SPENCER, Ind. — Representatives for a bottled-water/trucking operation at 1240 Pottersville Road described their operation and sought guidance on whether an existing site variance and operational authorization could be transferred to new owners. The Owen County Board of Zoning Appeals did not take formal action and said the matter should be publicly noticed and placed on a future agenda.

Jason Crothy, representing Hydrogeology (the site operator in the presentation), said the site holds authorization for up to 50,000 gallons per day and that the operator’s average usage has been about 25,000 gallons per day, which Crothy described as roughly three trucks per day Monday through Friday that the company reports monthly to planning staff. Arlene Vincent, who identified herself as affiliated with Blue Bridal Brands, said the business has been operating in its current form for a little over a year.

Crothy and Vincent told the board the operation uses a production well and four monitoring wells with continuous loggers to track water levels; Crothy said monitoring has not shown impacts to nearby users to date. The presenters said aquifer testing indicated a sustainable yield well below thresholds that would trigger higher-level state permitting; they described a sustainable pumping estimate in the range of about 25 gallons per minute from their tests.

Planning staff told the board the applicants had not been on the published agenda because the submission arrived too close to the meeting to meet legal advertising timeframes; staff recommended the item be added to a later agenda so the public can comment. Board members agreed and suggested scheduling a full hearing (the board discussed bringing it back in November) and said they wanted the public to have an opportunity to review the application and comment before any vote on transferring the variance or site authorization.

Board members noted that the activity is not a change in use but a proposed change in ownership; the planning director and staff emphasized compliance with public-notice requirements and the importance of transparency. No motions or votes were taken on the transfer at the Aug. 20 meeting.

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