State Grant Sought for 'High Hazard' Dam

Upper Macungie Supervisors voted recently to apply for a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection grant to assist with the remediation of the high-hazard Fogelsville Dam.

The Act 13 grant, if it is secured, may help with work to reduce the height of the dam, engineer Dean Haas told supervisors.

"We need to apply for all the grants we can," said Upper Macungie Supervisor Kathy Rader.

Breaching the dam – removing the barrier that holds the water back – could be especially costly because the dam helps hold up Haasadahl Road, so it can’t be removed without extensive work to the road that could cost up to $2 million.

But a partial breaching of the dam might take it off the “high hazard” list while saving the township from the expense of full removal.

Act 13 of 2012, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection web site, enacted stronger environmental standards, authorized local governments to adopt an impact fee and built upon the state's ongoing efforts to move towards energy independence as unconventional gas development continues.

Among the Act's provisions are increased setback requirements for unconventional gas development; enhanced protection of water supplies; and strong, uniform, consistent statewide environmental standards.