HONESDALE, NY —  A press release from Wayne County says, "The Wayne County Commissioners are pleased to announce that Senior Judge Raymond Hamill has today issued a Preliminary Injunction to at least temporarily halt the proposed partial demolition of the Hankins Dam, Mount Pleasant Township, Wayne County, PA by the PA Fish & Boat Commission. The Commissioners had been informed that partial demolition could occur as early as Monday, September 10, 2018.

"As a result of Senior Judge Hamill’s ruling, no further action can be undertaken to remove any part of the dam, pending a hearing set for September 19, 2018. The County Commissioners remain committed to the goal of preservation of the historic Hankins Dam while protecting residents and property lying downstream."

The commissioners have waged a months-long campaign to save the historic dam. PennDot officials consider it to be a danger because even though it was breached in 2013, the official state position is that during a heavy storm enough water could collect behind the dam to pose a threat to people downstream.

Wayne Commissioner Wendell Kay had been working to try to reach an agreement with PFBC and the Department of Environmental Preservation DEP to try save the 150 foot portion of the dam slated for destruction, but no agreement was reached.

Commissioner’s Chair Brain Smith said the county has offered to take over care of the historic, hand-built dam, along with the pond if the state agencies would allow an alternative to the demolition.  

The position of PFFB and DEP was that because the transfer of property would take a long time, the portion of the dam in question would be demolished anyway, and the county could repair it later.