INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Concerns over transparency are growing following a meeting that included the governor, two top lawmakers, and a select group of officials in Tippecanoe County.

The main topic for discussion: Water.

The transparency concerns come from those not included in last Friday’s meeting that discussed the LEAP pipeline, such as city council members from both Lafayette and West Lafayette, along with groups opposed to the state taking water from the Wabash River. 

West Lafayette City Council member David Sanders, said, “There was no discussion about local control of water resources and that is the fundamental issue.”

Sanders was not invited to the meeting with the governor.

He is one of the leaders of a group called “Stop the Water Steal,” and co-authored a resolution opposing any water taken from the Wabash River for the LEAP project, a huge industrial development in Boone County.

At the center of this water controversy is a water study, first commissioned by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and now under the Indiana Finance Authority umbrella.

Results of the study were expected in January, but the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce issued a statement Tuesday claiming the results will not be released anytime soon. 

The statement read, “Speaker Huston and President Pro Tem Bray provided assurances from the legislative branch that, aligned with the Governor’s commitment, no action would be taken to advance a water project before the IFA completes its water study, which is expected to take until the fall of 2024.” 

Sanders said in response, “My impression is they are expanding the scope of the study, it is possible the pressure from all of these groups are placing on them are making them consider other sources of water for the project.“

The issue of local control of water resources has become one of the dominant issues.

Sanders says the state is using taxpayer dollars to promote development in Boone County with little regard given to Tippecanoe’s future development plans.  

Recently, “Stop the Water Steal” organizers led a letter-writing and phone campaign directed to statehouse leadership. Sanders says he believes some of the efforts by his group prompted the governor to hold the meeting.