Something Fishy (in a Good Way) on Passage Creek

By Kim Buttleman

On our way down Passage Creek Jan. 2, we noted an erosion fence along the right side of the creek both upstream and downstream of the Fish Hatchery bridge, as well as new bright yellow paint boundary markers there. At the low-water bridge takeout we talked to a local resident who said he thought it might relate to work on the hatchery as part of a $50 million payment from Dupont to settle mercury pollution claims. 

We drove back up to look. The work is in progress and is quite extensive. The ponds have been dug deeper and appear to have been lined, with new piping installed. The bridge there is not a viable takeout now, and from the looks of it may not be in the future.

For information about the settlement, see this Courthouse News Service article from 2016 (mention of the hatchery is toward the end).

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