Judge Rejects County's Plan to Repair Estabrook Dam
August 24, 2012
Last Friday (August 17, 2012), Milwaukee Riverkeeper appeared in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to object to an "abatement" plan for the long-neglected Estabrook Dam. In May, the court ruled in favor of Milwaukee Riverkeeper's motion for summary judgment and declared that the dam was a public nuisance. At the hearing on Friday, Executive Director Karen Schapiro objected to the plan submitted by the County, stating that it was deficient for a number of reasons, including the lack of a time-table for repair, as well as information on how repair and future operations would be funded.
Judge Foley agreed that the plan was lacking on specifics and has now ordered the County to come up with a detailed plan for either repair or removal by November 14, 2012. A hearing on the revised plan is set for November 29, 2012. In the meantime, the County is still under order from the Department of Natural Resources to complete all repairs by October 31, 2012, a deadline which no doubt will not be met.
For more information on the Estabrook Dam and Milwuakee Riverkeeper's position, click here.
