Tuxedo supervisor questions DEC's classification of Echo Lake Dam' as a 'low hazard'

'I don’t think the DEC has done its homework’ TUXEDO — Town of Tuxedo Supervisor Peter Dolan continues to express displeasure over the New York State DEC’s response to the Aug. 28 breaching of the Echo Lake dam. Dolan questioned the dam’s classification as a “Class A” or “low hazard” dam, saying that classification was not appropriate for this particular dam. The dam, Dolan said, is located on property owned by the Mortimer family. According to the DEC’s Web site, a “Class A” dam means “a dam failure is unlikely to result in damage to anything more than isolated or unoccupied buildings, undeveloped lands, minor roads such as town or county roads; is unlikely to result in the interruption of important utilities, including water supply, sewage treatment, fuel, power, cable or telephone infrastructure; and/or is otherwise unlikely to pose the threat of personal injury, substantial economic loss or substantial environmental damage.” Dolan’s response: “I will submit that the New York State Thruway is a major highway and I’m basing that on using their (the DEC’s) publication.. That dam is a quarter of a mile from a major road.” Last week, DEC spokesperson Lori Severino told The Photo News: “We only inspect these types of dams on an 'as needed’ basis. The focus of our dam safety program is high hazard and intermediate hazard dams and this is not one of those. At this point, the DEC’s role is limited. It is the owner’s responsibility to maintain.” 100 million gallons of water Tuxedo engineers reported earlier this month that 100 million gallons of water from Echo Lake gushed through the dam’s concrete walls when it broke, creating a “dynamic” eight-foot wave which rushed down the Ramapo River. Engineers use the term “dynamic wave” to describe s a breach affecting a large body of water which causes a large surge. According to Tuxedo engineers, Dolan said, that the surging water - when combined with almost 12 inches of rain which fell during the storm period - was responsible for the flooding to the 103 homes in East Village section of Tuxedo. It also twisted railroad tracks, causing major damage to Metro North’s Port Jervis line, particularly in the Tuxedo/Sloatsburg areas. On Wednesday Dolan asked why that the dam’s classification was never upgraded. The DEC defines a “Class C” or “high hazard” dam as meaning “a dam failure may result in widespread or serious damage to home(s); damage to main highways, industrial or commercial buildings, railroads, and/or important utilities, including water supply, sewage treatment, fuel, power, cable or telephone infrastructure; or substantial environmental damage; such that the loss of human life or widespread substantial economic loss is likely.” Dolan also stressed the dam’s breaching caused widespread damage to major roads: The Thruway and the parallel Route 17 were closed in that area for several days due to flooding. SOS Fuels was destroyed, he added, causing a home heating oil spillage into the Ramapo River of amounts that SOS officials have not been able to calculate. Most importantly, he said, the damage to Tuxedo - particularly in its East Village neighborhood - and neighboring Sloatsburg have been to the magnitude never before seen in the area. That includes, he added, officials’ reviewing the problems created by storms with comparable rainfall amounts in the past, excluding the dam’s breaching. “That this dam is not classified as a high hazard dam in its classification, I can’t figure that one out,” he said. “I wasn’t born yesterday. Is the New York State Thruway a major roadway? Is Metro North a major train roadway? I don’t think the DEC has done its homework.” Dam built in 1880 DEC spokesperson Emily DeSantis said on Wednesday afternoon that the dam was built in 1880, but she didn’t have information available as of press time as to when it was given its Class A designation. Repairs have yet to be made to the dam, Dolan said, based on accounts provided to him by those who have personally viewed the dam. Since the dam is on private property, no one can go there without permission. Echo Lake is essentially empty now except for a small stream running through it, through the dam and into the Ramapo River, he added. The DEC said it expects to downgrade the dam’s classification once inspected. In her written statement to The Photo News on Wednesday, DeSantis said: “Once we verify by inspection that the dam failed, we will probably change its hazard classification to 'Class 'D.’ The definition for a Class D dam is as follows: Class 'D’ or 'negligible’ or 'no hazard’ dam: A dam that has been breached or removed, or has failed or otherwise no longer materially impounds waters, or a dam that was planned but never constructed. Class D dams are considered to be defunct dams posing negligible or no hazard. The department may retain pertinent records regarding such dams.” Additionally, she wrote: “We expect to inspect that dam within in the next several weeks. If the owner applies for a permit to build a new dam in that location, an engineering analysis demonstrating the appropriate hazard classification for the new dam will be required.” DeSantis also said in her statement that the hazard classification of a dam does not only reflect the proximity of the dam to downstream infrastructure, but also the size of the dam and its impoundment, and the ability of downstream infrastructure to accommodate flood failure flows. “Also, the hazard classification reflects the effect of a dam failure during a 'sunny day’ and the incremental effect of a failure during a storm,” she wrote. “Floods can cause damage whether or not a dam failure occurs during the flood. For instance, if the culvert of a downstream road is large enough to pass dam failure flood flows, the dam is considered low hazard, even if the road is critical.” “There are two other low hazard dams and two other intermediate hazard dams upstream of the Echo Lake Dam,” she wrote. “These four dams each impound much larger bodies of water than Echo Lake Dam did. We have had several conversations with the representatives of the owners of those dams to determine whether those dams were damaged during the recent floods. NYS Parks Department informed us that one of the intermediate hazard dams was slightly overtopped but not significantly damaged. The other three dams were reportedly not damaged.” But last week, Jeffrey Spiegel, SOS Fuels’ co-owner, said his attorneys were in discussions with attorneys representing the Mortimer family. - Nancy Kriz