Army Corps adds 30 days to dam comment period
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has extended by 30 days the comment period regarding the proposed removal of the Eddyville Dam on the Rondout Creek.
The new deadline for comments is Aug. 26. They may be emailed to matthew.voisine@usace.army. mil.
The town of Esopus wanted a 60-day extension of the comment period, but town Supervisor Shannon Harris said 30 days should be long enough.
“I think it’s sufficient,” she said.
The dam is owned by Ethan Rapp. He said a recent meeting about the possible dam removal was conducted with a “very cooperative spirit.”
“Basically we agreed that the ideal outcome would be ... to find a solution that met everyone’s needs,” Rapp said. “... Right now there is not an adversarial tone.”
The dam removal is being proposed as part of the Hudson River Habitat Restoration Project, which aims to remove barriers to fish movement.
Rapp said he proposed the dam be only partly removed so fish could swim upstream in the Rondout Creek but the historic character of the dam could be maintained. The dam is believed to have been built in the 1790s to power a mill used in fabric manufacturing.
“It was built in stages,” Rapp said. “The first stage was built for a mill ... and the second stage was built in the 19th century in order to raise the water level further so that the barges could go through the canal locks .... ”
Among questions the town would like included in a study of the possible dam removal are the upstream and downstream effects of the project; how changing tide levels, flooding from heavy rains, and storm surge resiliency would impact property owners; what
the impact would be on historic and aesthetic values in the Eddyville area; and how fish migratory patterns would change.
The 3.6 miles of Rondout Creek between the dam and Hudson River are part of a tidal estuary. Water behind the dam comes both from the Rondout Reservoir and the Wallkill River, which merge about 3.5 miles upstream, near the Sturgeon Pool.