Village can remove trees, brush in Yellow Creek without permit

The village hasn't made a decision to do the work.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Although the village needs a permit to put machinery into Yellow Creek, it can cut down trees and remove brush to try to address flooding.
After writing a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking for a permit to remove an island from Yellow Creek and to widen the creek where it narrows, Joe Mazur, village council president, learned a series of studies must be completed before that work can be done.
Mazur said that debris collects on what village officials have dubbed Trash Island, a small raised area within the creek, and impedes water flow.
Flooding near Yellow Creek has been a problem during heavy rains in recent years and village officials have been trying to devise ways to deal with it.
Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers visited the site and met with Mazur last month.
Permit process
A letter from Corps representatives followed the site visit and indicated that to process the permit application, the village must include an alternative analysis to justify the need for the island's removal and a hydraulics and hydrology analysis to show that the proposed project will achieve the desired result.
But that would be expensive, Mazur said.
The letter also indicated that although the village needs a permit to place machinery into the creek, trees on Trash Island can be cut and brush removed without a permit.
Brush removal and tree cutting may allow water to flow more easily over the island, Mazur said.
No decision to do the work has been made, however. Mazur said that the village's solicitor is exploring the legal issues involved with the work.