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<p>RICE TWP. &#8212; Surrounded by some of the township&#8217;s nicest homes, the 40-acre Upper Ice Lake is in the midst of a not-so-nice battle between the state Department of Environmental Protection and the residents of those homes.</p><p>Residents are upset and frustrated by the lack of a plan to fix the broken pipe that connects the upper and lower lakes. The pipe is leaking, and water is draining from the upper lake.</p><p>Residents have taken to previous meetings to complain the shrinking lake is ruining their view and imperiling property values. Between the leak drainage and precipitation, water levels are fluctuating much more than normal.</p><p>Residents want the DEP to arrange a meeting with them and the board. Supervisor Marcia Thomas said the request to the DEP has been made, but the question is whether the agency honors it.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s still under review,&#8221; said Colleen Connolly, Community Relations Coordinator for the Northeast Regional Office of the DEP.</p><p>The DEP owns and regulates the dams in the lakes, but the Ice Lakes, both upper and lower, are owned by Rice Township. Township engineer Andy Pasonick said the DEP won&#8217;t let the township dig the dam to fix the pipe and wants the lake to drain naturally because the presence of riprap &#8212; rock used to keep shorelines from eroding &#8212; could cause damage.</p><p>&#8220;Riprap makes it hard to dig around the dam to dewater it,&#8221; Pasonick said.</p><p>Back in October, the township failed to qualify for an emergency permit requested by the DEP.</p><p>&#8220;It was denied because there is no threat to properties or loss of life,&#8221; Connolly said. &#8220;It didn&#8217;t fit the criteria.&#8221;</p><p>Even if the township received permission to dam the lake and fix the pipe as soon as possible, Thomas said the unpredictability of the weather would bring caution to working with the lake while the surface freezes over. &#8220;Next year you could assume a warm-up, rather than uncertain (weather) conditions.&#8221;</p><p>Pasonick said PennEastern Engineers are working on a plan of investigation. Thomas confirmed the board did not receive a formal proposal, but did receive a &#8220;proposal for discussion only.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;At this time, we&#8217;re proposing to drain the pipe down and see what you&#8217;re actually dealing with,&#8221; Pasonick said. &#8220;Our plan of investigation is to not only drain the lake down but also fix it.&#8221;</p><p>He added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think there is anything you can do to make it happen faster; you can&#8217;t do something to breech the lake or receive a violation.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I know it&#8217;s not fast enough for the residents and I understand their frustration,&#8221; Thomas said.</p><p><strong>Frustrated residents</strong></p><p>At the Oct. 6 board of supervisors meeting, residents Josh Zuder, Chris Buzas and Marty Wentz asked about the lake, township minutes show.</p><p>Zuder asked what level the lake would need to be before drainage could be assessed. Buzas questioned if Pasonick was sure about the manual pumping assessment, to which Pasonick said his company watched the lake over the month because there was more to the process that just putting up a pump and draining it.</p><p>Wentz asked about draining the lake manually during the winter and fixing the pipe then.</p><p>At the Nov. 4 meeting, Wentz, frustrated that no action will be taken by the board of supervisors unless a formal proposal is announced, said, &#8220;We, the citizens of Rice Township, are requesting that you (board of supervisors) get in touch with DEP and get a representative here at a certain time in this building.&#8221;</p><p>At the same meeting, Mike Freiman stated for the third month, the township has done nothing. Freiman went on record asking, &#8220;Why are we paying this person when we have a critical problem with the Ice Lakes Development and there is no action?&#8221;</p><p><strong>It will be fixed</strong></p><p>The bottom line, according to Thomas, is the lake will be fixed, but those on the board need to vote on proposals, advertise for bids and determine how to fund the repairs. &#8220;We&#8217;re committed to finding grants through state legislatures and through federal avenues, if available,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to fix it but there are two reasons to not start construction projects in the winter,&#8221; Pasonick said. &#8220;One, to dewater it now, cold weather could slow the drainage down more, and it&#8217;s not ideal to start construction in the winter. And two, to dewater before the spring thaw, you may have more water than you planned.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;All projects done correctly do take a while,&#8221; Connolly said. &#8220;We want to make sure this project is thorough and done correctly so the dam could be safe once again. It was decided with the best intentions.&#8221;</p><p>Thomas said the township insures the lake because, even though it was a gift, it adds value the township doesn&#8217;t want to lose.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Residents are upset that the scenic Upper Ice Lake on Henry Drive in Rice Township is leaking water and no plans have been made to repair it. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111015IceLakes1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Residents are upset that the scenic Upper Ice Lake on Henry Drive in Rice Township is leaking water and no plans have been made to repair it. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Rice Township Municipal Building, 3000 Church Road, Rice Township.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Frustration over the Ice Lake drainage near Mountain Top continues