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Friday, April 16, 2010

Ind. Law - Continuing series on: "The politics of trash" in Lake County

Updating this ILB entry from yesterday, Christine Kraly of the NWI Times today has the paper's story, this one titled "Ethanol contract can't protect everything ." It begins:

For years, proponents of the waste-to-ethanol plant slated for Schneider have touted its ability to turn the county's trash into energy, all without a dime from taxpayers.

"We have absolutely no downside," said Jeffrey Langbehn, executive director of the Lake County Solid Waste Management District. "There's no great next scandal on this thing."

Langbehn and district legal counsel Clifford Duggan say they are confident the county is fully protected in its contract with Powers Energy One to host the plant.

But a legal expert's look at the contract shows some costs to the county could be unavoidable.

Who's liable for contamination?

The Times provided a copy of the Powers Energy contract to Jeremy Telman, a Valparaiso University Law School professor specializing in contract law.

Telman called the agreement "well drafted" to protect the county's interests, but he said he doesn't think it's possible to contract against all potential future problems.

"It seems like they've done everything to protect themselves through contractual means," Telman said. "My concern is that it is not really possible to insulate a public entity from liabilities that might arise under statutes."

ILB: The NWI Times has not, as far as I know, posted a copy of the Powers Energy One contract.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 16, 2010 10:02 AM
Posted to Indiana Law