MOUNT PLEASANT TWP, PA — A nearly 200-year-old stone dam at Hankins Pond is set to be demolished by the state. Gov. Tom Wolf released funding on August 17 to address this dam and six others in the state that are classified as high-hazard.

Wolf said that if any of these dams were to fail they could result in possible loss of life and extensive property damage.

Hankins Pond dam was constructed by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company in the 1830s, and was drained about three years ago because it was unsafe, and was no longer needed to support operations at the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s (PFBC) Pleasant Mount State Fish Hatchery.

The funding is part of a comprehensive, multi-year $53.3 million plan to leverage capital budget dollars with local contributions, other support, and Oil Company Franchise Tax (OCFT) revenues authorized by Act 89 of 2013 to design and repair 10 high-hazard, unsafe dams managed by the PFBC on behalf of the Commonwealth.

The OCFT funding will also pay for the new design and construction of Miller and White Oak ponds, and future OCFT revenues will pay for the construction Belmont Lake and Lower Woods Pond. All four ponds are located in Wayne County.