CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) The Maryland attorney general’s office said the city of Cumberland apparently owns a Potomac River dam at the center of a debate about the waterway’s future.
The Cumberland Times-News reported on the advisory letter in its Nov. 28 edition.
Mayor Brian Grim said he’s not convinced that the city, rather than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, owns the Potomac River Industrial Dam. The answer could determine who would pay to remove it under a state plan to improve the fish habitat and create canoeing and kayaking opportunities.
Critics say removal would deprive motorboat users of deep water behind the structure. Others say the dam could be used for hydroelectric power.
The low-level dam was completed in 1955 for flood-control and industrial reasons, but it no longer serves those purposes.
