Jul 20, 2018 3 min read

Repair of the Cokeburg Dam, which has languished for years due to high cost, appears to have moved off dead center.

Work at the once-popular fishing spot was allocated $200,000 in 2013 by the Local Share Account committee, which designates projects to be funded from money gambled at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

Part of it was used for engineering and design costs, but the remaining $146,900 was to be spent by June 30 of this year.

On Wednesday, Washington County commissioners revived the local share allocation by amending the 2017 list of projects to include the Cokeburg Dam, near Routes 917 and 40.

The dam had been in violation of the commonwealth’s safety laws for many years, which resulted in numerous letters, meetings, inspections, notices of violations, orders, and finally a consent order and agreement in 2010 to address the dam safety and other violations from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

But at that time, Cokeburg was unable to pay for extensive repairs “to bring the dam into compliance and failed to provide DEP with required annual inspection reports and an Emergency Action Plan for the dam,” wrote Lauren Fraley, DEP spokeswoman, in response to an email inquiry.

The lake behind the dam was drained to a safe level in 2016.

Since then, however, DEP has been in regular contact with Cokeburg officials and their engineer on the restoration project. They’ve drawn up a spillway hydraulics plan, crunched data and made calculations and revisions.

On May 21, DEP gave the go-ahead to Cokeburg’s engineer to develop plans and specifications for an application, and earlier this month, the engineer emailed DEP final plans of the project for review.

DEP offered comments to Cokeburg’s engineer last Friday, and on Thursday, DEP and the engineer had a follow-up conference call to discuss the department’s comments and provide feedback on the other items necessary for permitting.

The borough, in the meantime, was successful in securing an additional $200,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program, according to William McGowen, Washington County Redevelopment Authority executive director, whose redevelopment agency administers the local share program.

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, and state Rep. Bud Cook, R-West Pike Run, have supported efforts to repair the dam.

Cokeburg Councilwoman Barb Kubena said Thursday, “Design of the spillway was the stumbling block. There were a few minor changes (DEP) wanted on the mechanics of the dam and a revised emergency action plan, so our engineer will submit that.

“We would hope to start work at the end of this year if we can possibly get DEP to give us a permit to rebuild the dam. That’s the most I can tell you.”

Cokeburg, a former mining community, had its own water system until 2009, with its reservoir, fed by two springs, as its water source.

The borough, Kubena said, continues to search for additional funding for the project.