River basin commissions may coordinate water and flood planning

River basin commissions may coordinate water planning and adopt certain flood and construction rules. The law provides for commissions in the Maumee, St. Joseph, and Upper Wabash River basins. Counties with land in a basin may participate. County executives may choose whether their counties participate. A commission may require new construction to hold increased runoff onsite, allow a reasonable fee instead, or restrict construction in the basin’s 100-year floodplains. Before entering land for surveys or suspected flood-law violations, a commission must give 21 days’ written notice; an affected person may appeal if entry is unnecessary. These provisions take effect July 1, 2026.

County executives, commission members, and the Department of Natural Resources may approve changing a river basin commission into a watershed development commission. This process covers the Maumee, St. Joseph, and Upper Wabash River basin commissions. Every participating county’s executive must approve and adopt matching ordinances, and a majority of commission voting members must support the change. The Department of Natural Resources must also approve before the new commission board can meet. These provisions take effect July 1, 2026.

Applicants must file specified information with the division when seeking approval of a development plan under section 26.5. This applies to development plan applications involving a burial ground or cemetery under IC 14-21-1, section 26.5. The application must include project details, maps, information about the burial ground or cemetery and nearby land, and recent photographs. If records do not show the burial ground’s boundaries, the division may require the applicant to determine them using remote sensing, archaeologists, or another approved scientific method. This provision takes effect July 1, 2026.