Nearly a year and a half after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it was considering a new site for a commercial marina on Lake Cumberland near Rowena, that same agency is announcing that it is ready to accept applications for the proposed new facility.

In a press release from the Nashville Corps of Engineers office put out last Thursday, the agency explains that the lease area would include approximately 162 acres of land and water.

That press release states, in part, that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is soliciting proposals for development and operation of a new commercial concession marina with related facilities and services at Rowena Landing South on Lake Cumberland in Russell County, just north of Albany, Ky.

The site is accessible from State Highway 90 via State Road 558, an asphalt road that ends at the abandoned Rowena Ferry site where a large boat launching ramp is located.

“There has been local interest in having a new marina at this location,” said Mike Abernathy, chief of the Nashville District Real Estate Office. “The lake is expected to return to its normal levels while this new site is under development, and we believe business from increased tourism and additional boaters will be supportive of a new marina.”

Abernathy said the application process is extensive and requires all proposals to include a market analysis and feasibility study justifying any proposed development. Lease terms are tied to costs of developing the property, he added.

Plans to investigate the possibility of locating a new commercial marina on Lake Cumberland at the Rowena site were officially announced in August, 2010, when the Corps of Engineers said it was considering allowing the development of a new commercial marina.

The area where the new marina would be located is in Russell County at what is commonly referred to as Rowena Landing.

However, the area is accessible by road at the end of Hwy. 558, about 15 miles north of Albany, and the current launching ramp into Lake Cumberland is just about one-half mile across the Clinton County and Russell County line.

In the application information package released by the Corps last week, the facility is referred to as Rowena Landing South, with other references to the area surrounding the actual marina as being the Watauga Recreation Area.

Included in the 162 acre area that would be involved in the lease are about 48 acres of water and 114 acres of land.

Lake Cumberland is currently being held at a level that is considerably lower than what is considered to be “normal” while repairs are being make to Wolf Creek Dam, the concrete and earthen structure that is responsible for holding back the Cumberland River to form Lake Cumberland.

Those repairs, which are projected to be completed by December, 2013, involve the installation of a concrete barrier wall adjacent to the entire length of the mile-long earthen portion of the dam.

That concrete barrier wall is being installed to a depth of some 275 feet below the surface of Wolf Creek Dam.

Those repairs, expected to cost in a projected $584 million, are being made in an effort to stop water from leaking through and underneath the earthen section of the dam.

While that dam rehabilitation project is on-going, the level of Lake Cumberland is being held at 680 feet above sea level, some 40 feet below what is considered to be normal summer pool levels of 723 feet.

The process of accepting application proposals for the new marina, will continue for some six months, according to last week’s press release, which stated:

The district’s Real Estate Office is accepting lease proposal applications until 1 p.m. CST July 16, 2012. There are two proposal phases and other projected sequence points before a final proposal is selected, if any. If a proposal is accepted, a commercial concession lease will be awarded April 1, 2013.

General information, to include application requirements, is available to interested parties on the web at http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/re/pdf/Rowena.pdf.