A Google Map aerial image of the Ledbetter Lake area.
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
A House bill that allows residents to pay a fee to help fund repairs to Ledbetter Lake Dam is waiting only on a signature by Gov. Pat McCrory.
House Bill 1033, sponsored by Rep. Ken Goodman and co-sponsored by Rep. Charles Graham and Rep. Garland Pierce, authorizes Richmond County government to impose a special assessment that ultimately will pay for residents’ ability to restore the drained Ledbetter Lake, on Hitchcock Creek, and once again have lakefront properties and all the quality-of-life improvements that come with such a luxury.
Rep. Ken Goodman
This image and projection of work to repair the Ledbetter Dam is on file with the application with various state agencies.
The bill limits any assessment, which must be approved by the Richmond County commissioners, to specific property owners “against property that is contiguous to a lake, and benefits from access to the same lake, for the purpose of repairing the dam of that lake. The provisions of this subsection only apply to a privately owned dam formerly used for textile mill purposes, forming a lake between 225 and 325 acres in area.”
The repairs are to cost an estimated $2.3 million. A group of residents, led by Frank Parker, formed Ledbetter Lake Dam Management Inc. and requested legislative assistance via the Richmond County Board of Commissioners earlier this year.
The third reading of the House bill was approved Thursday with a 40-4 vote. It is cross filed in the Senate as SB 766. Sen. Gene McLaurin, sponsor, said it was originally thought the bill could be a local bill, but due to a few technicalities it had to be a statewide bill. The Senate version was co-sponsored by Sen. Gladys A. Robinson. Second and third readings were approved earlier this week.
North Carolina dam safety inspectors examined Ledbetter Dam in April and July 2012 and issued a Notice of Deficiency on July 20, 2012, that identified several problems and maintenance issues that could result in dam failure during high flow events or seismic activity. Reported problems include cracks and leaks on the left side of the spillway, concrete deterioration, seepage through the embankment, stability of the embankment and much more. The notice instructed the owner to prepare and emergency action plan and to draw down the lake at least 5 feet until permanent repairs are completed.
Sen. Gene McLaurin
The lake, which was buil was drawn down to the lowermost gate to remove accumulated logs and debris in 2013.
In April 2013, Parker formed Ledbetter Lake Dam Management Inc. to see the dam repaired and refilled. The new entity purchased the dam for $1. The issue impacts 136 properties that touch the lake. A petition presented to county officials approximately three months ago had garnered 54 percent of affected landowners in support of the assessment. Those landowners comprised 63 percent of the affected properties.
The assessment will be added onto a property owner’s annual tax bill. The amount of the fee would be based on the total cost of dam repairs.
According to a December 2013 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Gerald Pottern, a senior biologist with Robert J. Goldstein and Associates Inc., a Raleigh-based environmental consultation firm, the project will include “the following much-needed structural and safety improvements to the dam:
* demolish the deteriorated upper portion of the primary spillway, outlet gates, training walls, powerhouse and penstock;
* rebuild the primary spillway at the existing crest elevation, encasing it in a concrete monolith and widening the base to improve the structural stability;
* rebuild the outlet works and non-overflow dam section (left abutment) between the primary spillway and the mill building, installing new gates and controls;
* rebuild the earth embankment and training wall between the primary spillway and Ledbetter Road (right abutment) with a drain system to capture and convey seepage.
Rep. Garland Pierce
The repair project has been designed by Schnabel Engineering of Greensboro. Pottern noted that the State Historic Preservation Office indicating the Ledbetter Manufacturing Company mill building “might be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. However, the deteriorated condition of Ledbetter Dam would make it a non-contributing element if the mill is proposed for NRHP listing. SHPO concurs that the proposed dam repair will have no effect on historic properties.”
It’s unclear how soon repairs could get underway once McCrory signs the bill, as expected.
