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June 27, 2009

DEP issues permit for Stonycreek whitewater project

By MIKE FAHER

A much-anticipated Somerset County whitewater project will move forward after state officials issued a permit this week.

The project, which will allow for substantial, regular whitewater discharges from Quemahoning Reservoir into the Stonycreek River, had been delayed while officials waited for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP gave the go-ahead on Wednesday, two days before an important Friday deadline for contractors.

“It’s an OK to go forward with construction,” said Jim Greco, board chairman for Cambria Somerset Authority, which owns the Quemahoning.

A consortium of boating interests called the Stonycreek Quemahoning Initiative raised $1.2 million for the project.

Advocates say the northern Stonycreek, a portion of which already attracts whitewater enthusiasts, could become a tourism magnet with regular, controlled infusions of water.

Cambria Somerset Authority solicited construction bids in January, hoping that the economic recession would keep costs relatively low. The strategy appeared to pay off, with estimates for construction and electrical work coming in at $867,216.

But work could not begin without the DEP permit, which initially had been expected in May. Earlier this month, officials had worried that further delays could force them to seek new construction bids because the initial bid offers were valid only through Friday.

But with DEP issuing the permit this week, and with contractors agreeing to an extension, the authority is set to give the green light for construction at a meeting next week.

Mike Quinn, Stonycreek Quemahoning Initiative’s facilitator, said DEP had no major issues with the project.

“It’s just that you have to go through the bureaucratic process,” he said.

Greco said he had been concerned that whitewater releases might reduce the amount of water that the authority is allowed to withdraw from the Que for industrial sale.

But DEP officials this week said that will not happen.

“So, based on that, I feel confident,” Greco said.

Construction work at the Que, Greco said, is “pretty simple” and could be done in a matter of months. But special fabrication of a 48-inch valve will extend the project.

“That’s going to take a considerable amount of time,” he said. “It’s not an off-the-shelf item, obviously.”

All involved hope that whitewater releases will start, as expected, early next year. Releases will run at about 500 cubic feet per second and ideally would occur every other weekend in warmer-weather months.

“Hopefully, it will be ready for releases in the spring,” Greco said.

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