DeWine, other VIPs visit Gorge Dam as $130M sediment cleanup, removal project kicks off
Before the Cuyahoga River can thunder freely over the falls encased by the Gorge Dam, the bottom of the river must be dredged to remove a trove of toxic materials — a process that will begin in roughly two weeks.
Lisa Vogel, U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator, reviewed the process Aug. 28 for visiting officials including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, U.S. Reps. Emilia Sykes and Shontel Brown and several others at the site where the work is to be performed.
Vogel described how 850,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated by lead, cadmium, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides will be removed from the area behind the dam.
Summit Metro Parks Executive Director Lisa King said the amount of sediment due to be removed equals 11 football fields 10 to 12 feet in height.
The dredged sediment will be transported via temporary pipeline to be stored at a site that's been prepared at the Chuckery Area of Cascade Valley Metro Park. This is the second phase of the years-long project.
Following the success of the dredging operation, demolition of the dam will begin. After it's removed, it will be the first time in 100 years that the river has flowed unimpeded.
The project, said Vogel, is the "largest Great Lakes (region) restoration project underway at the EPA."
She said sediment removal will take roughly two years, as will the removal of the dam.
How is the project funded?
Vogel said the project will cost over $130 million, funded through a mix of federal and state money. The sediment remediation will cost $100 million, while the dam removal will cost an additional $30 million.
DeWine said the majority of the state funding comes from settlement money from a lawsuit he filed against Monsanto when he was attorney general, while a significant amount of the federal funding comes from the Great Lakes Legacy Act.
"This investment is another example of what happens when federal government can — and sometimes it can — work on behalf of the people," said Sykes, D-Akron, who represents Ohio's 13th congressional cistrict. "Once the dam is removed, the Cuyahoga River will flow freely for the first time in 100 years."
Brown, D-Warrensville Heights, who represents Ohio's 11th congressional district, went deeper into the funding details.
Federal funds from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law covers 65% of the project's costs, she said.
"When I cast my vote for that law four years ago," Brown said, "I did so with moments like this in mind because projects like this are real, they're local, they're life-changing, and long, long, long overdue. This cleanup of the Gorge Dam and surrounding sediment is not only a massive undertaking, it is truly transformational."
What do the cleanup and dam removal mean for the area?
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said the dam removal and river cleanup will boost Cuyahoga Falls and Akron.
"We're already seeing the growth of kayaking and tubing all throughout the area," he said, mentioning the new kayak launch at the Valley View area of Cascade Valley Metro Park.
The project, he said, combined with the joint Merriman Valley master plan devised between Cuyahoga Falls and Akron, highlights the region's commitment to its role as a "gateway to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park."
Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters pointed out that the river runs right through the middle of his city's downtown, "and water is a magnet for people — for recreation, for travel and tourism, for economic development, it's all happening; just go to downtown Cuyahoga Falls and you'll see it."
Hotels, restaurants and more are coming, he said.
The city's seal, said Walters, is an image of the falls that the city is named after, "it's known as the Big Falls."
"So, finally when that structure comes down, we will see the structure that we are named after," said Walters. "No one alive has ever seen that, so this is huge in a lot of ways."
By: Derek Kreider
Source: Akron Beacon Journal