After the Midland dam failures, lawmakers set aside millions to fix or remove other problem dams but never updated Michigan’s weak dam safety laws. Now the money has run dry, leading some to fear a dam safety ‘déjà vu.’
2020 Midland dam break
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As Consumers mulls selling 13 dams, some in Michigan fear another disaster
As it looks to exit the unprofitable hydropower business, Consumers is mulling offers from a handful of potential buyers. But hydro watchdogs warn that cut-rate sales of aging dams often come with hidden public costs.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan dams restoration delayed amid rising costs, mounting frustration
Four years after floods swept away two mid-Michigan dams, a wave of discontent among property owners over their share of the bill will delay some of the restoration work, officials said.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan wins $120 million judgment against dam owner
A federal judge ruled that the former owner of two failed mid-Michigan dams is liable for $120 million in damages. But he filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Judge: Midland dam owners ignored problems, caused ‘environmental disaster’
Massive floods that caused $200 million damages in Midland were caused by the failure of a dam whose owners knew it was faulty a full decade earlier, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Posted inMichigan Government
How a federal government shutdown would impact Michigan
The U.S. government is teetering on the brink of a federal shutdown that would pause or delay many government services.
Posted inMichigan Government
Nessel: Edenville dam owner knew of flaws 10 years before breach
State attorneys said in court documents the Edenville dam owner knew of flaws back in 2010 but took no action. Instead, he spent money on a sawmill and nearly $500,000 on a music festival.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
More fallout from Midland dam failures: blood-sucking parasites in rivers
The Edenville and Sanford dams once blocked invasive lampreys from entering upstream rivers. But the 2020 dam failures provided an opening, and lamprey now threaten native fish. Regulators say they have a plan.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Two years after Midland dam failures, still no action on safety reforms
Mid-Michigan lawmakers urgently introduced a slate of bills to better fund and regulate Michigan’s aging dams. But more than two years after the Midland disaster, the reforms have yet to receive a hearing.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Judge: mid-Michigan dam owner lied about warning state before disaster
A federal judge found that the Endenville Dam owner lied about warning the state about safety concerns to deflect responsibility.