Vernie Wood considered Muddy Run Reservoir to be "the best kept secret in Pennsylvania."

"The walleye fishing in there was unbelievable," the Holtwood resident said. "I used to fish it a lot, but my son would be down there every day catching walleyes."

The water that Wood and his son fished was closed to shoreline angling access by its owner — Exelon — in 2008.

On Tuesday, Wood asked Exelon officials if the company plans to reopen the reservoir to fishing as it drafts a new shoreline management plan.

The plan is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as Exelon seeks to renew its operating licenses for the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility and Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant.

The licenses expire in 2014.

The management plan will cover about 14,000 acres of land and water extending from the Muddy Run plant downriver to Havre de Grace, Md.

Colleen Hicks, Exelon's manager of regulatory and licensing issues, said she doesn't believe the company plans to restore fishing access to Muddy Run Reservoir, "since it was closed for safety reasons."

"But if that's something you want us to take a look at, now is the time to make that suggestion to us," she told Wood. "We will consider all suggestions."

Exelon uses the reservoir at Muddy Run to store water that's pumped uphill daily from the Susquehanna River.

The stored water is discharged through a series of hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity before returning to the river.

Most of the reservoir has always been off-limits to public fishing.

But a section of it that connects to the 100-acre Muddy Run Recreation Lake had been open for decades to fishing from the shore.

The steady raising and lowering of the reservoir's water level caused some bank erosion, which led to the formation of trenches near the shoreline used by anglers.

Those trenches created the safety hazard that Exelon officials said forced them to close the area to all public access.

The recreation lake remains open to fishing and boating.

Wood made his request Tuesday for angling access at the reservoir to resume, but he said he doesn't hold much hope that he'll be fishing there  anytime soon.

"I don't think they're going to do it," he said. "I think they could, but I don't think they will."

About 20 people, including Wood, attended Tuesday's public meeting at Muddy Run Information Center. It was scheduled by Exelon to gather public input on the company's shoreline management plan.

It was the first of four meetings to be held Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday's meetings are scheduled for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Town Hall in Port Deposit, Md., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Conowingo Visitor Center.

Exelon has completed nearly 50 studies of the recreation activities, amenities and access points, natural and cultural resources and utility infrastructure that exist within the project area.

That includes the 414 parcels of land — 256 in Pennsylvania and 158 in Maryland — that Exelon leases to individuals. Most leaseholders have cottages that they own on the land, while others maintain the properties simply as river access points.

Hicks said she knows of no proposed changes to the current shoreline management plan, but final decisions won't be made until the management plan is drafted later this year.

For now, she said, the company is gathering input on what activities, amenities and improvements people would like to see within the shoreline management area.

"The shoreline management plan is going to handle what is our plan for our land — how we're going to manage it, how we're going to preserve it, how we're going to provide recreation facilities for it," Hicks said.

Public comments can be offered in writing until July 27.

Information about the relicensing and on how to submit comments can be found at www.exeloncorp.com/conowingo or www.exeloncorp.com/muddyrun.

preilly@lnpnews.com