PENDLETON — A large portion of land in southern Madison County will be transferred from the state to the Fall Creek Regional Waste District.

State Rep. Scott Reske, D-District 37, arranged for the transfer after he learned of the possible sale of the land, which sits adjacent to the district treatment center.

The plot of land, 138 acres, lies between the Pendleton Correctional Facility and the treatment center.

The Department of Correction declared the land to be surplus, and the state was going to sell it at auction. However, the department neglected to contact other government agencies involved, in this case the township, to see if they needed the land.

When Reske found this out, he stopped the sale and worked with Gov. Mitch Daniels and the staff in the governor’s office to transfer the land to the regional waste district.

“It’s ideal for us, and we asked Rep. Reske to see if he could arrange for us to get that, and he did,” said Joe Rowlett, general manager of the Fall Creek Regional Waste District. “It’s for the eventual expansion of the treatment facility. We cannot resell or use it for any other purpose.”

Doing this could result in some cost saving for customers of the district.

“There won’t be any immediate act, but in the future, we already have the land, so when we have to borrow money, we won’t have to borrow as much money,” Rowlett said.

Rowlett estimated an expansion might be needed within five to seven years because of growth in the area.

The Fall Creek Regional Waste District serves Green, Adams and Fall Creek townships. Rowlett said the district serves about 5,800 customers, including the Pendleton Correctional Facility.

“The bottom line is, in the end, Fall Creek Regional Waste District customers won’t have to pay for that land in the future,” Reske said. “That’s the good thing about it.”