There Goes the Lake: "Did we do that?"

There used to be a lake here.
Duke Lake provided Greene County (PA) residents with a popular spot to fish, boat, and swim.

Six years ago, the earth moved in Greene County, PA.  A dam at Ryerson Station State Park's 62-acre Duke Lake cracked as a result of longwall mining nearby.  The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources was forced to drain the lake because of safety concerns.  Litigation ensued.  Consol Energy is responsible for the crack in the dam.  But now they don't want to pay to replace the dam.

Duke Lake is still dry.  Here is the latest advisory:

8/17/2011 1:56:00 PM

Duke Lake at Ryerson Station State Park was drawn down on 7/28/05 due to concerns about the dam. As a result there is currently no lake, no boating and only limited trout fishing available at the park until the concerns can be addressed and the lake refilled. The limited trout fishing areas are in the stream above what once was the lake near the iron bridge, and below the breached dam. The park is still open for camping, hiking, and picniking year-round and when in season, the swimming pool is open

Read the PennFuture article here.

Here's Don Hopey's article published August 25, 2011, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  A judge will issue a decision as to whether Consol Energy will have to pay for the damages soon.