Friends group and commission at odds over High Point Lake project

Friends of High Point Lake approached Somerset County Commissioners Tuesday for help.

The group is concerned about a proposed project at High Point Lake by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to have the breast and spillway replaced. The work is expected to cost $7.5 million, according to a May 23, 2023, story by Brian Whipkey in the Daily American.

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Paul Urbanik, director of engineering for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, estimated the lake will be lowered in 2025 to allow the work to begin, according to the story. The agency removes the fish from lakes that are lowered for repairs and improvements, but he said at that time it hadn’t been determined yet if the lake would be completely dewatered or just lowered, according to Whipkey's story.

At Tuesday's meeting, Tim McCrum said he lives in Virginia, but vacations with his family at High Point Lake. He told commissioners the group contacted Musser Engineering in Central City to assess the dam. Musser Engineering has concluded a complete dewatering of the lake is unnecessary, he said.

"It is the only engineering report available on the subject of potential upgrades to the dam. The state has withheld its internal reports on the proposed rehabilitation of the dam," McCrum said in an email. "The High Point Lake Dam has had a regulatory classification of a 'high hazard' dam since 1978, simply based upon its size and the downstream area, like over 700 dams in Pennsylvania and over 15,000 nationwide. This classification in no way indicates that it is in an unsafe 'catastrophic' condition."

McCrum asked the commissioners to be the group's voice as elected representatives to help them stop this project.

David Fredley from West Deer Township said he submitted a right-to-know request, asking for information about the project because the response they received from the Fish and Boat Commission to a letter asking for more information contained redactions. He said he feels the state is withholding information.

The group said there is no transparency about the project from the commission and they asked commissioners to get involved and help them get clear and honest answers that aren't redacted.

Fish and Game Commission project

A letter dated June 18, written by Timothy Schaeffer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, to the Friends of High Point Lake and obtained by the Daily American, said the commission has identified design and construction deficiencies inconsistent with current standards and applicable state regulations.

"These issues, coupled with the design and construction methodology used at the time of construction in 1965, were part of the many factors driving the decision to pursue the project. Although the age of a dam is a factor in considering whether to perform improvements, the commission has not acted solely on this presumption that the dam structure should be replaced. Instead, potential failure modes related to the design and construction methodologies used in 1965 have been identified."

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The letter said "in the interest of reducing dam failure risk, the project is intended to mitigate potential dam failures which would result in catastrophic loss of life, property, and infrastructure of those living downstream of the reservoir. It is prudent to note that because of improved mapping technology, the population at risk downstream of High Point Lake was found to be substantially larger than previously estimated, and the damage associated with a dam failure could be catastrophic."

The letter said the engineering firms that completed studies at High Point Lake were solicited using the state's processes and were chosen through a competitive process that takes into consideration the cost of services and the qualifications of the firm.

"The intent of these services is to identify potential failure modes associated with past engineering and construction practices. We agree with all findings because of those evaluations. The repairs needed to improve the dam infrastructure are of a nature that will require a broad scope of work (earthen embankment excavation, concrete demolition, and outlet works improvements)."

The letter said the commission intends this as a single project to simplify permitting and construction processes.

"Generally, the commission has taken a proactive approach to dam rehabilitation work to avoid extended periods of reservoir dewatering and prefers efficient construction schedules."

Schaeffer wrote that unsafe geotechnical conditions have not been identified at High Point Lake, so a prolonged drawdown is unlikely. The project is in the design phase.

The Department of General Services (DGS) administers the projects and establishes project schedules, the letter said."It is important to note projects of similar size and scale show there will be no long-term adverse effects associated with a drawdown of this nature. The commission will complete fish salvage operations where the lake is drawn down, then re-stock when the lake is refilled upon completion of the project."

Meeting set up

The commissioners said the only thing they could do was open lines of communication between the two entities.

"We don't know what they are going to do. They're not going to listen to us tell them not to drain it," commissioners chairman Brian Fochtman said after the meeting.

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He said he understands a few years ago there was a situation with the lake that had been temporarily rectified, but now needs to have a permanent fix.

"I'm sure there's a justification," Fochtman said. "They're not going around just draining the lake."

Scott DeArmitt, Somerset County chief clerk, said he has tentatively set up a meeting for the commission and three to five members of the Friends of High Point Lake group to discuss their concerns and issues. He said it will not be a public meeting.

Madolin Edwards has been a journalist at the Daily American for 37 years, covering school boards, borough councils, sports and new stories. She was the Home and Family editor for 20 years, and was the primary editor and reporter for a variety of special projects, features and tabs. Contact the Daily American reporters at news@dailyamerican.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Friends group and commission at odds over High Point Lake project