Cause No. 45D10-2408-PL-000499
Description: CLC brought a lawsuit on behalf of a Gary resident against the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission for violating Indiana’s Open Door Law. The Commission was created by the Indiana General Assembly to oversee flood control and other public works projects for the benefit of communities in the Little Calumet River basin, and collects $7.5 million annually through special property assessments to carry out that purpose. However, precluding transparency and public oversight of its spending decisions, the Commission decides how it will spend those tax payer dollars in secret, “executive” meetings before voting on those already decided matters at its monthly public meetings.
The lawsuit also challenges the Commission’s lease agreement with Maya Energy that allows company to use Commission-owned, public land to build a polluting waste processing facility that would purportedly turn garbage into fuel. The lease agreement appears to violate the Commission’s statutory purpose of providing for “the creation, development, maintenance, administration, and operation of park, recreation, marina, flood control and other public works projects, including levees”—promoting private industrial development does not serve that end.
Current Status: On June 18, 2025, the trial court dismissed the case in its entirety based solely on the pleadings. Plaintiff has appealed the decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals. Briefing is expected to be completed by the end of October.
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