DEM Issues Immediate Compliance Order to Correct Safety Deficiencies at Johnson’s Pond

DEM Issues Immediate Compliance Order to Correct Safety Deficiencies at Johnson’s Pond

The battle over control, compliance, and enforcement at Johnson’s Pond in Coventry took a new twist.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) on Friday announced it has issued an immediate compliance order (ICO) directing the owner of the Johnson’s Pond dam to immediately draw down and maintain the water level two feet below the top of the spillway, and if necessary, continue lowering the level by one additional foot at a time until no water is ejecting through the spillway, according to the regulatory agency.

 

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DEM claims that inspections of the dam over several days found continuing changes in the stone spillway including dislodged stones and water ejecting through the spillway at several locations, which has led DEM — the state’s dam safety regulator — to consider the dam to be unsafe.

 

DEM issued the ICO on April 3 and served it to the attorney for the owner, Soscia Holdings LLC, on April 4. The order also directs Soscia Holdings to place sandbags along the spillway to reinforce the structure. Further, the ICO orders Soscia Holdings to retain a dam engineer and, within 14 days, conduct a detailed investigation of the dam, submit a report of deficiencies and corrective measures to DEM, and submit a plan to install siphons and/or large capacity pumps to provide additional drawdown capacity if needed. On April 8, DEM personnel were on site as a work crew placed sandbags at the dam at DEM’s direction to comply with the ICO, which is in effect for 45 days and may be renewed for an additional 45 days.

 

“By law, DEM is charged with ensuring the safety of dams in Rhode Island, thereby protecting public safety and the environment,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “We are using every means at our disposal to compel Soscia Holdings LLC to fulfill its responsibilities to ensure the structural integrity and safe operation of the Johnson’s Pond dam.”