1 the Pursel Mill Dam Breach: Ecological Restoration, Historic

The Pursel Mill Dam Breach: Ecological Restoration, Historic Preservation and Flood Mitigation Geoffrey M. Goll, P.E. Princeton Hydro, LLC, P.O. Box 720, Ringoes, New Jersey, 08551 PH (908) 237-5660; email:[email protected] The owner of NJ Dam No. 24-80, Mr. Harry Pursel of Harry Pursel, Inc. (a local Agway agricultural and garden supply store) was notified via letter dated August 1, 2001 that he was the owner of a dam regulated by the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection and that an inspection must be performed by a Professional Engineer. Princeton Hydro, LLC was subsequently contracted to perform the inspection. Princeton Hydro conducted the inspection and found the dam to be in safe condition, but with significant repair and upgrades necessary to bring the dam into compliance. Following submission to the NJDEP, the NJDEP Dam Safety Section issued a letter requiring Mr. Pursel to bring the dam into compliance by completing hydrologic and hydraulic studies and upgrading the physical attributes of the dam to current regulatory standards. Preliminary estimates of dam construction repairs were prepared in the range of $450,000 to $550,000 plus engineering fees in excess of $80,000 in 2001 dollars. As a small business, Mr. Pursel did not have the funds to upgrade the dam to current standards, and therefore, was in need of an alternative to bring the dam into compliance. Princeton Hydro and Mr. Pursel subsequently discussed another option for compliance; breaching of the dam and its subsequent deregulation. As a first blockage on the Lopatcong Creek, it was known that there were grant opportunities to breach dams to provide anadromous fish passage improvements and stream restoration activities. Subsequently, Mr. Pursel requested that Princeton Hydro pursue such funds to assist in the breaching of the dam and its subsequent deregulation. Configuration and History of Lopatcong Creek and Dam The Harry Pursel Dam is located on Lopatcong Creek adjacent to Harry S. Pursel, Inc. (Agway) on 1127 South Main Street in Phillipsburg Township, Warren County, New Jersey. 85’ Long Spillway 400’+ Embankment NJ Route 122 Figure 1: Layout of Dam According to the National Inventory of dams database, the contributing watershed drainage area was 14.2 square miles. The earthen dam ran from South Main Street parallel to the Lopatcong Creek (functioning as a dike) until it crosses the creek via the low level outlet and ogee spillway. The earthen embankment is 450 feet in length with a maximum of 15 feet in height, 1 which runs parallel to the stream which it impounds. As will be discussed below, the original function of the dam was to raise the stream level to function as a canal, so the reservoir was very narrow (20 feet in width) and long (800 feet). The ogee spillway was 85 feet in length and has a height of 8.3 feet. The upstream slope of the embankment varied from 1H:1V to 1.5H:1V and had low herbaceous vegetation. The downstream slope of the embankment varies from 1H: 1V to 1.5H: 1V and was covered in dense vegetation and some animal burrows in the middle of the dike. The dam was identified by the State of New Jersey as a Class II or Significant Hazard structure. A Significant Hazard dam has the potential to cause severe property damage downstream as a result of failure, with little potential for the loss of life. During flooding events, the embankment either overtopped or the creek backed up within the reservoir and flooded upstream properties. Figure 2: Frequent Flooding of Lopatcong Creek at Spillway. The stream itself was part of the historic Morris Canal (in full operation from 1832 to 1880), which was used to improve transportation between Pennsylvania and New York City. The concrete spillway was constructed in 1927 as a replacement to the canal lock in order to maintain water flow to a mill on the property of Mr. Harry S. Pursel. According to Mr. Pursel the mill has been out of service since 1945. The site adjacent to the main embankment is Harry S. Pursel, Inc., a local Agway that has been in business for over 80 years. Adjacent to the main embankment is a natural perennial spring, which flows from a springhouse adjacent to South Main Street and along the main embankment. Additionally, there is an abandoned mill chute that redirected flow from Lopatcong Creek to the mill for hydropower. 2 Figure 3: Postcards Depicting Pursel Section of Morris Canal (circa 1900) The Lopatcong Creek has been identified by the NJDEP as a FW2-TP (trout production) stream and is a Category 1 (C-1) water body. C-1 waters are subject to non-degradation requirements for impacts to its “pristine” and exceptional water quality. The Harry Pursel Dam was the only significant obstruction on the Lopatcong Creek and would reconnect eight (8) to 10 miles of stream to the Delaware River. The project will restore several fish species migration routes, and facilitate the movement of resident fish species. Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus (anadromous) Blueback herring, Alosa aestivalis (anadromous) American eel, Anguilla rostrata (catadromous) Figure 4: Diadromouse Fish Species Benefiting (Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service) Grant Funding Applications and Initial Design of Breach In December 2001, Princeton Hydro, on behalf of Mr. Harry Pursel submitted an application to American Rivers for a $25,000 grant through the American Rivers-NOAA Community-based Restoration Program for the design and permitting of the Dam Breach. The grant was subsequently approved in 2002 and the permitting process for the project began. The initial tasks to be completed were a topographic and property boundary survey of the dam. Once this was complete, an initial dam breach design was prepared which included the partial removal of the concrete ogee spillway. The design entailed a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the watershed to ensure compliance with the NJDEP Dam Safety regulation requirements. These requirements included not detrimentally impacting property owners downstream by increasing flooding. The study also involved the design of a step pool transition from the natural stream channel upstream through the breached concrete spillway. Due to the fact that the mill complex was constructed below the stream elevation (due to the original manmade function of the stream as a canal), the earthen embankment needed to be maintained to protect the complex from 3 flooding. Therefore, the step pool design to transition the stream elevation from above the mill to below it required careful planning to both deregulate the dam and providing the appropriate fish passage necessary to meet the grant requirements. During the year 2002 other grants were pursued and subsequently obtained including a grant of $72,500 through the USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), and a $10,000 grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) through their Partners for Wildlife program. Additional funds through FishAmerica Foundation were applied for in 2002, but were denied due to the already high commitment of federal funding, however, other funds did come through in 2003 including an additional through the North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) via a $10,000 commitment in in-kind materials and services for riparian plantings following construction. In 2004, again, American Rivers provided $25,000 for project implementation (construction). Therefore, by the end of the year 2004 a total of $142,500.00 was committed to the design and implementation of this project. Permit Application Process A pre-application meeting was held with at the NJDEP main office at 401 East State Street, in Trenton New Jersey. In attendance were representatives from all the pertinent bureaus including Permit Coordination Land Use Regulation (Bureau of Freshwater Wetlands), NJ Division of Fish and Game, the Dam Safety Section, and the State Historic Preservation Office. Also in attendance in support of the project and as a grant representative was a representative of the NRCS. There was significant discussion regarding historic preservation. It was agreed by all that by the partial breach of the concrete spillway as design, the major elements of the dam and canal embankment would be preserved, and therefore, this project would have a positive effect on the historic preservation elements of the historic Morris Canal. In June, an application to the NJDEP Land Use Regulation Program (LURP) was submitted for a Statewide General Permit No. 18, Dam Repairs (which include removals and breaches). Subsequently, an application was submitted to the Dam Safety Section for review. In addition, at the request of Dam Safety a copy of the application package was submitted to the NJ Division of Fish and Game for their review. As the dam was a component of the Morris Canal, which was listed on the NJ Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Dam Safety and Land Use Regulation permit process it was also necessary to prepare and submit an application to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for a “Project Authorization under the NJ Register of Historic Places Act”. Through the application to SHPO it was determined that this project would have an “adverse effect” on the historic elements of the Morris Canal, and therefore, a request of interest was then required to be submitted to the National Park Service (NPS), the federal agency responsible for managing federal historic places. The USFWS acted on behalf of the project in requesting interest from the NPS. This request subsequently received no response within the regulatory timeframe for a response (15 days), and therefore, was deemed of no interest to the NPS’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

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