Fish kill may lead to legal action

BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

July 19, 2008 12:00 am

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VANDERBILT -- State officials continue to investigate a recent fish kill on the Pigeon River and weigh possible legal action against dam operators who allowed a large burst of sediment to flush downstream.

"This has a strong likelihood of litigation," said Kelley Smith, chief of fisheries for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Fisheries experts spent this week completing population studies in the Pigeon River. They're trying to determine if trout moved back upstream into the recently decimated areas, or if the fish are staying further downstream from the dam in Otsego County, Smith said.

Both the DNR and the state Department of Environmental Quality are investigating the fish kill and will meet with the state Attorney General's office by the end of July.

"When we find out what was done and why, we'll be able to determine whether to pursue legal action," said Rick Henderson, DEQ district supervisor.

This is a high priority case for the state, Smith said, but he didn't know whether removal of the dam will be recommended or what legal action may be taken.

"If this goes before a judge, the judge will make a determination," he said.

On June 22, one gate of a private dam on the blue-ribbon trout stream apparently was manually opened after a heavy rainfall, and a second gate automatically opened as well. That allowed a large amount of silt caught behind the dam to flow downriver and kill a significant percentage of the fish, either by thermal shock or clogging their gills.

The dam is owned and operated by the Song of the Morning yoga retreat center, which had a similar incident there in 1984. Another sediment release happened when the dam broke in 1957, before the center was there.

Song of the Morning did not have a permanent maintenance manager on staff at the time of the recent sediment release, but had a temporary employee in that role, officials said.

Facility manager Ian Wylie said a maintenance manager was hired about three weeks ago, not long after the incident at the dam.

"This is something that we feel so bad about," he said.

Wylie referred further questions to the board chairman of Golden Lotus, a nonprofit group that operates the yoga center, who could not be reached for comment.

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