protection Program for the area. It should be noted the Program meets and exceeds the state and federal guidelines.
- Moving forward additional monitoring wells will be used to monitor ground water depth and water quality. Please visit the St. Joseph County website to view the IEC Environmental Reports including the Peerless Midwest Aquifer Reports.
Studies and Reports Completed
Aquifer
- 2015 Aquifer Performance, Modeling, and Drawdown Impact Assessment
- 2019 Hydrogeologic Background for Study and Planning Areas
- 2019 Hydrogeologic Background Analysis Summary
- 2016 – 2022 Long-term Monitoring Report
Water Treatment Plant
- Potable: Cleveland Cliffs and Town
- 2016 Existing Conditions and Improvements (St. Joseph County)
- 2021 Existing Conditions and Improvements (Cliffs)
- Non-potable: St. Joseph Energy Center (SJEC) and Town
Well Head Protection Area
- WHPA Phase 2 Delineation Update and Plan Report, IDEM approved in 2022.