Residents Tangled In Red Tape Over Clogged Waterway
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH WEBSTER - Huge portions of a seawall are visible in the stinking mess blocking the waterway around Hiners Island on Webster Lake.
The mass of cement, accumulated silt and water-loving weeds literally smells because something(s) once alive is decomposing in the debris.
The other, more subjective, odor comes from months and months of state agencies and offices passing the buck.
"It's a shame," said Ed Spicer, a lake resident since 1974. "You have to get a permit to put anything motorized in the lake. You're fined if you throw a shovelful of dirt in from the shore. But no one will clean this up."
In June, the Kosciusko County Health Department ordered John Barker, of Indianapolis, owner of the property, to clear brush and secure the building - things on dry land. These "improvements" were made in two weeks.
Nothing was done to remove the pieces of the former seawall from the lake or to reinforce the rapidly eroding shoreline.
The waterway, technically not a channel because of the island, was dredged five years ago, with neighbors sharing the cost. Two years ago another lake resident, Stookey Rogers, spent weeks cleaning it out by hand.
Ed and his wife, Marylse, have applied for another permit with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, but they and their neighbors, who would share costs of mechanical dredging, are reluctant to clean up someone else's mess.
Dead fish and turtles wash up here, drawing scavengers.
The bridge of dead leaves and decayed branches looks solid enough for a 7-year-old to walk across. It's not, though.
Lysa Spicer of Fort Wayne is Ed's daughter-in-law. A frequent visitor, she'd headed up inquiries for her in-laws.
"It's gotten worse over the last couple of years because pieces of the seawall trap everything," she said. "The smell is horrible."
The DNR is willing to take the Spicers' $25 permit fee and are well aware of the problem, admitted Andrea Gromeaux, a section manager for the DNR's Division of Water.
"We have no jurisdiction to go in and remove a broken- down seawall," she said. "The property owner would be required to get a permit if he wanted a new one."
Within the last couple of years a new public pier and access were installed along with an asphalted parking lot on Backwater Road. Ed Spicer points to that as a misuse of money.
"Why does all our money go to the public, to people who don't even live here?" he said bitterly. "I can't put anything into the water without following some kind of rule or regulation.
"If the DNR won't do anything and health department won't do anything, who's left?" Spicer asked. "When I called (State Senator Robert) Meeks, he acted as if it was an imposition on him because he was in a special session."
Lysa Spicer said Barker is aware of the problem and is willing to pay a share of the cleanup, but not all of it.
"People told him about the DNR permit. He thought all the homeowners would be paying to dredge, he thought everyone should pitch in. I told him most of problem is that his seawall has fallen in," Lysa Spicer said.
"He seemed like a decent guy, he is aware of it. Obviously he isn't going to go in there and do it himself."
She and her husband, Joe, have been writing and communicating with several people at the DNR since May, asking for assistance, only to be directed elsewhere.
"We've received no recommendation on what to do or take care of the problem," Lysa Spicer said.
"They want written communication only and we registered all the letters. The only only written communication I've gotten back so far is a letter saying they've received the letters and one from Mr. Salmon saying he was writing on behalf of DNR Director John Gross to say he received the letter."
In the meantime the 4-foot-high dirt wall on the Barkers' Hiner's Island property continues to erode.
Corps of Engineers Indianapolis field officer Brett Crump said property owners are responsible for maintaining seawalls. But the Corps has no policing authority on local lakes and hasn't since the 1970s.
"It's not a Section 10 navigable waterway (like the Ohio - Wabash River)," he said.
If a seawall falls into a river carrying commercial traffic, the Corps is all over it.
Nor has Barker's former seawall been permitted by the Corps.
"If we had permitted something, one of the conditions would be to maintain it," Crump said.
"We would encourage that he reconstruct the seawall," he said. "We have no jurisdiction to force him to do so, that's up to the DNR's Division of Water."
When informed the Division of Water had no intention of correcting the problem, Crump said, "That surprises me, but then, again, maybe they're surprised we don't either."
All the Spicers and their neighbors know is the bureaucratic volleyball they've been playing is eating up the summer. Soon it will be too cold to do anything - again.
"I don't want to have to smell it another year," Lysa said.
It really does stink. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH WEBSTER - Huge portions of a seawall are visible in the stinking mess blocking the waterway around Hiners Island on Webster Lake.
The mass of cement, accumulated silt and water-loving weeds literally smells because something(s) once alive is decomposing in the debris.
The other, more subjective, odor comes from months and months of state agencies and offices passing the buck.
"It's a shame," said Ed Spicer, a lake resident since 1974. "You have to get a permit to put anything motorized in the lake. You're fined if you throw a shovelful of dirt in from the shore. But no one will clean this up."
In June, the Kosciusko County Health Department ordered John Barker, of Indianapolis, owner of the property, to clear brush and secure the building - things on dry land. These "improvements" were made in two weeks.
Nothing was done to remove the pieces of the former seawall from the lake or to reinforce the rapidly eroding shoreline.
The waterway, technically not a channel because of the island, was dredged five years ago, with neighbors sharing the cost. Two years ago another lake resident, Stookey Rogers, spent weeks cleaning it out by hand.
Ed and his wife, Marylse, have applied for another permit with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, but they and their neighbors, who would share costs of mechanical dredging, are reluctant to clean up someone else's mess.
Dead fish and turtles wash up here, drawing scavengers.
The bridge of dead leaves and decayed branches looks solid enough for a 7-year-old to walk across. It's not, though.
Lysa Spicer of Fort Wayne is Ed's daughter-in-law. A frequent visitor, she'd headed up inquiries for her in-laws.
"It's gotten worse over the last couple of years because pieces of the seawall trap everything," she said. "The smell is horrible."
The DNR is willing to take the Spicers' $25 permit fee and are well aware of the problem, admitted Andrea Gromeaux, a section manager for the DNR's Division of Water.
"We have no jurisdiction to go in and remove a broken- down seawall," she said. "The property owner would be required to get a permit if he wanted a new one."
Within the last couple of years a new public pier and access were installed along with an asphalted parking lot on Backwater Road. Ed Spicer points to that as a misuse of money.
"Why does all our money go to the public, to people who don't even live here?" he said bitterly. "I can't put anything into the water without following some kind of rule or regulation.
"If the DNR won't do anything and health department won't do anything, who's left?" Spicer asked. "When I called (State Senator Robert) Meeks, he acted as if it was an imposition on him because he was in a special session."
Lysa Spicer said Barker is aware of the problem and is willing to pay a share of the cleanup, but not all of it.
"People told him about the DNR permit. He thought all the homeowners would be paying to dredge, he thought everyone should pitch in. I told him most of problem is that his seawall has fallen in," Lysa Spicer said.
"He seemed like a decent guy, he is aware of it. Obviously he isn't going to go in there and do it himself."
She and her husband, Joe, have been writing and communicating with several people at the DNR since May, asking for assistance, only to be directed elsewhere.
"We've received no recommendation on what to do or take care of the problem," Lysa Spicer said.
"They want written communication only and we registered all the letters. The only only written communication I've gotten back so far is a letter saying they've received the letters and one from Mr. Salmon saying he was writing on behalf of DNR Director John Gross to say he received the letter."
In the meantime the 4-foot-high dirt wall on the Barkers' Hiner's Island property continues to erode.
Corps of Engineers Indianapolis field officer Brett Crump said property owners are responsible for maintaining seawalls. But the Corps has no policing authority on local lakes and hasn't since the 1970s.
"It's not a Section 10 navigable waterway (like the Ohio - Wabash River)," he said.
If a seawall falls into a river carrying commercial traffic, the Corps is all over it.
Nor has Barker's former seawall been permitted by the Corps.
"If we had permitted something, one of the conditions would be to maintain it," Crump said.
"We would encourage that he reconstruct the seawall," he said. "We have no jurisdiction to force him to do so, that's up to the DNR's Division of Water."
When informed the Division of Water had no intention of correcting the problem, Crump said, "That surprises me, but then, again, maybe they're surprised we don't either."
All the Spicers and their neighbors know is the bureaucratic volleyball they've been playing is eating up the summer. Soon it will be too cold to do anything - again.
"I don't want to have to smell it another year," Lysa said.
It really does stink. [[In-content Ad]]