May 22, 2020
As floodwaters still swamp Midland and neighboring mid-Michigan communities, federal lawsuits seeking class-action status have already been filed against the owners and operators of the Edenville and Sanford dams.
In one suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, several homeowners in Midland and Saginaw counties claimed the failure of the Edenville dam amid heavy rains Tuesday was “entirely preventable,” and placed blame with people and companies associated with the owner of the dams, Boyce Hydro.
The breach of the Edenville dam north of Midland sent flood waters downstream, which overwhelmed the Sanford dam, destroying homes and businesses in both communities before sweeping through Midland and beyond.
The dam owners “indisputably knew for years that these Dams were inadequate, decrepit, unstable, unsafe, and would fail under predictable conditions,” according to the suit, link to suit filed by law firms Morgan & Morgan, Grant & Eisenhofer, and Jenner Law P.C.
The suit cites the now widely chronicled troubles of Boyce since acquiring the dams in 2006. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had repeatedly hounded the company to make safety and design improvements to better withstand heavy rains and potential flooding.
As Bridge has reported, Boyce repeatedly failed to invest in spillway upgrades or other work demanded by federal regulators, arguing in part that it did not have enough money.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Friday that a second suit was filed in the same federal court. That suit charges that Boyce Hydro “failed to operate, fix, or repair the dams in accordance with the established standard of care, resulting in catastrophic injury and damage to residents and their properties.”
In addition to the company, the suit also names as defendants the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It was filed on behalf of home and business owners by FeganScott, a firm that specializes in class-action suits.
Edenville Dam inspector: ‘People want to point fingers,’ but I did my best
Michigan is adding a third dam inspector as part of reforms following the failure of the Edenville Dam that caused $200 million in damages. One inspector who oversaw the dam defends the state’s actions, saying “There’s no ‘Easy’ button, or we would have pushed it.”
Two heirs bought Midland dams as a tax shelter. Tragedy followed.
Heirs to the fortune of the Boy Scouts founder — an architect and a bagpiper — purchased the Edenville Dam as an investment to avoid taxes, records show. For 14 years, the family trust clashed with government officials on taxes, regulations, fishing and other issues. Then came the rains.
Legal claim blames federal regulators for Edenville Dam failure
In a claim filed this week, a Sanford couple whose home was destroyed in the floodwater argues federal regulators never should have granted Boyce Hydro a license to generate power at the Edenville Dam.
Comments
Sue? The dam owner isn't already bankrupt and judgement proof?
Rebuild the dams? That also seems foolish. These 500 year events have been much more frequent recently and global warming guarantees that this flood won't be the last or the most severe. What would be the cost of creating dams that can withstand twice the latest inundation? Twice, since the warmer air is increasingly pumping more evaporated sea water to us every day.
Our environment is changing and we all have to adjust.
Agreed. This was a glacier barely 10,000 years ago. The climate has been changing rapidly over the past ten thousand years and will continue to do so. Don't fight nature. You will lose.
No worries. Sunspot activity has fallen off over the last couple years and this leads to a documented fall in the temperature. Plus, I traded in my SUV for a Volt, which we all know will also lead to a dramatic drop in what the sun produces. So global cooling will come back and we'll all get our wish to live under a glacier again. The only way to avoid these dramatic swings in temperature is to pray to the Green God, give up your property and pleasures, wear head scarves, and chant over and over "follow the science" and "the science is settled"- if you don't do those things, you're racist and sexist.
This is what privatization does for the public government and strong regulation used to help us. It seems the deregulation that started with President. Ronald Reagan-Republican has become unproductive. The GOP has continued to deregulate for example air traffic control, EPA, and many others leaving it up to private individuals. Sometimes it is better and safer with stronger rules/laws and enforcement. The GOP has tended to let owners run businesses and stronger regulation has been weakened over many years. Time to get stronger and fix all the dams in Michigan and across the country. I believe regulation can be good for business too. Healthy and wise standards tend not to be so costly in the end. Do it right.
This is what privatization does for the public government and strong regulation used to help us. It seems the deregulation that started with President. Ronald Reagan-Republican has become unproductive. The GOP has continued to deregulate for example air traffic control, EPA, and many others leaving it up to private individuals. Sometimes it is better and safer with stronger rules/laws and enforcement. The GOP has tended to let owners run businesses and stronger regulation has been weakened over many years. Time to get stronger and fix all the dams in Michigan and across the country. I believe regulation can be good for business too. Healthy and wise standards tend not to be so costly in the end. Do it right.
Lots of blame to go around but owner is ultimately responsible. Other entities may have contributed to the disaster
but owner is primarily responsible.
My question is why was owner allowed to defer maintenance for so long?
In this case seems like more government control would have been a good thing.
Now that Michigan is a defendant in the class action lawsuit. Probably due to Nessel filing a suit for Lowering the water level. Who will pay for her mistake, the Michigan residents?
If a home that was damaged by the flood, and the home did not have flood insurance, will the casualty insurance company be responsible for paying for flood damage? Were most of the homes down stream from dams required to have flood insurance or were the homes considered to be in the flood plain?
I wonder how much the residents along the river/lake frontage benefited from their location over the years. I wonder how involved they were in the management/care & maintenance of those waterways. I wonder how many would like the water ways returned to there previous status. I wonder how much value they would put on such an investment.
Rather than try to blame others for the past [which can't be change] why aren't people talking about the future, what could/should it be like, what would it take to get there and ensure that it was safely maintained?
Why aren't we hearing about the potential values the lake/dam system can provide, why aren't we hearing ideas about special districts for managing unincorporated areas or special use areas, why aren't we hearing about potential opportunities that be created?
I have watched how the people along the lakes and river have been briefly sad, but the day after they got to work cleaning up, they got into the muck and debris and literally were digging everything out to rebuild. Why don't people across that area and in Lansing see this is a place that fosters self-reliance and that will to work when no one is paying you. This is the work ethic to build Michigan on. I even listen to what was happening in Midland and at Dow facility and where Dupont people work and I heard nothing about blaming or waiting for others it was simply get ready for the worst and then deal with what comes next.
We are watching the middle of Michigan show the personal fortitude Michigan needs for the future. In-spite of Covid 19 and all the restrictions, people were giving up their safe homes to help those who no longer had homes.
I wonder who will step forward to call people together to start work on the future for that corridor along the water way all the way to Lake Huron. Will we hear of some business leaders, individuals, some elected officials, some teachers, some of those students that want to stay local, getting together to talk about the future and drawing in others from the community to start work on a brighter future locally and for Michigan.
This time of disaster, frustration, of events beyond individuals' control is a moment for people to think and work to the future.
There was a purchase agreement signed in January to transfer the dam to a local organization. I don't know why you haven't heard of it, it's been pretty well covered. The local group has taxing authority over local property to raise money for dam maintenance.
Day late and a buck short to anonymous. Maybe the local group can pick the dam up for free and not the $9.2 million the dam owner offered it to them for. I believe the group had also secured $5 million toward the purchase. A rep. had helped the group. Somehow the dam owners need to be held accountable for being irresponsible to the tune of at least $9.2 million for a start
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Boyce and their insurance companies will NEVER be able to cover the lawsuits. Dow Chemical, May never recover either. Will the dams be rebuilt, better than new? Just some thoughts.