September 21, 2008 04:00 am
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The North Country can't afford to lose another William H. Miner landmark.
Just ask anyone who ever saw -- or heard their parents or grandparents marvel over -- the old Chazy Central Rural School, Harmony Hall or the other buildings that have been demolished or lost to fire or decay at Miner's Heart's Delight Farm, now the site of Miner Center in Chazy.
Thankfully, a $180,000 grant from wind-turbine developer Noble Environmental Power will soon begin restoration of the old McGregor Powerhouse near Feinberg Park on Devil's Den Road in Altona. The powerhouse is one of the few surviving features of an elaborate network of dams and powerhouses that Miner built in the early part of the last century in Northern Clinton County.
However, no such promising future awaits the LaSell Dam. The dam, just 1,000 feet downriver, forms an integral part of one of the most striking historic landscapes in Clinton County, as anyone who has crossed the bridge over the South Branch of the Great Chazy River entering Altona can attest.
With Feinberg Park a popular destination for sporting events and recreation, for many it's become a common sight, perhaps even taken for granted.
But now the Department of Environmental Conservation says the dam, with its tower and Spanish-mission-style influence so typical of Miner's creations, is unsafe and must be completely rebuilt or torn down.
While a $220,000 grant is available under the dam-safety portion of the 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, this is far less than is needed for restoration and -- as it stands now -- will have to be used for demolition.
However, in a related matter that seems unfair to townspeople, DEC is currently spending $3 million to rebuild a similar dam located just up river on state land that is home to the Ganienkeh Mohawks. That dam, the McGregor Dam which creates Miner Lake, was damaged by a flood in May 2006.
DEC contends it has a responsibility to repair that dam because it's on state land, even though no one stands to directly benefit except the Mohawks.. They also say that not restoring the dam could cause a "potentially volatile situation" with the Native Americans, who have been involved in violent standoffs with the state before.
Preserving the LaSell Dam, and not having all the related liability and insurance obligations fall entirely on the cash-strapped town, shouldn't be insurmountable. The dam doesn't impound any water, the river runs freely around its base, and only acts as a dam when brush or debris piles up, if then. And a lot of that is the result of the breach of the state's dam on Ganienkeh territory two years ago.
Once the current debris is cleared out, this is far less likely to happen again because of the restoration of the McGregor Dam, which acts as a barrier a short ways upriver.
If there is indeed a pressing safety issue with a dam that has no water behind it, it seems a cost-effective way could be found to address it, even if just temporarily until state budget conditions improve or money can be raised through private or business sources, or a combination thereof. Perhaps a company such as General Electric, manufacturer of the wind turbines, could be persuaded to become involved, or hydropower could eventually be generated there again to help defray expenses.
The LaSell Dam is indeed an integral part of the McGregor Powerhouse restoration and should be treated as such. An independent engineering study done for Noble and the town states, "If the LaSell Dam is demolished ... it will diminish the historical and landscape integrity of the site." While there is no threat of violence from the taxpaying citizens of Altona, they deserve at least the same consideration DEC is giving the Mohawks.
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