Recreation plan will be developed for Bynum Dam

Work will begin in early 2022 on a recreation plan for the Bynum Hydroelectric Project on the Haw River, licensee Andrew McMahan said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a 40-year license to McMahan on Oct. 8, 2021, for the project. He must file the plan within 180 days of that date.

McMahon will meet with representatives of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Chatham County Parks and Recreation Department and the Carolina Canoe Club to craft an agreement. Conservation Chair Shane Brown and Bob Brueckner will represent the club.

The project consists of the Bynum Dam, a power canal that parallels the river and a powerhouse on 13 acres of land where U.S. 15-501 crosses the Haw.

Download the Bynum Hydroelectric Project license

The Bynum community is slowly evolving as a hub for outdoor recreation in Chatham County. There are four river accesses, informal hiking trails along the Haw, fishing spots and two large parking lots for visitors.

The recreation plan for the hydro project would refurbish an unmaintained hiking trail along the power canal. That trail would serve as a portage for paddlers and a link between the northern and southern sections of the Lower Haw River State Natural Area.

The existing access downstream of the dam will be refurbished for paddlers running the Middle Haw.

According to the license, the recreation plan must include:

• Improving the existing portage trail by removing impediments to access and installing a new wooden stair system;
• Improving an existing, but unmaintained, hiking trail from Bynum Dam to the powerhouse to connect the state-maintained trails which exist upstream and downstream of project lands;
• Installing signs to inform the public of recreational amenities;
• Creating a construction and implementation schedule for the recreation facilities and associated amenities;
• Establishing provisions for maintaining the recreation facilities and associated amenities;
• Evaluate the adequacy of the project’s recreation facilities in 2030.
• (177 FERC ¶ 61,014; Pages 6, 10)

— Bob Brueckner, CCC member