Lakemont lake sediment OK

Soil removed in dredging can be classified as clean fill

The sediment that the intergovernmental Storm­­water Committee plans to dredge from the bottom of the lake at Lakemont appears to meet the criteria for clean fill, according to ISC member and engineer Tom Levine.

Samples taken in six areas of the lake and tested for 100 or more contaminants to determine clean-fill suitability came back OK, except for one — and that was barely beyond the acceptable level, such that it was probably just “an anomaly,” Levine said.

If the sediment is OK to use as clean fill, it will be far cheaper to dispose of, because it won’t need to go to a landfill, officials have said.

The ISC’s technical committee, of which Levine is a member, is working toward a “pre-application” meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection on the dredging project, centerpiece of the committee’s Pollution Reduction Plan — as it would fulfill 38 percent of the requirement to reduce sediment entering area streams by 1.4 million pounds per year by 2023.

Because the ISC will be dredging the lake, the dam that creates the lake — which undergoes inspections annually — will need to be upgraded to comply with current safety standards, much as a building undergoing renovations may need to be upgraded to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards, said Helen Schmitt, ISC member and administrator of Blair County, which owns the dam.

The ISC was hoping to obtain DEP permission for the $1.7 million dredging project in tandem with the county’s obtaining permission for the dam project, but it’s likely the dam preparations won’t be far enough along for that to happen, officials said.

And the dredging project can’t wait, Levine said.

The dam work is focused on the spillway, according to Schmitt and county Public Works Director Rocky Greenland.

It’s still undetermined whether the spillway will need to be enlarged and how much that could cost, Greenland said.

It’s likely the money to pay for it would need to come from the county’s general fund, Greenland said.

The spillway is located about one-third of the way from the Route 36 end of the dam.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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