Huntingburg Council approves solar decommissioning agreement and USDA loans for wastewater project
The Huntingburg Common Council took two actions at Tuesday’s regular meeting.
After a short discussion, the council approved the decommissioning plan for the 260 acres of the 1,600-acre Crossvine Solar panel project planned by Lightsource BP because those acres are within the city’s extra-jurisdictional area.
Here is a story about the project from the last council meeting.
According to the agreement, Lightsource BP will hold a surety bond or escrow account to cover the costs of decommissioning the site. An independent engineer will study the site to determine the cost of decommissioning the site, and that will dictate the bond amount. An independent engineer will review this every five years to adjust the cost for decommissioning and the amount bonded or in escrow.
If the site is inoperable for six months, the city can begin the decommissioning process.
According to City Attorney Phil Schneider, the company is not required to come to the council for approval. “Technically, the council doesn’t have to approve this; they (Lightsource BP) are wanting to be transparent,” he told the council.
The decommissioning agreement for the area in the county’s jurisdiction has already been approved by the Dubois County Commissioners.
The council approved the agreement.
The council also approved additional USDA loans totaling $19.5 million for 40 years at 2.5 percent interest for the construction and updates to the city’s wastewater plant.
Here is a story on that project.
The council also heard an update on the public gardens being created by the Huntingburg Mayor’s Youth Council near the overpass. They are having issues with the soil hardness and working on solutions to be able to break it up to create the garden beds. The plan calls for a green space that requires little maintenance or watering and has been designed by an engineer.
