Residents Dispute Ownership of Mill Pond Dam

Nobody seems to own the Mill Pond Dam—that is, the former Mill Pond Dam, which collapsed under this spring’s heavy rains.

Edward Shaw, president of the Southern NY Beagle Club in Yorktown, said the property suffered between $8,000 and $9,000 in damages when the dam collapsed. The Southern NY Beagle Club is a social club, where people who own AKC certified Beagles can get together as well as train their dogs on the fields.

"We feel when damage is incurred by someone's neglect, they should reimburse us,"  said his wife Joann. "We all suffered because no one did anything about it."

The dam’s collapse also took out parts of the bridge on White Hill Road. It was temporarily closed until town officials repaired but, but have no immediate plans to rebuild it.

The dam has been failing for years.

Donald E. Canestrari, Environmental Engineer at the Bureau of Flood Protection and Dam Safety, said the Department was informed in late December 2005 that the Mill Pond Dam partially breached at the left abutment. After that, the town of Yorktown hired an engineer to develop a plan to construct an emergency breach of the dam via an Emergency Authorization through the Department.  

"During this process the town informed the Department that they did not own the structure and ceased pursuing action at the dam," he wrote in an email. "The Town subsequently identified certain residents around the impoundment as the owners of the dam."

But in return, those residents disputed ownership.

Supervisor Susan Siegel said it was determined in 2006 that the town does not own the dam, but officials also don't know who the property owner is.

In a 2006 letter, Kevin Sweeny, the town attorney at the time, wrote that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) did issue a permit to repair the dam, but after the town officials found out the town does not own the dam, they did not act. In addition, the town did not take a "position regarding which property owner or owners have a maintenance obligation," he wrote.

Prior to the dam collapse in March, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) performed an inspection of the dam in June 2010.

"Inspection revealed that the dam's breach has progressed to approximately midway of the original spillway, with further collapse of the upstream, laid up stone slope," Canestrari wrote in the report. "If left unattended the dam will continue to collapse and eventually fail. The failure may be sudden, during wet weather, for instance, or failure may consist of a gradual unraveling of the structure, or some combination of either of these scenarios."

Canestrari told Patch that the DEC’s visual observation of the facilities is not a substitute for a thorough engineering evaluation of the facility by a licensed professional engineer.

"In general, all dams should be routinely inspected and maintained by the owner," he said. "Periodically, dams should also be evaluated by a licensed professional engineer retained by the owner. These evaluations should include the comparison of performance data, tests and analyses with applicable safety criteria in order to provide the owner with recommendations for all needed maintenance or repairs in order for the facility to continue to function in a safe condition, as required by Environmental Conservation Law."

The frequency of these activities may vary depending on condition, size, and downstream hazard potential of the dam, he said. After the dam collapsed, state officials said there are no safety concerns because the dam doesn't impound water, and reconstruction is not needed. But it's up to the owner, whoever that is, to decide if it needs to be fixed.

Meanwhile, the support for the Beagle Club's private bridge has been shifted when the water after the dam’s collapse smashed it up. The bridge, Shaw said, attaches the front field to the back field, and while people could still walk on it, it would be dangerous if they need to take a tractor or trailer over it.

"The water came 60 feet and 3 feed high beyond its riverbed," Shaw said. "One bridge abutment is tilting 70 degrees the other is severally undermined. This is the only access to our 87 acre area."  

The water also washed off fencing on the club's property, which was later replaced by club members. One of the nearby residents had a swimming pool wash away because of the water. The Shaw's say they don't have enough money to hire an attorney to pursue the matter and are unsure about what they might do.

"I can't imagine they have a property that no one pays taxes to," Shaw said. "It's impossible in this day and age, you can't tell me who owns it and no one pays taxes."