Dam Demolition Reveals Several Sunken Cars In Kentucky

Draining water near a dam that’s to be demolished in Edmondson County, Kentucky has revealed about 10 cars which were submerged so deep they went undetected for years. Now there’s a battle over who needs to remove them.

Can you identify this car pulled out of a river?

We’ve covered quite a few submerged vehicles being discovered, but we think this is the first time we’ve seen different government entities fight over whose responsibility it is to pull them out. The faceoff is Edmonson County Sheriff’s Office and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

It’s the USACE which drained the water in preparation to demolish Green River Lock and Dam #5. But the organization believes the sheriff’s department needs to remove the discovered vehicles, informing local officials it won’t be hoisting them out of the water.

Edmonson County Sheriff James Vincent thinks most of the cars found in the River were stolen then dumped there. From what we’ve seen in similar cases, he’s likely correct. Still, he argues local taxpayers shouldn’t fit the rather expensive bill for pulling the vehicles out.

After all, with many of the cars still submerged, it will require a dive team and specialty equipment to perform the job. That means big bucks, hence the fight between two government entities about who’s going to pick up the tab.

We’ve seen different YouTubers step up in situations similar to this one, supposedly performing vehicle removals from bodies of water for free. Perhaps one of them will want to take this case on?

The only hangup we see with that plan is there’s additional red tape since USACE is involved. Anyone attempting to get the cars out of the water will need to obtain a Nationwide Permit under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, says USACE. As we all know, getting any permit from the feds is always an easy, cheap process (that’s sarcasm, in case anyone’s wondering).

So for now the vehicles sit in the water as the government conflict plays out.

Image via WBKO News/YouTube

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