The United States Department of Fish & Wildlife Service recently informed the Borough of Northampton it does not intend to take action on the Atlas Dam in the borough because of the presence of bog turtles.

The government agency responded to a letter sent by Assistant to the Manager Lerroy Brobst and forwarded to Councilman Ed Pany.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is involved in the matter because it has a permit application to remove the dam. There was an agreement between URS Corporation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a wetland identification and delineation study in March 2011. The project site is situated within the known range of the bog turtle.

In February the issue became public when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded a $429,000 grant to the Martins Jacoby Watershed Association for the removal of 200 feet of the more than 600 feet of the dam, including removal of silt on the banks to be utilized for a recreation area.

"Based on a review of the project information, including the location of the project and the anticipated impacts on fringe wetlands, which do not provide the combination of soils, hydrology and vegetation of suitable bog turtle habitat, we have determined that the effects of the project on the bog turtle are insignificant or discountable," reads a letter from the United States Corps of Engineers

Disappointed, Pany and council believe nothing further can be done regarding its opposition to the project.

Mayor Thomas Reenock said he also made earlier attempts to save the dam, which is on private property.

Last week, The Press incorrectly reported the animals in question were box turtles.