Ohio EPA: Federal government to help pay for dam removal
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio environmental regulators say the federal government has agreed to pay a large portion of the costs associated with removing a 57-foot-high dam along the Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) River in northeast Ohio.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that state officials announced last week that 65 percent of the $70 million cost of demolishing Gorge Dam between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls and removing sediment behind it will come from a federal Great Lakes cleanup fund. Ohio and local partners are responsible for the balance. Demolition costs are estimated at $12.5 million and sediment removal at $57.5 million.
The dam was completed in 1912 and once powered a trolley car line. Dams are being removed across the country to restore rivers to their original state and to improve water quality.