LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of New Albany was granted an extension to remove tons of rocks added to the Providence Mill Dam on Silver Creek.
Last month, the city reached a settlement with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in two lawsuits filed over the dam and "emergency maintenance" ordered by Mayor Jeff Gahan in August 2024, following the death of 14-year-old Andre "AJ" Edwards, who drowned on Memorial Day.
Officials said Edwards got caught in a hydraulic roller in Silver Creek, which is a recirculating current "often formed near low-head dams." His death renewed calls to remove the dam, also known as the Glenwood Park Dam, over safety concerns.
Gahan ordered the work in an effort to make the dam safer by dumping tons of rock into it.
When the rock was installed, the DNR ordered the city to stop the work, petitioning a judge to force the city to cease operations because it didn't have the proper permits and was done without state or federal approval. Gahan challenged the order in court.
The Army Corps of Engineers also ordered the work to stop and the site to be restored, issuing a Cease and Desist order claiming the city broke federal law when it started the work.
Under the agreement reached last month, the city was ordered to remove the rock, relocate it, and authorize the Ecosystems Connections Institute to remove the dam when water conditions are safe.
The original deadline for the city to remove the rocks was Jan. 1. But with the work still underway, the DNR granted the city an extension to complete the removal process by Jan. 11.
DNR officials said they expect crews to begin removing the dam itself sometime this month.
What led to the settlement
The legal battle over the dam on Silver Creek in New Albany lasted for months after Edwards' death.
After the Indiana DNR and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered the emergency work to stop, Floyd Superior Court issued a temporary injunction ordering Gahan and the city to stay away from the dam as the state sought a permanent injunction.
Last March, the DNR asked the same court to take action against the city over the dam and stop it from filling the dam with rock, remove what had been placed, and pay DNR expenses, including attorney's fees.
At the time, DNR officials said the agency sued to have the rock removed but had been stonewalled by the city, claiming leaders repeatedly refused to participate in discovery or depositions for months. The DNR also filed for default judgement.
The fight went to court in May, the state arguing Gahan and the city had not been forthcoming with information about the emergency maintenance performed at the dam.
In October, the city took its fight over the removal of the dam to the Indiana Supreme Court, requesting the court to decide on the dispute over the dam. The Indiana Court of Appeals had already ruled against New Albany, finding the city does not own the dam.
In the petition to transfer, the city said "this court should accept transfer to address a significant departure from administrative law and an erroneous interpretation of the Flood Control Act that as a matter of first impression."
The city also claimed the DNR didn't have the authority to issue the demolition of the dam, a right that's "outside the scope of the authority granted to it by our Legislature," according to the petition.
The legal battle ended in December with a comprehensive agreement "resolving all outstanding legal matters" and "establishing a collaborative path forward to improve safe access to Silver Creek."
In addition to the removal of the rock and the dam itself, the city will file a permit for a "rock riffle (Rock Arch Rapids-style) structure like others approved throughout the state" as part of the agreement. It will also work with the DNR "in good faith through the permitting process" on the permit application.
Rock riffle structures "significantly increase waterway safety while creating an attractive, naturalized environment suitable for swimming, wading, kayaking and fishing."
The city will also withdraw its petition for transfer under the agreement. Additionally, the DNR will withdraw its citation for the city's violation of putting the rock at the dam, and will not issue a Notice of Violation of the Indiana Flood Control Act against the city for placing the rock in the dam as long as the city removes it.
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