ZOAR, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio village threatened by an aging levee would receive protection for its historic structures under a bill recently introduced in Congress by Ohio's two U.S. senators.
The bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to preserve the historic integrity of the eastern Ohio village of Zoar in any study or construction activities related to the village's levee. The village founded in 1817 by religious separatists is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The corps administers the deteriorating 75-year-old levee and is working on a study to determine a solution to the levee problems.
One of many alternatives under consideration is removing the levee entirely. That could require relocating or demolishing 80 percent of the village of about 170 residents.
