CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — Though the Harrison County Commission has not officially taken control of four dams along the West Fork River from the Clarksburg Water Board, representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attended their meeting Thursday to update them on the status of the project to demolish three of them.
“Our contract with the water board will carry over with the land,” Nick Millett, a Bioligist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. “We just wanted to come and introduce ourselves, offer any assistance that we can provide, answer any questions that they may have and kind of give them an idea of what the project entails.”
The contract in question involves an agreement made by a 2-1 vote in March between the CWB and U.S. Fish and Wildlife to demolish the Highland, Two Lick and West Milford Dams, renovate the Hartland Dam and implement other measures to improve recreation in the area.
However, the project began in the early 2000s after three individuals drowned at the Highland Dam and the CWB looked to rid themselves of the liability after the following lawsuits.
Survey’s conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife determined the best solution in terms of liability and the environment was to demolish the dams [the Hartland Dam being the only exception due to it being used as a water source for the CWB], and in 2012 the board voted 3-0 to permit the agency to seek funding.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife persued several avenues to obtain the funding, but what eventually secured the $400,000 was the prospect of restoring an endangered species, the Clubshell Mussel, that can only thrive in a free-flowing river.
Additionally, the agency said safety will improve by removing the Roller Effect that comes with low-head dams and expert analysis saying fishing would improve.
“There will be a few species that decrease, such as large mouth bass that benefit from large pools like this, but the small mouth and muskie are predicted to increase,” Millett said. “It’s their natural environment, so we’re trying to get to the original state of the river.”
However, the project became uncertain after the recent election in June when Jon Calvert replaced one of the individuals who voted for the dam’s removal.
On Tuesday, the new CWB approved a motion by 2-1 vote to instruct their legal council to pen a letter turning over the dams to the Harrison County Commission, which after talking with a group of individuals known as the Guardians of the West Fork and other concerned citizens is in favor of keeping the dams.
Commissioner Frank “Chunki” Angotti felt they were better suited to deal with the dams as three are not within Clarksburg, giving the residents there no say in the matter in elections.
He is also skeptical of the experts claims that it will improve fishing.
“I’ve been on the water my whole life and I just don’t understand why fishing would be better with less water,” Angotti said. “That just doesn’t make sense to me. I think the people of the area are correct that are saying they want the dams to stay and I’m going to support the majority, of what they say. We can always take them out but we can never put them back.”
Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife said that the water levels would not be altered, but rather the system of “stop-and-go” created by the dams would turn into a series of pools along the river’s natural flow.
Another reason for saving the dams is the prospect of creating a water trail that runs from Marion County to Stonewall Jackson Lake.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife has pointed out that a water trail is still achievable without dams and most do not have dams, but proponents of the dams say they have an opportunity to provide a unique experience with the dams as boaters could paddle up and downstream.
Other reason commissioners cited for keeping the dams included a water source for businesses and farms, as well as a source of water should West Virginia ever experience a drought the likes of California.
A question asked by those in favor of removing the dams has been why did the commission get involved only recently when the project has been in existence for over a decade.
Commission President Ron Watson in turn asks roughly the same question of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“So 90 years okay and for the last 13 years it hasn’t been and what sparked it 13 years ago was some drownings on the river. But didn’t we have the same problems with the dams and the endangered species of the mussel reproduction way back then? Where were they then?”
The agency, for its part, has said it has been supporting similar river restoration projects in surrounding states –no such project has ever been conducted in West Virginia– and only came on to this project when the CWB sought help.
If the commission does take control of the dams and does pursue ending the contract with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it can only be negated if both parties agree. It is unclear as to if the agency would be willing to back out and if they would seek compensation for work already completed if they do.
To that end, the commission penned a letter to the state’s congressional delegation asking for assistance in dealing with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
The commission showed interest in using the money the agency has collect for modifying the dams and reaching a compromise, but that is not a possibility.
“If they plan to do anything other than fully remove the dams (i.e., if they want to create passage structures and leave the dams in place), they will have to start from scratch and re-do the engineering design, environmental compliance, permitting,etc,” Callie McMunigal with U.S. Fish and Wildlife wrote in an email to the AJR News Network. “That would mean that the $400,000 that partners have already spent on their behalf would not be utilized. And, as I mentioned above, our construction funding will not be applicable anymore either.”
The county commission has yet to receive a formal intention of turning the dams over from the CWB.