Indiana DNR wetlands program found out of compliance by federal government
Indiana's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wetlands mitigation program has been found out of federal compliance, with many projects stalled despite collecting over $109 million in fees. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested a corrective action plan due to the significant backlog of wetland and stream credits. This issue impacts developers, including a Google data center in the Fort Wayne area, which made ILF purchases.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in-lieu fee (ILF) wetlands mitigation program, launched in 2018, has been found out of compliance with federal regulations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The program has collected over $109 million in payments from landowners, including from developers to offset environmental disruption, but many required mitigation projects have stalled. Federal rules mandate that land acquisitions and initial improvements for these projects should begin within three years of the first credit sale in a given area, a deadline that Indiana has consistently missed.
At the end of last year, the program was behind on over 173 wetland credits and more than 84,711 stream credits, with over 60% of stream credits and nearly a third of wetland credits behind schedule. This backlog prompted the Army Corps' Louisville district to request a corrective action plan and a timeline for reducing outstanding credit obligations. In response, the DNR temporarily halted credit sales in two of its 11 service areas, including the Indianapolis metropolitan area, which faces substantial development pressure.
DNR officials, including land acquisition division director Mark Becker, cited early staffing issues, the COVID-19 pandemic, and higher-than-anticipated demand for ILFs as contributing factors to the delays. Challenges in site acquisition and navigating rigorous state and federal review processes have also hindered progress. Senator Chris Garten, a Charlestown Republican, has criticized the program, pointing out that state and federal laws have been altered to reduce wetland protections in Indiana, and questioning the efficiency of one government agency charging another (like the Indiana Department of Transportation) for mitigation. Environmental advocates, such as Susie McGovern of the Hoosier Environmental Council, argue for stronger protections and suggest that insufficient staffing and funding impede the mitigation process.
The article highlights that several ILF purchases in 2025, totaling over $320,000, appeared to be associated with a Google data center in the Fort Wayne area. Experts like Morgan Robertson, a professor specializing in wetland policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that problems with states keeping up with ILF mitigation are a persistent issue, undermining the program's goal of replacing lost ecological functions.