Posted on November 20, 2018
It could be six months or more before the Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corporation gets a decision on whether or not Lake Freeman will be lowered during droughts.
However, it’s a good thing that the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee is considering a rehearing, said Gabrielle Haygood, the SFLECC Executive Director.
The group’s attorney in Washington, D.C., said it’s something that’s not common and is a good sign.
Haywood spoke to the Greater Monticello Chamber of Commerce members at their monthly lunch Nov. 13 about what the SFLECC is up to as the tourism season winds down.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had asked FERC in 2014 that during droughts, the Oakdale Dam be opened to keep the flow of the Tippecanoe River the same as it would be during droughts.
That would protect a variety of endangered mussels downstream, but it would also drain the lake to levels that would affect the ability to use the lake and the tourism industry.
“Where we go from here, we’re not sure,” Haygood said.
FERC has two new commissioners to make a decision in the rehearing, and Haywood said SFLECC members think two of the three commissioners that were leaving rushed the matter through last time despite agreeing with experts’ opinions that SFLECC submitted.
“We’re not going to let that happen,” she said.
Lake dredging has stopped for the year and will restart in spring.
SFLECC bought an old barge to use for the dredging on Lake Freemen because it gets less silt in it, Haygood said.
However, the barge needs more work than they expected, she added.
The organization is also looking for people that want clean fill to take the silt out of retention ponds the SFLECC uses.
It’s a sandy silt that was used to shore up the ends of the Washington Street bridge when it was built, and a builder recently took much of it off their hands.
The organization wants to bring back clean-up days where people tidy the lake area of trash and debris.
It is also selling “clean lake” stickers for $10 for clean-up efforts, and the stickers can be put on boats.
Source: Herald Journal
