The law and unintended consequences

Wild & Scenic Study Puts White Rock Dam Removal Project in Limbo

By DAVID SMITH/ecoRI News contributor

WESTERLY — Recent federal legislation to study the idea of designating the Wood-Pawcatuck River watershed as “Wild and Scenic” could have an impact on the planned removal of the White Rock Dam.

The 112-foot-wide dam is on the Pawcatuck River, about a half-mile upstream from downtown. Work has been scheduled to begin next year, but that timeframe could be in trouble. Federal Sandy funds totaling $1.9 million are earmarked for the project, but that money must be used next year.

With the approval of the legislation Dec. 12, any work on the river must face review and approval by the National Park Service and Army Corps of Engineers. It’s now unclear whether that approval process by the federal government could be completed to meet the funding deadline.

Work in the river can only be done July through October. If the project doesn’t begin in July because of a federal review, it would have to be rescheduled for the following year.

The Nature Conservancy, which is leading the project, hasn’t secured all the permits needed for the project. The work still needs approval from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection and the Army Corps.

Asked about the possible need for National Park Service approval, Scott Comings, associate director for the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, said his group is trying to figure out what the designation means to the dam removal project.

“We are trying to figure that out,” Comings said Dec. 15, three days after the legislation was passed. “We have to ask the park service. We are working with all the players. We don’t know what the process would be. Chris Fox is working on researching that for us.”

Fox, the executive director of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, said that if the approval process stops the work on the dam’s removal in July it will in essence kill the project.

The federal government would take back the Sandy funds, divide them up and give them to other projects that might be over budget, Fox said.

“I have no idea how long it takes (for National Park Service approval),” he said. “It could be one week or they could say we want to freeze any projects on the river during the three-year study phase on whether the watershed could be designated wild and scenic.

“The study phase of wild and scenic provides equal or greater protection to rivers in the study group than those already in the country’s wild and scenic inventory. Guidance offered on the (National Park Service) website indicated that any federally assisted water resources projects consult with the National Park Service. This consultation will likely occur between the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service during the permitting phase. It is unclear how long that process will take. I imagine it is dependent upon how quickly the NPS can respond to the permit application, which makes it difficult to determine if the consultation will result in any project delay.”

The plan calls for removing the dam and creating a new 70- to 90-foot wide river channel below it. Bids for the work are being sought this month and a contract should be awarded in early January, according to Comings.

White Rock would be the third dam on the Pawcatuck River earmarked either for removal or modification. The effort is designed to improve fish passage on the 20-mile waterway that stretches from Worden’s Pond in South Kingstown to Little Narragansett Bay. The work is expected to reduce flooding above the site.

About 15 miles upstream, the Kenyon Dam and Lower Shannock Falls Dam have been removed, while a fish ladder was built at historic Horseshoe Falls.