MORGANTOWN – The recent rains have raised the level of Cheat Lake back above the minimum required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But Marina 1 LLC – one of the Biafora family of businesses that operate along the lake – citing damages already sustained, is seeking an injunction and temporary restraining order to prevent Lake Lynn Generation from using its dam to lower the lake level.
Marina 1 LLC, doing business as Cheat Lake Marina, filed the case in Monongalia County Circuit Court on Monday. Lake Lynn Generation and its parent company, Eagle Creek Hydro Operations, are the defendants.
Cheat Lake Marina references various events reported at length in The Dominion Post: The drought led Lake Lynn to request from FERC a temporary variance in its requirement to keep a minimum lake level of 868 feet in order to lower it if needed to 865 feet to stimulate water flow and maintain required dissolved oxygen levels. The request generated vocal public opposition. Two state agencies first approved, then withdrew their approval of the request in order to explore other options. And Lake Lynn subsequently withdrew its request.
With the ongoing drought, boats were stranded here and there on what became mud flats. Lake Lynn Generation notified FERC three times about the low levels, first on Sept. 13, when it fell to 866.9 feet; on Sept. 20, when the level dipped to 865.3 feet, and on Sept. 27, noting the level fell to 864.7 feet on Sept. 24-25.
The level is up again following the rainfall. At Lake Lynn’s public website, Cheat Lake Today, it notes that Tuesday’s level was 869.3 feet.
But in its court filing, Cheat Lake Marina alleges that before the Labor Day weekend, Lake Lynn deliberately lowered the level below the 868-foot minimum in violation of its FERC license. It alleges that Lake Lynn blamed an Aug. 27 reading on a faulty U.S. Geological Service gauge that was reading 3 feet lower than the actual lake level.
Since then, Cheat Lake Marina said in its filing, the lake level has fluctuated. “However, the damage has already been done.”
This includes boaters who used its docks rather than other inaccessible docks without permission, causing damages to Cheat Lake Marina’s docks. And the low water level has caused its docks to slowly pull away from their land mounts, “causing irreparable damage.”
The company alleged, “Cheat Lake Marina has, and will continue to suffer, irreparable injury if the defendants are allowed to continually lower the water level of Cheat Lake in violation of their FERC permit. Conversely, the defendants will not be significantly impaired by this court forbidding them from doing such.”
While an injunction would prevent Lake Lynn from maintaining a required minimum flow level of 100 cubic feet per second into the Cheat River, it wouldn’t harm the defendants and would prevent further harm to Cheat Lake Marina, the company said.
Along with the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, Cheat Lake Marina is also requesting $50,000 in damages.
The defendants have not yet filed a response to Cheat Lake Marina’s request or allegations. The Dominion Post has reached out to Lake Lynn for comment, but timing made a reply impossible by Tuesday’s deadline. In any event, companies typically do not comment on active litigation.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
