Groups seek info on dam failure
Local environmental advocacy organizations want the state to release information about the cause of the July 2005 failure of the dam at Ronald J. Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park in Greene County. A dry lake bed is all that remains of the 52-acre lake in Richhill Township since the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources drained the impoundment after discovering a crack in the concrete dam.
In January, the DCNR filed a notice in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court of its intention to sue Consol Energy apparently for damaging the dam while conducting longwall underground mining for coal near the park.
“We notified Consol that we intend to sue them in relation to the situation at Ryerson Station State Park,” DCNR press secretary Christina Novak said.
No information relative to the dam failure can be released to the public because of the possible lawsuit, Novak said.
“We are in discussions with the DCNR on their action to give us a notice to sue,” said Joe Cerenzia, Consol’s director of public relations. “We are in discussion with them over the situation at Duke Lake and Ryerson Station State Park. We are in discussion with them on a potential resolution based on whatever evidence they present to us.”
Cerenzia said he does not know if the cause of the damage has been determined.
Pittsburgh-based Consol operates the Bailey and Enlow Fork mines in Greene County. Foundation Coal of Maryland also operates coal mines in the county.
Three environmental organizations say the DCNR’s report about what caused the damage to the Duke Lake dam should be made available for public inspection and peer review.
James Kleissler, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Coalfield Justice, said a lawsuit is not a good reason to withhold the information.
“There’s no real benefit in withholding it from the public, Kleissler said. “Releasing it to the public would not prevent the DCNR from proceeding with litigation against Consol. It would have to given up in discovery in litigation anyway.”
He said it is difficult to get any accurate information from state agencies about active long wall mining operations.
A map available on the state Department of Environmental Protection district mining office in California’s Web site shows that most of the area under the park and the lake has been mined.
However, an attached note says the map was gathered from the best available historical information and its accuracy cannot be verified.
The lake was at the heart of the 1,164-acre park and was a popular fishing destination.
The park name originated from the nearby Fort Ryerson that was constructed in 1792 and used principally as a place of refuge from Indian raids, according to the DCNR.
Land was acquired for the park in 1958. The lake was formed in 1960 after the construction of a dam across the North Fork of the Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek and later renamed Ronald J. Duke Lake in memory of a former park manager. The park opened in 1967.
“Pennsylvania’s public land agencies are charged with serving the public good, not the private desires of coal corporations,” said Phil Coleman, a Center for Coalfield Justice board member from West Brownsville.
“Entering private negotiations with Consol coal before fulfilling the DCNR’s responsibility to inform the public undermines the public trust that is our state government.”
The Citizens Coal Council, which also is based in Washington County, and the Mountain Watershed Association of Melcroft, Fayette County, joined in the call for the DCNR to release the information.
“The loss of the public asset of Duke Lake was not the result of coincidence,” said Bev Braverman, executive director of the Mountain Watershed Association.
“The DCNR has compiled a report, but has entered into private negotiations with the coal corporation while keeping their findings hidden from public view.”