CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. — Monongalia County lawmaker Delegate David McCormick, R, 82, is working with state and federal officials to make changes to the operation of the Lake Lynn Power Station.

During the drought of 2024, operator of the facility Eagle Creek Renewable Energy released water from the lake in order to increase the dissolved oxygen levels. When that happened in extreme drought conditions, the water levels dropped having a negative impact on businesses and homeowners.

“In order to do what they are required to do with the EPA, they have to run water through the dam, and when they do that, the level drops, and there’s not enough water to replace it,” McCormick said on WAJRs “Talk of the Town.”

In Sept., property owners scrambled to remove docks and boats from the lake as the lake level was lowered. There were reports of docks being destroyed, and some boats were left stuck in the lake bed.

“That’s the thing that affects businesses and people that live around the lake and the personal property around the lake,” McCormick said. It was apparent over Labor Day last summer.”

McCormick has enlisted the support of former US Senator Joe Manchin, current Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and the state Department of Environmental Protection to get officials to take a closer look at the application. Similar facilities across the country have oxygenators to alleviate concerns about oxygen levels, but the original application completed in the 1980s did not include oxygenators, and none have been added in the decades since.

“We want them to buy the equipment and make it a requirement so water levels stay the same at summer pools and it doesn’t ruin boats, docks, businesses, and everything else,’ McCormick said.”

McCormick said he was put in contact with someone at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by former U.S. Senator Joe Manchin that has agreed the oxygenators should be a part of the Lake Lynn operation. McCormick was able to share the level of the problem over Labor Day with federal officials, who he says are listening and looking into the situation.

“I’ve actually talked to people at FERC myself and expressed this concern,” McCormick said. “I’m not going to predict the outcome of it, but I tell you it’s under the microscope right now.”

On a separate issue, McCormick said they want to work with Eagle Creek Natural Resources to clean up around the lake and improve maintenance procedures. He said many of the facilities for the public in the area are poorly maintained, and because of that, they are unreliable.

“The park down there—the water fountains don’t work half the time, the bathroom is out of order, and there are trees in the lake,” McCormick said. “So, there are things that need to be tightened up with that too.”