|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Bill DeWeese |
|
DeWeese presses governor for Ryerson dam restoration
HARRISBURG, March 10 – State Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington, plans to meet with Gov. Ed Rendell soon to discuss release of $25 million in state funding to begin work on restoring the dam for 62-acre Duke Lake at Ryerson Station State Park, fulfilling an administration pledge made in July 2005.
During a Feb. 26 conference call with officials of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for an update on the project, DeWeese said it was outlandish to hear that design work will take an estimated 18 months, followed by another 18 months to perform the restoration work. DeWeese said this news was particularly unsettling since the first meeting to discuss preliminary design work was held in September 2008, meaning 18 months have elapsed with no appreciable progress.
DeWeese and state Sen. Barry Stout, D-Washington/Greene, sought the update from DCNR after the state Department of Environmental Protection recently ruled that longwall mining at Consol Energy’s Bailey Mine was responsible for ground movement that damaged the dam and necessitated draining the lake.
DCNR is seeking $58 million in damages from Consol. But the company has the right to appeal, which could further delay the timetable for repairing the dam, which DeWeese finds unacceptable.
DeWeese and Stout expressed their displeasure with the lack of progress in a March 1 letter to Rendell, saying, "In essence, it is as though time has stood still since July of 2005 … Much to our dismay, we learned from DCNR personnel (on Feb. 26) that the 36-month time clock on this project has yet to begin to tick!"
DeWeese and Stout asked Rendell to begin an immediate review of the matter, and asked for his personal assistance – including his release of money from the 2004 and 2006 capital budget bills that would move the lake restoration forward. In this way, the state could begin the dam restoration process now, without waiting for the legal and financial responsibility issues to be settled.
DeWeese said that since DCNR officials have confirmed that Ryerson ground movement has slowed, lessening a major concern, the state should fast-track its initial commitment to rebuild the dam, thus restoring the now-drained lake that was the major drawing card for the state park.
"While the state park remains open, a Ryerson without a lake is like a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich without the bread," DeWeese said. "All we are asking is that the state move expeditiously to fulfill a DCNR pledge made to the Ryerson Task Force back in November 2007. We have been patient long enough."
###