River Ridge Approves $12 million Allocation to Jeffersonville Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion

Jeffersonville, IN (July 19, 2022) – During a monthly meeting of the River Ridge Development Authority, the RRDA approved a finalized agreement with the City of Jeffersonville’s and the distribution of $12 million in funding to support the expansion of the city’s North Wastewater Treatment Plant (NWWTP).

According to a resolution passed by the RRDA, the city has received bids and is preparing to award a contract for the planned expansion – a project that will provide significant benefits for current and future businesses located within the River Ridge Commerce Center (RRCC).

The NWWTP provides wastewater treatment services to industries and businesses located in the Jeffersonville section of River Ridge as well as about 10,000 acres located outside the River Ridge Commerce Center. The expansion will also support developments of other business, including industrial, retail and residential initiatives in areas of Jeffersonville in close proximity to the RRCC.

The current plan for expansion calls for doubling the treatment capacity at the plant to approximately 6 million gallons per day. Two million gallons per day of the new capacity will be allocated for businesses within the RRCC.

The Jeffersonville project also is receiving $5 million through the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative. Its READI funding request also was supported by the RRDA.

“We are very pleased to see this project moving forward,” said River Ridge Executive Director Jerry Acy. “This expansion is extremely important to support the significant business and job growth that we have had and expect to continue at the River Ridge Commerce Center.”

According to a recent Economic Impact analysis independently conducted by Policy Analytics, the RRCC and its businesses contributed $235.7 million to local area labor income in 2021, including $96.6 million in labor income to citizens of Jeffersonville. Additionally, spendable income tax revenue distributed to the county and cities in Clark County, Ind., totaled $3.6 million in 2021, including $1.28 million for the City of Jeffersonville.

River Ridge continues to invest in future growth

Meanwhile, the RRDA also approved investments totaling nearly $1.8 million to develop and improve infrastructure needed to support continued growth at the Commerce Center.

During its monthly meeting, the Development Authority approved these project awards:

• A contract not to exceed $688,600 with MAC Construction for pavement repairs on sections of roadway;
• A contract not to exceed $1,009,143 with Excel Excavating Inc. to complete roadway improvements to provide access to the Duke Energy substation and other developable parcels between Lentz Avenue and Paul Garrett Avenue. The proposed project includes approximately 750 linear feet in a three lane, 12-foot-wide asphalt pavement lanes with curb and gutter.
• A $100,000 site work payment to cover costs for a developer within River Ridge to relocate approximately 55,000 cubic yards of excess rock and soil to an adjacent site owned by the RRDA and in need of fill material to allow future development.