Lawsuit: US plan for Indiana forest could taint water supply

Environmental groups and officials in a southern Indiana county are suing the U.S. Forest Service over a plan to burn or harvest parts of the Hoosier National Forest

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Environmental groups and officials in a southern Indiana county are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its plan to burn or harvest parts of the Hoosier National Forest, alleging that it could taint drinking water for more than 140,000 people.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in New Albany, alleges that the Forest Service violated several environmental acts when it decided to proceed with the project in the Lake Monroe watershed, which serves all of Monroe County. The plan could take up to 20 years to finish and would be the largest of its kind ever completed in the Hoosier National Forest.

A spokesperson for the Forest Service said the agency could not comment on pending litigation, the …