"This is just the first stepping stone in a long process," said Army Corps of Engineers' spokesman Mark Rankin.

He was describing the latest announcement from the Corps that they are looking into allowing a new marina on Lake Cumberland in Russell County.

The location, at the southern shore of the old Rowena Landing Road, though in Russell County would be accessible by land only through Clinton County.

Andreas Patterson, a conservation biologist with the Corps' Natural Resources Management Bureau in the Nashville District office said there had been a study in April of 2008 indicating that though a marina wasn't needed while the lake level was depressed one could be needed after the repairs to the Wolf Creek Dam are completed. She added that a study by the Corps in June of 2009 supported the finding that a marina may be needed when water levels in the lake were increased after repairs to the dam are completed.

A letter has been sent out by the Nashville Corps Project Planning Branch to solicit comments from the public and local government officials about the impact of allowing a new marina in that location.

Patterson said that was part of the early stages of the environmental impact study for the site, which looks not only at effects on wildlife and historical sites but also on socio-economic impacts from such projects.

As for the time for locking in who would get to open and operate such a marina, if allowed, "We won't be looking at that until way down the road," Patterson said.

"This is just a starting point to see that everything is in place," Rankin added.

Rankin said that among those suggesting that another marina would be needed on the lake were local government officials from Russell and Clinton Counties.

But as to how fire and police services would be provided, and by which agencies, to the remote location has yet to be discussed.

"We haven't even looked at that," Rankin said. "This is just the preliminary study."

Kim Franklin, a biologist with the project planning bureau in the Nashville Corps office, explained that the purpose of the first step is to determine any possible impacts from the project, either positive or negative.