Rep. Rokita Proposes Improved NIPSCO Notifications for Twin Lakes

Press Release

Rep. Todd Rokita is continuing his efforts to better conditions on Indiana's Twin Lakes, Shafer and Freeman, where water levels are back to normal, but where he and residents would like to see more improvements. In his Friday letter to the power company NIPSCO, the Congressman proposed another important one: a notification system to promptly alert Hoosiers to potential changes on the lakes.

"What happened on Lake Freeman in August is providing valuable lessons about how to prevent losses in the future. One is that Hoosiers could have been better informed about changes," said Rokita. "Harnessing technology will help us address that issue."

With no prior notice, many who live and work at Lake Freeman arrived in early August to find it nearly two feet below its normal level, after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), to protect endangered mussels further down the Tippecanoe River, ordered NIPSCO to open nearby Oakdale Dam's floodgates. Facing the loss of business and income, in addition to their summer vacations, they sought Rokita's help.

In just days, he helped secure an agreement between USFWS and NIPSCO that reduces the likelihood of such drastic water-level drops. His letter to NIPSCO president Kathleen O'Leary underscores their job is far from over, however. He asked her for greater detail about NIPSCO's current procedures for alerting Lake Freeman residents -- as well as property-owners farther away -- of any changes and about a possible expansion to include mass emails, texts and a mobile application.

The power company, now seeking to make its agreement with USFWS permanent in a renewed license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has so far been responsive. Rokita expects that spirit of collaboration with his office to continue at an upcoming stakeholder meeting on Friday in Monticello. "Along with local Hoosiers, my office and I pushed for this meeting, where representatives from Fish and Wildlife, NIPSCO and the Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corporation will attend. They'll have the opportunity to exchange views and ideally advance long-term solutions to prevent similar future events."

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