‘I know this is bad news and I know it’s not the news the people of Greene County have been waiting to hear.’
A view of the dam at Duke Lake that was damaged by longwall mining, prompting the water to be drained a decade ago
Excavators work Friday to remove sediment from the bed of Duke Lake. The work to remove the sediment from the lake and transport it to a coal waste site in Mather is nearly completed.
DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn makes the announcement Friday that Duke Lake will not be restored.
WIND RIDGE – Duke Lake is lost forever.
State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn visited Ryerson Station State Park to announce Friday the once-popular lake will not be restored because of continued ground movement beneath the dam.
“I know this is bad news and I know it’s not the news the people of Greene County have been waiting to hear,” Dunn said during a news conference in the park’s visitation center.
“We see this as a beginning of the planning process … to re-imagine (the park) in a different way. We understand the deep connection the people have had to this park.”
The plan will now shift from rebuilding the dam in order to restore the lake to bringing together a group of residents, government officials and park planners to discuss what other amenities can be built within the 1,164-acre park to attract families and new visitors. Dunn said initial discussions already netted ideas such as biking and hiking trails, small fishing ponds, water rafting and an improved pool.
“We hope to create memories for the children of today and tomorrow so they can enjoy it as others have enjoyed it,” Dunn said.
The lake was drained in July 2005 after cracks were found in the dam caused by longwall mining near the park. The state and Consol Energy reached a $36 million settlement in 2013 to end litigation and the money was intended to be used to restore the lake. The DCNR submitted a permit application with the state Department of Environmental Protection in May 2012 to rebuild the dam.
However, ground monitoring of the site revealed continued movement last year and more recent tests in February confirmed it. Consol plans to continue mining in the area for the next four years, which John France, an engineer with a firm hired by the state to investigate the movement, said it could make the area around any reconstructed dam unstable for years.
“The coincidence is just too strong to see any other reason for the movement,” France said of nearby coal mining. “That is problematic because the movement is ongoing.”
Without a lake, some area residents who grew up enjoying Ryerson since it opened in 1967 doubt the park can ever regain its luster. DCNR Regional Park Manager Jeffrey Anna admitted attendance has declined “significantly” over the past decade and estimated it attracts about one-quarter of the 265,000 visitors who came annually before 2005.
“It was a focal point, and because it was lost, there was a perceived loss to the community,” Anna said as he dabbed away tears while speaking.
Brandy Tuttle, who lives in the shadow of the lake, also became emotional as she spoke to Dunn and Anna about what the park has meant to her. She hugged Anna, who was the park’s manager for five years in the late 1990s, as they discussed shared memories of fishing or recreation.
“It’s heartbreaking that my grandchildren won’t be able to enjoy the lake,” she said. “People are going to be (angry) this dam won’t be built. I think it’s a raw deal all around and the (settlement) money needs to be spent here.”
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, called the news “disappointing,” but also described it as a chance for the community to reinvent the park.
“Now we have the opportunity to move forward,” she said. “What are we going to do today?”
Some changes will be made to the Duke Lake Task Force, which previously worked on efforts to restore the lake, and the group will now refocus its efforts to engage the public. The task force is scheduled to meet in August to begin initial discussions on how to move forward without a lake.
Crews are close to finishing dredging the thick layer of sediment that had collected at the bottom of the lake and transporting it to reclaim a coal waste site in Mather. The dredging could allow for small streams or ponds to be constructed where the lake once stood.
Despite DCNR officials attempting to sound upbeat about the situation, there was a heavy pall cast over the room as local officials and residents came to grips with the news.
“It’s going to take a lot to get people back here because they’ve been so disheartened,” Tuttle said.
Anna tried to soften the blow and encouraged people to participate in the upcoming process to re-imagine what Ryerson Station State Park can become for the community.
“People are going to be sad, but don’t walk away. Stay with us,” Anna said. “It needs to be an exceptional park.”