Published: September 18, 2008 04:00 am         

Fish halt plans for city creek

ONEONTA _ A flood prevention project on a creek that flows through the city of Oneonta has hit a $540,000 snag.

The Army Corps of Engineers has informed city officials that it is concerned about a population of trout in the Oneonta Creek, according to Mayor John Nader.

The design for the flood prevention measures, which has already been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state, may have to be changed, Nader said Wednesday.

This would add an estimated $540,000 to the $728,000 project, Nader said.

The stream, which flows out of the city's reservoir, Wilber Lake, was one of several areas of flash flooding that hit Oneonta on June 27, 2006, and damaged City Hall, businesses and apartments.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and state government have pledged to the city that they would fully fund the $728,000 as originally proposed, Nader said.

But Nader said FEMA and the state would be reluctant to fund beyond that amount. The city is also not in a position to make up the difference, he said.

"We're not prepared to appropriate an additional $540,000 at this point," Nader said.

Although the flood prevention work is not being mandated by the federal or state governments, it is important for it to be completed before the next flood hits the city, Nader said.

"We're very anxious to get this work done," he said.

Nader said it was a surprise for city officials to learn there were trout in the creek, which can be very shallow along its course.

"Honestly, we had never heard about fish populations there before," Nader said. "It's a very small population."

City Engineering Administrator Joseph Bernier is meeting with federal officials today in Stamford to go over the project in hopes of a resolution.

Nader said the city is looking at all its options, including seeking a less-costly design that will still protect the trout or outside funding.

The project, which would involve shoring up the streambed against future flooding, is focused between where the stream flows under Center Street and where it empties into the Mill Race, Nader said.

The brown and brook trout in the stream are not endangered species, but federal and state agencies tend to have policies to protect trout, which are a popular fish among anglers.