FREMONT — Initial work related to the Ballville Dam removal is under way, though regulatory hurdles still loom.

Crews are constructing an ice control structure that will reduce ice flows and jams in the Sandusky River in downtown Fremont when the dam is removed, City Auditor Paul Grahl said. But a permit is still required from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with further stages of the project.

Fremont voters in November approved a referendum affirming a city council decision to remove the century-old dam. Opponents got the referendum on the ballot despite efforts by some city officials to block the move by arguing the ordinance wasn’t subject to referendum. The Ohio Supreme Court eventually ruled that it should be placed on the ballot.

Another hitch came from the Sierra Club, which filed a federal lawsuit concerning the release of sediment accumulated behind the dam. The club stayed that suit in October, pending an Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

That would be a supplemental statement, as the service conducted additional testing after concerns were raised, said Brian Elkington, Fish and Wildlife Service program supervisor for the Midwest region. Additional sediment samples were taken in September, 2015, and a final impact statement will soon be released, he added.

“The additional testing resulted in supporting the original contamination testing that was done,” he said.

Once that process is complete, the Army Corps will determine if it should grant a permit under the Clean Water Act.

“It has to be demonstrated that the project is not contrary to the public interest,” said Mark Scalabrino, chief of the Ohio Application and Evaluation Section of the Army Corps’ Buffalo District.

There’s no timeline for how long that process could take. It depends on if further information is needed by the Army Corps, Mr. Scalabrino said; if not, the process could be fairly quick.

Meanwhile, Fremont is performing preparation work in anticipation of approval. The contract for the ice control structure, awarded last year to MWH Constructors, has a maximum price of about $1.6 million. That is covered by an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency grant, said Mr. Grahl.

City council approved an amendment to its budget in July, as the project wasn’t included in the 2016 budget. Mr. Grahl said the city wanted to get work under way because the bid price wouldn’t be guaranteed if they waited too long.

“We were trying to get that process started so that we could hold that contract value that we were able to get last fall and not cost the citizens any more money by delaying,” he said.

City officials previously said demolition is the cheapest choice for the deteriorating dam, with removal costs at under $10 million, and repairs costing an estimated $27 million.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.

First Published September 19, 2016, 4:00 a.m.