D
A dozen marinas and restaurants on Lake Hopatcong have filed a lawsuit that demands the state Department of Environmental Protection immediately stop the daily outflow of water from the 2,500-acre lake until the level reaches its normal high water mark.
Filed Monday with state Superior Court Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis in Morristown, the lawsuit seeks a declaration of a temporary state of emergency for the lake.
The complaint, filed by attorney Diane L. Medcraft, alleges that the state mishandled a 60-inch drawdown last fall that resulted in a lake that is nearly 3 feet shallower than it should be at this time of year and is thwarting recreational use of the water, on which the businesses rely to survive.
"The local economy here is upside down," said Ron Sorensen, the owner of San Bar Marina and two other marinas on the lake. "We're not asking for money; we just want the state to fix what it's done here."
Sorensen, one of the 12 plaintiffs participating in the suit, said three-quarters of his 300 boat slips should be rented by now but all are empty.
The lawsuit names as defendants the DEP, Division of Parks and Forestry, Hopatcong State Park and Superintendent Helen Maurella.
A 60-inch drawdown is conducted every five years to permit major repairs to seawalls and docks and for dam inspection and vegetation control. According to the suit, the drawdown began as normal in September. But on Dec. 15, 2008, when the Lake Hopatcong Water Level Management Plan called for the gates to be closed so that only a daily bypass amount of 7.5 million gallons was released, the gates were not closed, the lawsuit said.
Instead, "the improper releasing" of water went unabated until Jan. 7, sometimes by as much as 57 million extra gallons of water a day, the lawsuit said.
In total, "the improper deviation" from the management plan resulted in a loss of 1.5 billion gallons or about two feet of water from the lake between Dec. 15 and Jan. 7, the complaint alleges.
To substantiate the outflow, the lawsuit refers to data from the U.S. Department of the Interior that gauges the water outflow at the dam serving Lake Hopatcong.
DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said the DEP commissioner last Thursday reduced the outflow to 4.2 million gallons a day to help the lake recover.
When water is released through the dam, it travels down a 1.4 mile stream into Lake Musconetcong and then into the Musconetcong River.
The reduction in outflow, Makatura said, was based on the advice of a DEP fisheries biologist so that aquatic life in the stream, Lake Musconetcong and Musconetcong River was not sacrificed.
She noted that January, February and March have been dry months.
She said that state deputy attorneys general who would represent the DEP on the lawsuit would have to address the issue of alleged mismanagement.
She said the only delay she was aware of in closing the dam gates was a six-day period that some residents requested in December so they could complete some work.
The lawsuit contends that the season for Lake Hopatcong businesses will be lost if the daily outflow continues.
"At present, due to the excessively low water levels, plaintiffs are unable to conduct their normal business and are suffering damage. There is not enough water to utilize boat slips, or to entice individuals, tourists and others to use the lake and the surrounding businesses," the lawsuit said.
Businesses taking part in the court action include Bridge Marine Inc., Flash Watersports and Marine, Batten the Hatches, Windlass Restaurant, Katz Marina, Kabob's Restaurant, and others.
Peggy Wright can be reached at (973)267-1142 or pwright@gannett.com.

aily Record 4/28/09