Tippecanoe Co. looks to extend moratorium to block LEAP pipeline

Commissioners expected to renew a measure aimed at high-volume wells and large-scale water transfers for an additional year, as decisions loom on water needs for LEAP district two counties away

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TIPPECANOE COUNTY LOOKS TO EXTEND MORATORIUM TO BLOCK LEAP PIPELINE

A nine-month moratorium on high-volume wells and large-scale water transfers – passed in late 2023 as a shot across the bow of Indiana Economic Development Corp. plans to take water from Tippecanoe County aquifers and ship it to massive developments in the LEAP District in Boone County – will be up for an extension next week.

Tippecanoe County commissioners are expected to vote on a one-year extension of the moratorium at their Monday morning meeting.

Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said the proposed measure is essentially the same as the one passed in early December. That was a time when water conversations were all consuming in Tippecanoe County and when things seemed imminent for a LEAP pipeline plan that would tap-and-take tens of millions of gallons a day out of wells that were being tested in the Granville Bridge area, about seven miles downstream from downtown Lafayette.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)