LEAP Field Notes – Issue 1

Technical Observations on Development and City Processes

Issue 1  ·  Following the facts on development and infrastructure  ·  Independent observations on development and permitting—drawn from public records, not talking points.

Last updated: 2026-03-30

Welcome to the first issue of LEAP Field Notes.

I’m writing for neighbors in Lebanon, for people in Boone County who are trying to follow a fast-moving story, and for anyone downstream who wants information about water, air, and how our city makes decisions that you can actually trace back to a document. My training is in science education and environmental ethics—classroom habits of defining terms, plus a stubborn respect for place: who lives here, who benefits, and who carries risk when development this large moves in.

When I say technical observations, I mean: what shows up in agendas, permits, budgets, and agency files—not jargon for its own sake. If an abbreviation trips you up, there’s a Defined terms glossary at the end of this issue.

If I get something wrong, I’ll correct it and note the date.

This newsletter is not legal advice. It is not a substitute for IDEM, Lebanon Utilities (LU), Citizens Energy Group, or the City of Lebanon’s own postings.

Why LEAP—and a few anchors—keep taking over the conversation

If you’ve been to a council meeting, a coffee shop, or a group chat lately, you’ve probably heard LEAP before you finished your drink. LEAP is the state-backed innovation and industrial district in Boone County—on the order of 9,000+ acres, built out over many years. It isn’t one building, one company, or one headline.

The first tenant named in a big way was Eli Lilly—so Lilly belongs in the same breath as LEAP when we talk about who showed up first in the public story. Since then, Project Domino (the Meta-associated campus) has drawn huge attention—and it’s fair to describe it as a cluster of facilities, not a single sign on a fence. Public reporting and local discussion tie Orla LLC and Life Cycle Power, LLC into that Domino picture. IDEM is treating the Domino-related site as one air-permitting footprint for regulatory purposes—that matters when you read notices and maps.

As described in public reporting and filings, we’re talking about a data-center complex that ranks among the largest in the country, on the order of 1,500 acres. I’m not going to unpack every acre here; we’ll do dedicated issues on what that means for air, water, and the city. For this issue, the takeaway is: air permit applications are in front of IDEM and are being reviewed. Future installments will walk through what those permits do and don’t cover, how comment periods work, and what neighbors can reasonably ask for.

Lebanon Utilities is the city utility that treats wastewater and holds the NPDES permit for Lebanon’s wastewater treatment plant. Drinking-water partnerships (including with Citizens Energy Group) are part of the regional story, but they are not the same permitting path or contract stack as the wastewater discharge (NPDES) conversation—different agencies, different documents, different timelines. When we collapse them into one story, we confuse each other.

Where the water goes—grab a cup of tea first

The water story is important, but it’s also the part of dinner conversation where eyes glaze over unless we ease in. A simple picture helps—then the paragraph below walks through the same chain in words.

Simple chain: New water (industry + community) → industry treats / pretreats on site where required → flow to Lebanon WWTP → treated effluent → Eagle Creek (Outfall 002) → downstream reservoir context

Industry doesn’t always send raw waste straight to the city—often there’s on-site treatment or pretreatment first; what’s left in the sewer still lands at Lebanon’s plant for municipal treatment. That’s the “treats, then sends to Lebanon WWTP” step you hear engineers refer to.

Pulling that chain together for Lebanon: a lot of new water brought in for industry and everyday use eventually returns as sewage or industrial flow—after on-site treatment where the rules require it—to Lebanon’s treatment plant. In public plans and permit discussions, treated effluent is tied to a path that includes a new discharge to Eagle Creek—often called Outfall 002 in NPDES materials—alongside existing routing. That matters for nutrients (like phosphorus), for low-flow days on the creek, and for Eagle Creek Reservoir downstream, which sits in a drinking-water context for the wider region.

Lebanon Utilities has indicated something on the order of four to eight million gallons per day (MGD) of water demand tied to the Domino development in our discussions with LU wastewater engineers—treat that number as a planning-scale talking point until you see it written the same way in a public packet you trust, because MGD figures are where misinformation loves to hide.

Here’s the educator’s distinction I wish every meeting handout included: environmental paperwork prepared for state economic development and financing—often in the IEDC orbit—is not the same thing as IDEM’s full antidegradation review for a new outfall. When someone says “the study is done,” ask which study—the IEDC/loan-related environmental screening, or the water-quality demonstration for the NPDES permit.

Permits: air, water, and industrial wastewater—not interchangeable

Environmental rules sort problems by medium. Air permits (Title V / IDEM air program) address stack and fugitive emissions. NPDES permits address discharges to rivers and streams (and related requirements). Industrial wastewater permits (IWP) can let a factory send treated process water to a municipal plant—that’s a different document again from the city’s own NPDES at the end of the pipe.

Orla is not “only an air story.” As filings proceed, Orla is also in the water and sewer conversation with Lebanon Utilities—so you’ll hear air and water threads for the same campus over time. Life Cycle Power has been discussed as bridge power (often framed as air-heavy in the news), but it sits inside the same Domino / IDEM air-permitting picture described above. When a headline says “Meta,” ask which permit and which medium the reporter actually read.

VFC, in plain language: IDEM posts official permit PDFs in the Virtual File Cabinet (VFC) on in.gov/idem. If you want the real limit or the real date, that’s the kind of place it lives—not in my paraphrase.

Snapshot: permits we’re tracking (March 2026)

This table is a starting orientation, not legal status. Numbers, phases, and dates change—confirm on IDEM / ECHO before you repeat anything in a letter to the editor.

Money, the city, and LEAP—honest limits

I’m going to be blunt: fiscal policy is not my home turf. I’ve started opening the city budget because neighbors keep asking fair questions about who benefits when a district this large lands next door—and because the mayor has said that revenue to the city from LEAP-related growth will likely double, including on the Lovin Lebanon podcast episode 100 (community podcast—not a fiscal primary source, but where a lot of us are hearing this). I’m not ready this month to lecture anyone on TIF mechanics—I’m still building literacy there myself, and I won’t ship a paragraph I can’t stand behind.

What I can say, ethically, is this: when public officials describe enormous new revenue from LEAP, it’s reasonable for residents to ask where that money can actually go—parks, streets, debt, incentives—and whether ordinary neighborhood needs will feel it. I hope the money is used transparently and for the broad health of the city, not only for ribbon-cuttings. That matters when city officials promise that utility rates won’t increase, or that citizens might see a “refund or credit” from the city—those assurances sit on the same table as where the dollars really land and what’s already committed. Lovin Lebanon episode 100 is where those threads came up together for a lot of listeners.

As I learn the vocabulary (TIF, abatements, general fund), I’ll bring it back here in small, sourced steps. If you’re already strong on municipal finance and want to correct or teach me, I’m listening.

Connections—Protect Pike, Ecoethic, and where this lives

This project grew out of technical consulting work I did for Protect Pike Township, the community group that has organized around Eagle Creek and related concerns. You can follow their updates on Facebook; they’re often closer to event logistics and coalition news than this letter will be.

Ecoethic is my personal practice—the brand where I host field notes like these. It’s not the City of Lebanon, not IDEM, and not a substitute for their pages.

The City’s #LovinLebanon signup on lebanon.in.gov is the City’s own newsletter—separate from anything I send from Ecoethic.

What’s next

Future issues will go deep on Domino air permits (what they regulate, what they don’t, and how to read a notice), on Lilly’s phased wastewater path, and on Lebanon Utilities’ plans as they appear in public packets. I’m also making room for questions readers send in—especially the ones that start with “I heard at the grocery that…”—so we can answer from documents, not rumor.

Optional references (if you want to dig)

No homework here. If you like clicking primary sources, these are the usual doors advocates and reporters use—they’re offered as tools, not assignments.

Defined terms (quick glossary)

LEAP Field Notes  ·  Issue 1  ·  March 2026

Not legal advice. For permit status and dates, rely on IDEM and ECHO—not on newsletters.  ·  Page 1

— Sarah M. Goss Biogeoethicist, science educator, place-based environmental justice advocate  ·  sarahmgoss.com  ·  ecoethic.co