The Gary Common Council will soon vote on an ordinance that would allow a wet processing system in the city, and some residents are concerned.
“I don’t know this process well, so I can’t speak on whether this is a good process or a bad process,” said Gary resident Jennifer Rudderham at Tuesday’s council planning and development committee meeting. “But I am just speaking in terms of how we approach development in the city..”
The committee looked at an ordinance that would give Reconstruct Aggregates, Inc. a special use permit for the facility on 4900-5200 E. 15th Ave. in Gary. The proposal received a favorable recommendation from the Gary Board of Zoning Appeals at a Nov. 13, 2025, public hearing.
The Gary Common Council has the final say on the permit.
Rudderham, who is also a member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, said the roads in the proposed area are “torn up,” and she’s worried about more trucks in the area.
“I think we really need to think about if we’re adding potentially 100 more trucks a day riding on these streets, who’s paying for the repairs for these roads?” Rudderham said.
According to the ordinance, the wet processing system would use water-based machinery to clean and sort soils, and remove dust and other materials. The recycled soils will be reused for local construction, which can reduce landfill waste, truck traffic and dependence on rural quarries.
The system would be allowed to run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Operators would have to obtain permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and they would have to submit a formal drainage and runoff control plan to the city engineer.
The site is currently zoned at M1-1 limited manufacturing, in which wet processing is not considered as a permitted use. The permit would allow the system, which the ordinance also says aligns with the Gary comprehensive plan’s light industrial land use designation.
“It’s a relatively new process in this country,” said Scott Yahne, Reconstruct Aggregates’ attorney. “We’re washing the dirt, we’re cleaning it, and then the clean sand gets sold for use in construction activities. … It’s a valuable building product.”
Residents have expressed concerns with trucks in the area, Yahne said, but the facility operators plan to not drive trucks on city streets. On Tuesday, Gary resident and GARD President Dorreen Carey also expressed concerns with truck traffic in the area.
“It adds up,” Carey said. “Our garbage trucks are going to be taking the city garbage to the transfer station that’s right across the street from this area, so there’s going to be a tremendous amount of congestion there.”
A traffic study could help residents better understand the number of trucks that will be in the area, Carey said.
Council President Linda Barnes Caldwell, D-5th, asked how often trucks would drive to the facility. Yahne said it’s difficult to estimate, but the facility can process 100 to 250 tons per hour, which he believes equates to between five and 10 trucks per hour.
“There’s an access road that services businesses that come off (Interstate) 65,” Yahne said. “We are cognizant and concerned about our neighbors.”
The facility also should not emit dust, Yahne said, because it’s a wet processing system. He also doesn’t expect noise to be an issue for neighbors.
“This is not a noisy process, and it will be lower than the decibels produced by the toll road,” Yahne said. “We think we’re in a good location, and we’re properly zoned, except this process isn’t described in your zoning ordinance because when it was developed, this process didn’t exist.”
Rudderham is also concerned that the facility will be near a residential area and about soil contaminants. She believes council members should question if that would be a potential danger for workers.
Carolyn McCrady, another Gary resident and GARD member, said she’s concerned that the facility will bring soil from other industrial areas and residents won’t know what’s in it.
“There could be asbestos, lead, all kinds of chemicals,” McCrady said. “We can’t even grow our gardens in Gary or in other areas because the soil is contaminated. … There’s been very little talk about the condition of the soil when it comes in, and I think that’s really important because we don’t know what they’re doing to cleanse it.”
