MORGANTOWN — A Cheat Lake resident filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday regarding ongoing poor maintenance at Cheat Lake Park.
The Dominion Post visited the park on Friday to get a first-hand look at the issues raised. We found that most of them are substantiated.
FERC is reviewing Lake Lynn Generation’s application to renew its Lake Lynn Hydroelectric Project license. As part of the application, Lake Lynn Generation/Eagle Creek Renewable Energy propose to remove 307.1 acres surrounding Cheat Lake from federal protection. While the company has said it has no plans to sell the land, repeated public complaints about park maintenance reflect ongoing distrust of the company, repeatedly expressed to FERC.
Here’s a look at what we saw.
The resident complained about the bathrooms. We found that the restrooms at the main park area, by the playground, were open. The men’s room was clean and had running water but no soap.
None of the water fountains worked anywhere along the trail. One had gravel in it. Another was covered with spider webs. Lake Lynn Generation told FERC in February that it learned that the levers that release water are difficult to operate. It was investigating the issue and planned to resolve it when upgrading the plumbing. Well into summer recreation season, it hasn’t been resolved.
The resident complained that the swimming beach — Milestone Point Beach — was unusable. On Friday, a two-person crew with a Gator utility vehicle was beginning to clean up driftwood, debris and trash, and a small portion of the beach was accessible. A family was there with their kids, confined to a small corner of the beach that was clean.
Portions of the trail are graveled, but south of the beach the trail is worn down to the base and will become muddy in the rain. Benches in this direction are worn and in poor repair — featuring black mold. They need to be pressure washed and painted or stained, or just have new wooden slats.
Much of the lighting along the trail remains out of service. There are broken light posts. There are uncovered fixtures — conduit and metal framework — with exposed wiring, or wooden boxes covering fixtures. Some of those boxes are falling apart or are out of place, leaving wiring exposed. One near the children’s play area has exposed rusty nails.
Here and there, fallen trees or branches abut the trail and need to be cleared away. A rock slide south of the beach is infringing on the trail.
The company told FERC in February that it conducts security and maintenance patrols daily April through September and twice per week October through March at the same sites. “The patrols pick up litter, identify hazards such as downed trees, and identify maintenance and/or public safety needs.”
We sent questions about park maintenance to Jody Smet, chief compliance officer and vice president of regulatory affairs for Lake Lynn Generation, but she was out of office for the week. We invited her to reply next week.
EMAIL: dbeard@dominionpost.com
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