One way or another, Struthers plans to remove Mahoning River dam
By Sarah Lehr
STRUTHERS
It’s about dam time.
Plans to remove a dam in the Struthers section of the Mahoning River are finally staring to materialize.
If the city is again turned down for money from the Environmental Protection Agency, there is a Plan B.
“One way or another, it’s going to get done,” Struthers Mayor Terry Stocker said.
Struthers has applied for $2.3 million from the Ohio EPA to remove the obsolete industrial dam and other barriers around the dam, including large pieces of sediment and debris. The dam, a holdover from the Valley’s steel-producing past, straddles Struthers and Campbell.
The cities of Struthers and Campbell have applied to the EPA for similar grants multiple times in the past, but have been denied each time.
This time, Struthers has reduced the amount of money it is requesting from nearly $5 million to about $2.3 million. The city has commissioned a hydraulic study of the area and expects to hear whether its application was successful by October.
If the city receives the funding, design is slated to begin in 2018, and the project should be shovel-ready in 2019.
If Struthers’ EPA application is unsuccessful, the city will turn to its backup – money available via a trust managed by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
Stocker said he is confident in that funding source, as he has been assured the city’s project is on the priority list. Stocker anticipates the Eastgate project would follow a timeline similar to that of the EPA project.
Groups, including Friends of the Mahoning River, have long advocated for the removal of dams along the river. Such changes would benefit kayakers and other water-sports tourists.
In 2013, the village of Lowellville won a $2.3 million EPA grant to remove a dam on the Mahoning River within village limits. That project has stalled, however, due to a property dispute with Sharon Slag Inc. The company could not be reached to comment.
Lowellville Mayor James Iudiciani said he’s been assured the grant money still will be available once the village resolves the ongoing legal matter.
When Stocker and his Safety-Service Director Ed Wildes look at the Mahoning River, they see underutilized potential.
“Water is a magnet for people,” Wildes said. “People naturally want to be around water.”