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Eighth annual DRYerson Festival to be held Aug. 16

By Dave Zuchowski, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read
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WIND RIDGE – For generations, recreation lovers flocked to the 62-acre Ronald J. Duke Lake at Ryerson Station State Park in Wind Ridge.

Considered the gem of the park, the lake was used for picnics, boating, canoeing, kayaking and fishing for many years, creating pleasant memories that linger to this day.

“We have a photo in our office of the lake taken during trout season that shows people standing shoulder-to-shoulder around the lake,” said Patrick Grenter, executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ). “The lake, named in honor of the park’s former manager, was definitely an economic driver for the area.”

Alas, the lake is no more. After inspectors found cracks in the dam and water seepage, the lake was drawn down in 2005 to prevent flooding of areas below the dam. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) claimed that CONSOL damaged the dam and park by longwall underground coal mining operations at CONSOL’s Bailey Mine.

CONSOL denied the claim and, according to Grenter, “continues to hold on to the illusion that it was not responsible for the destruction of the lake.”

In 2010, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) put forth an order requiring CONSOL to restore the dam, but CONSOL subsequently appealed the order. From 2010 through early 2013, CONSOL went before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, and litigation started with a series of motions filed by CONSOL, CCJ and the Commonwealth.

Before the trial started, the Commonwealth and CONSOL arrived at a settlement that would bring the lake back as a result of CONSOL’s agreement to finance the dam’s restoration with a payment of $37 million.

At a press conference on April 24, 2013 that announced the settlement, Tommy Johnson, CONSOL vice president of government and public relations said, “This will be a state-of-the-art dam designed to work with energy activity within the area.”

Last May, DCNR made application to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Dam Safety Division for a dam permit seeking approval of proposed repairs and restoration of the dam and Duke Lake.

The application is still pending, and it is anticipated the final permit for the new dam will be conveyed in October. When fully reconstructed, the lake should return to its previous size and boundaries.

“Right now, all that remains of the lake are the remnants of the concrete dam with a giant hole in the middle,” said Grenter. “We were told that a new dam would be in place by 2017, but a number of outstanding issues have to be made public before reconstruction can start, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

To keep awareness of the lake in the public consciousness, CCJ organizers have staged a DRYerson Festival for the past seven years. Veronica Coptis, community organizer for CCJ, calls the festival “a celebration of the expected return of Duke Lake and support of Ryerson Station State Park.”

This year’s festival is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16 at Pavilion #1 of Ryerson Station State Park. There will be free food, live music from local folk rock singer-songwriter Mitch Bell, raffle items, door prizes and children’s games. More than 30 local businesses have donated items for this year’s festival and raffle.

The Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club and the Harry Enstrom Chapter of the Izaak Walton League are supporting organizations of this year’s festival, which features the theme “Streams Under Attack, Let’s Fight Back.”

This year’s theme was chosen in part because of CONSOL’s plan to undermine a number of streams that would feed the recreated Duke Lake. A recent permit issuance allows coal mining below 14 streams, with predicted flow loss or flow reduction in at least four streams, including North Fork, Dunkard Fork, Polen Run and Kent Run, all of which flow through Ryerson Station State Park.

The permit application predicted several years of stream damage so severe that “flow loss would most likely reduce, if not eliminate, fishing opportunities” in Ryerson Station State Park. CCJ and the Sierra Club are presently in litigation appealing the permit.

“Ryerson Station State Park belongs to the public, not to CONSOL,” Grenter said.

“Each year, it seems CONSOL comes closer and closer to privatizing this land for their own use. We are here to show that this land is our land, not theirs.”

The Center for Coalfield Justice is a Pennsylvania-incorporated, not-for-profit organization with federal Internal Revenue Service §501(c)(3) status recognition located at 184 S. Main Street in Washington, Pa. CCJ is a membership organization, with a mission to “improve policy and regulations for the oversight of fossil fuel extraction and use; to educate, empower and organize coalfield citizens; and to protect public and environmental health.”

CCJ consists of individual members and is governed by a volunteer board of directors.

Those wanting to help by volunteering before and during DRYerson should call Coptis at 724-229-3550 or email veronica@coalfieldjustice.org.

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