Owner of Midland County Dams Sued by State
The owner of the dams in Midland County that failed in Michigan recently and caused 11,000 people to be evacuated, are being sued by the Michigan Attorney General.
First, I did not know that dams could be owned by a company rather than owned by the state they are located in. It would seem that such an important part of many communities across the state of Michigan would allow citizens safety to be put in the hands of the private sector.
Recently, two dams in Michigan failed. One was located in Sanford and the other in Edenville. These two dams are owned by a company named Boyce Hydro. Their job is to maintain the dams so they properly operate in the communities they are located in.
Unfortunately, after several warnings from both the federal and state government, about the dams needing major repairs, one dam broke and the other was breached. All because Boyce Hydro refused to act on behalf of the safety of those in the areas of the dams.
According to WOOD, now the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against Boyce Hydro stating they are responsible for the clean up and environmental damage that was caused and most importantly, the repair of the Edenville dam.
Nessel said,
This suit seeks an order requiring the dam owners to pay to remediate the damage caused and to take action to make sure it never happens again. The suit will also seek immediate relief to hold the owner's feet to the fire regarding the remaining portion of the Edenville dam on the Tobacco River side of the dam. That portion has become a public safety hazard. It is still holding back lots of water and is showing many signs of weakness.
I am sure the continued rains we have received since the problem with the two dams is not helping matters.
Tuesday, I was on the phone with my brother in law who happened to be driving by Sanford Lake and told me to hang on for a second to take pictures of the lake that is now just a mud puddle.
The same is for Wixom Lake as well. There are a lot of homes that surround both Wixom and Sanford lakes not to mention all the damage that was created to the homes down river from both dams that failed.
Luckily no one was severely injured or died in these two floods but it still affected over a 11,000 people.
The state is also suing Boyce in order to get them to pay for all the families who's homes and property were destroyed.
Currently, Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she will be asking President Donald Trump for a major disaster declaration in order to get the needed funds to begin to clean up and repair the damage.