LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The City of New Albany is taking its fight over the removal of a dam to the state's supreme court.
The city requested on Oct. 14 that the state's highest court decide on the dispute over the Providence Mill Dam where a 14-year-old drowned in 2024.
The dispute centers on a lawsuit brought by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The state agency ordered New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan to remove rocks the city placed in the creek after the drowning.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has 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."
It is the city's position the DNR doesn't have the authority to issue the demolition of the Providence Mill Dam, a right that's "outside the scope of the authority granted to it by our Legislature," according to the petition.
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