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Best of Bridge Michigan: Top environment stories from 2020
From the failure of two Midland-area dams to continued damage from climate change, Michigan’s environment was often in the news this year.
Michigan dam safety program underfunded, understaffed, slow to enforce
The state’s dam program suffers from a “culture of minimal enforcement” and lacks the time, staff, and budget to properly do its job, an outside review team has found.
Safety woes linger at Edenville Dam after huge flood, Michigan report finds
A report into a massive dam failure in mid-Michigan didn’t assess blame, but recommends breaching part of the Edenville Dam to minimize damage and other safety concerns.
Edenville Dam owners file for bankruptcy, blaming regulators for floods
Facing a host of lawsuits, companies that operated the dams that failed during historic flooding seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, using the filing to list a litany of grievances against federal regulators and neighbors.
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.”
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.
Michigan lawmakers to fed regulators: You blew it on Edenville Dam
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members are hauled before a Senate panel to answer why it took so long to act against a dam with decades of safety issues. Levying fines would have been like “getting blood from a turnip,” one regulator says.
Feds skipped check of whether Edenville Dam owner could afford repairs
Federal regulators tell Congress it never performed a check on Boyce Hydro’s finances before it bought a dam in need of repairs. They blame a loophole that says such checks aren’t necessary for dams bought out of foreclosure. The dam failed in May.
Whitmer administration names outside team to probe Edenville dam failure
After criticism from experts and others who argued the state should not lead an investigation into what caused the dam failure that flooded mid-Michigan last month, the state announced an independent six-person team
Judge: Edenville Dam still poses ‘grave risk,’ needs immediate inspection
A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the Edenville Dam’s owner to report back by Friday with a plan to take “immediate action” if lingering damage to the dam’s Tobacco River side poses an ongoing risk to the public.
Corrected: Michigan knew of Edenville dam issues in August 2019
The owner of the failed Edenville dam claimed it lacked money to make needed safety upgrades. Instead of demanding flood repairs, state lawyers played hardball on the cost of dead mussels.
Crises collide: Flood recovery workers carried COVID-19 to Michigan
19 workers who came to Michigan to work on flood recovery projects in the Midland region have tested positive for COVID-19 but subsequently left the state. Local health officials believe “one or two” of the workers were symptomatic before they came to Michigan.
Edenville Dam owner claims Michigan regulators to blame for flooding
One day after Michigan sued the owners of the Edenville Dam for millions, Boyce Hydro claims in court papers the state repeatedly blocked permits for repairs that could have prevented massive flooding in mid-May.
Neighbors of Edenville Dam don’t want state investigating its failure
The same day Michigan sued owners of troubled dams whose failures sparked a catastrophic flood in Midland, nearby property owners call for an independent investigation. The residents say the state is misstating facts about its failure to regulate the dams.
Midland failed dams, floods caused $200M in damages to 2,500 buildings
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revealed the estimates on Monday while announcing she is seeking a federal major disaster declaration. Just 8 percent of homes damaged had flood insurance, local officials estimated.
After Edenville Dam fail, five other Michigan dams may pose lethal danger
Five state-regulated dams listed as high-hazard and in poor condition could kill people and cause widespread damage if they fail, according to the state. They are located throughout the state.
After devastating flood, Sanford Lake homeowners face new threat
More than two weeks after dam breaks and a flood, new woes have emerged in mid-Michigan where erosion threatens homes along the shoreline of Sanford Lake just northwest of Midland.
After Midland floods, a question: Where did waters carry toxic chemicals?
Scientists and environmental activists say they’re hopeful recent floodwaters didn’t undo years of work to clean up dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River, but they’re awaiting sampling results to know for sure.
Congress launches probe of Michigan, federal oversight of failed Midland dam
A U.S. House committee opens an investigation into last month’s failure of two Midland dams, one of which had been flagged for decades as unsafe by federal regulators.
Before and after satellite photos show damage wrought by mid-Michigan floods
New satellite images, taken one year apart, contrast what Edenville and Sanford dams looked like before and after floods, as state and federal investigators investigate their failure.