Army Corps of Engineers not present at MARC town hall

The crowd was expecting to hear about low water levels in the Mon River.

Dozens of Mon Valley residents concerned about the drop of the Monongahela River level were incensed when Monongahela Area Revitalization Corporation President George Eckert informed the crowd that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manager of the Lower Monongahela Project was not going to appear Monday night.

Stephen Frost, USACE project manager, was scheduled to give a presentation about the effects of the removal of Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 during MARC’s town hall at the Monongahela Fire Department Social Hall. Eckert said he received a call from Frost 12 minutes after the town hall was scheduled to begin. Frost told Eckert on the phone that he never confirmed that he was going to attend.

Eckert said he talked to Frost over the phone about the town hall two weeks ago.

Eckert told the crowd that MARC will set up a new date for the town hall, asking everybody to check the organization’s Facebook page. MARC also asked people affected by the lowering of the river levels to send comments, questions and concerns to its Facebook page. The organization plans to send them to USACE.

For Lynn Shallenberger of Whitaker Borough, boating is a way of life. She and her husband, who attended the town hall, usually spend five days a week at the Carousel Marina in the summers. This year has been different, as they moved their boat to a marina in Greene County along the Mon. She said her boat was sitting in the mud after the removal of the dam in Elizabeth began.

Shallenberger and her husband paid fees for a full summer at both marinas to dock their boats.

“But at least our boat’s safe,” Shallenberger said.

The river issue has affected the tight-knit boating community at the Carousel, as many boaters that have docked there for years have had to move their boats to a new marina.

Monongahela Mayor Greg Garry and Councilwoman Sarah O’Brien were disappointed by USACE’s absence Monday night.

“It’s a shame that we advertise and get all these residents from local areas and marinas here, and the Army Corps of Engineers uses a sad, cop-out excuse,” O’Brien said.

“It definitely wasn’t Mr. Eckert’s fault; everybody knew about this.” Garry said.

Garry added that his biggest concern is the Aquatorium and how much reconstruction could cost the city.

One boater and property owner along the river said he may have to leave his boat in the water over the winter, as many ramps are exposed.

“We’re a wreck. We have no place to take our boats out,” he said to applause from others in attendance.

State Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, attended Monday’s meeting and spoke to the crowd.

“I know that the situation on the water level and the Army Corps of Engineers is a federal issue, but I think that there will be a letter coming out of our office and (Sen. Bob Casey’s) office that says one thing: this issue happened with federal dollars, and it needs to be fixed with federal dollars,” Kuzma said.

Kuzma added that he saw boats “valued at six figures” at the Carousel Marina and other places in Forward Township sitting in mud a week after the first controlled demolition took place at Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 in July.

“We have municipalities, Monongahela, New Eagle, Forward Township, you name it, that need to extend their boat launches, and who’s going to pay for them? All of you!” he said. “The federal government has had this in the works since 1992, and I know that it takes the federal government five years to change its underwear, but 30 years later, this is one of the biggest blunders that I have ever witnessed in the Mon Valley.”

The USACE expects the river level between Charleroi and Braddock to drop another foot by the end of the year.