New Albany mayor opposes Silver Creek dam removal

Aprile Rickert, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·4 min read

Jun. 25—NEW ALBANY — Opposition by the City of New Albany to removal of a low-head dam in Silver Creek could stall or cancel one of the first projects in the River Heritage Conservancy's Origin Park.

On June 14, New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan sent a letter to residents living near Silver Creek, indicating the city planned to object to the permit approved earlier this month by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for River Heritage Conservancy to remove the six-foot tall Providence Mill dam.

The city said in a news release on its website Friday that it had filed the petition for review in Marion County.

"The City of New Albany has filed a petition for administrative review, asking a judge to verify compliance with several regulations, most notably because no hydrologic or hydraulic modeling was performed to evaluate the effect that the dam removal would have on water levels or erosion with respect to the New Albany Loop Island Wetlands.

"A U.S. Fish and Wildlife hydraulic engineer partner on the project even recommended conducting simple hydraulic modeling to understand the effects of dam removal, but none have been completed so far. The city is also asking that a biological survey be completed before the removal of the dam, showing what impact the removal will have on current fish and wildlife in the area."

See the full petition at https://bit.ly/PetitionForReview

In the earlier letter to residents, Gahan said there needs to be further study into the effects the dam removal could have on current wildlife.

"The dam was built in 1904 to provide boating and fishing opportunities to the once-popular nearby Glenwood Park," stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. "We simply want to fully understand the effects that the removal of this century old dam will have on our local waterways, wildlife, and nearby neighborhoods."

"We believe the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has not adequately investigated the facts pertaining to the proposed dam removal and that it is in the best interest of New Albany and her citizens to appeal the permit," it reads, in part.

The letter also calls on nearby residents who wish to also appeal to do so by the June 27 deadline, and asks them to consider five questions including who owns Silver Creek, what gives the Indiana DNR and Division of Water the right to grant a third party access to remove the dam and how will the removal affect recreation and wildlife?

"How can public safety be cited as a reason to remove the dam when another taller, low-head dam (at Blackiston Mill in Clarksville) sits just a mile or so above the low-head dam planned for removal?" Gahan asks in the letter.

Removal of the roughly 100-year-old Providence Mill dam is essential to the Ohio River Blueway, a planned 4.5 mile stretch starting at the Blackiston Mill Paddling Access area to the Ohio River. The conservancy recently received a $100,000 grant to aid in its removal.

In a statement given to the News and Tribune, Scott Martin, executive director of the conservancy, said the requisite study by state and federal ecological agencies found no expected adverse affects to wildlife from dam removal. He also said having it there actually creates much more of a hazard to people than not having it.

"Providence Mill dam has been on the state of Indiana's 'high-risk, low-head dam' list for years," Martin said in the statement. "Low-head dams just like this one are the cause of multiple fatalities each year across the nation, including three deaths this month on North Carolina's Dan River. Before kayakers and canoeists can safely enjoy Silver Creek, the dam must be removed."

He continued that "Analysis completed by the [U.S.] Fish & Wildlife Service and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources found that the Providence Dam delivers no benefits ecologically, recreationally or for flood protection. They determined that removal of this dam will allow the stream to return to its natural, free-flowing condition, improving ecological sustainability/health and overall water quality. Smallmouth bass, redeye, sunfish and other sportfish populations will be immediate beneficiaries of dam removal as prime spawning habitat becomes accessible, again."

According to the Indiana DNR certificate of approval, the permit is to go into effect Sunday. Martin said that even if it is appealed and the conservancy wins, it would still push the project back a year, since work can only be done in certain times of the years, due to fish spawning.

Any formal contest of the permit will be handled by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. Opposition must be made in writing by Sunday, June 27 and sent to the Indiana Division of Hearings.