HAMILTON — Concerns about terrorism have snagged the fishing pier at Hamilton's hydroelectric plant on the Ohio River in a net of controversy.

        The fishing pier, 120 miles east of Cincinnati at the Greenup Locks and Dam, was closed last year after the Sept. 11 attacks.

        The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would like the pier to be reopened to the public so fishermen can resume using it. But Hamilton officials say the threat of terrorist activity is still a major concern, and they adamantly oppose reopening the pier.

        “This isn't anything against the fishermen,” Hamilton City Manager Steve Sorrell said. “We're just trying to protect a major asset owned by Hamilton.”

        The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses Hamilton to operate the plant, will make a decision in two to three weeks, said Deputy City Manager Mark Brandenburger. He met last week with FERC and corps officials at the plant.

        The Greenup Hydro Plant, which Hamilton has owned since 1991, provides the city with one-third to half of its electrical power.

        The fishing pier was closed shortly after Sept. 11, when Hamilton received notices from the FBI about the vulnerability of hydroelectric facilities.

        Two incidents at the plant several weeks after 9-11 alarmed city officials.

        In the first instance, three men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent knelt in front of the facility, Mr. Sorrell said.

        “They appeared to be observing what was taking place on the plant grounds,” he said.

        Plant officials contacted the sheriff's office, but the men had left by the time deputies arrived.

        In the second incident, plant officials discovered a fake bomb that they at first thought was real.

        “It was very sophisticated and had a red blinking light,” Mr. Sorrell said. “It looked very real. We had to close down the plant.”

        Besides the possible loss of lives at the facility and the loss of electrical power to Hamilton, a terrorist attack at the plant could be a financial disaster for the city, Mr. Sorrell said.

        “It could have a devastating impact on this community,” he said. “It's scary.”

        Hamilton has $170 million invested in the plant. To protect its investment, Hamilton has carried $107 million in insurance coverage, which includes damage caused by terrorism.

        But Hamilton's insurance carrier has told the city that when its policy renews on Oct. 1, the maximum coverage for terrorist damage will drop to $5 million. And that coverage will be available only if the city pays a higher premium.

        The corps would like the pier reopened under circumstances that would not jeopardize the plant's safety, said Steve Wright, spokesman at the corps' Huntington, W.Va., office.

        The pier is a popular fishing spot and is a good site for catching bass and catfish, he said.

        “Anybody who has fished there wants to fish there again,” Mr. Wright said.

        E-mail skemme@enquirer.com
       

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