INSIDER
State says evidence shows owners of failed mid-Michigan dam were negligent
Read full article: State says evidence shows owners of failed mid-Michigan dam were negligentThe Department of the Attorney General filed a motion on Thursday after uncovering crucial facts pointing to negligence among former owners regarding the 2020 failure of the Edenville Dam.
1 year later, few solutions for those impacted by mid-Michigan dam failures
Read full article: 1 year later, few solutions for those impacted by mid-Michigan dam failuresSo many who lost so much in the mid-Michigan floods are still searching for help and answers -- and it may be a long time before they get either.
Michigan flood victims may have to wait for accountability
Read full article: Michigan flood victims may have to wait for accountabilityAn attorney representing nearly 300 clients affected by a flood in Midland County, Michigan last year said Monday he doesn't expect litigation to be resolved any time soon.
Sanford Lake residents optimistic things will return to normal
Read full article: Sanford Lake residents optimistic things will return to normalLANSING, Mich. – Labor Day Weekend on Sanford Lake is typically filled with boats and people having fun on the water. After May’s dam failures emptied the lake, many residents are left wondering how long it’ll take to come back. Residents are still hopeful things will return to normal. The state ordered Boyce Hydro -- the owners of the dams -- to make emergency repairs Tuesday, but since the company filed for bankruptcy, the state will likely be forced to foot the bill. Edenville faces Labor Day weekend without their beloved Wixom LakeYou can watch Tim Pamplin’s full stories above in the video players above.
Frustrated Michigan officials issue emergency order to Edenville Dam owners ignoring deadlines
Read full article: Frustrated Michigan officials issue emergency order to Edenville Dam owners ignoring deadlinesTheyre frustrated that the owners of the Edenville Dam are ignoring deadlines, so they issued them an emergency order. The Edenville Dam failed May 19, leaving 11,000 people evacuated and 2,500 structures damaged by the 500-year flood. With Tuesdays emergency order, Boyce Hydro is forced to alter the Edenville Dam to ensure public safety and have that project done by the end of the year. State officials believe that is the best option to address dam safety concerns right now. They will take a look at Michigans Dam Safety Program and an independent investigation is looking at the factors that led to the dam failure.
Plants cropping up in lost Michigan lakes where dams failed
Read full article: Plants cropping up in lost Michigan lakes where dams failedNature is returning to the dry beds of a string of mid-Michigan lakes that drained in May after two dams failed during torrential rains. (AP Photo/ Jeff McMillan)LANSING, Mich. Nature is returning to craters left from lakes drained by two dams that failed in May during torrential rain in mid-Michigan. It hopes to restore the infrastructure and shoreline of Wixom and Sanford lakes and prevent homes from being lost to the eroding edges of what were once the lakes. Under eminent domain, the owners, Boyce Hydro and and Boyce Hydro Power, could be ordered to sell the properties to the task force as the governmental body representing the counties, task force spokesperson Stacey Trapani said. Four Lakes Task Force estimates it will cost more than $30 million to stop the erosion, remove the debris left by the flooding and stabilize all four dams.
LIVE STREAM: Michigan officials provide update on flooding aftermath in Midland County
Read full article: LIVE STREAM: Michigan officials provide update on flooding aftermath in Midland CountyMIDLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will host a news briefing at 3 p.m. on Tuesday to provide an update on the aftermath of the Edenville and Sanford dam failures and subsequent flooding in Mid-Michigan last month. You can watch the briefing live in the video player above at 3 p.m.Nessel will be joined by the director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Liesl Clark and the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Dan Eichinger. The briefing comes almost three weeks after nearly 11,000 mid-Michigan residents evacuated their homes due to a massive flooding emergency caused by breaches in the Edenville and Sanford dams. The flood damaged countless homes, businesses and roads in central Michigan. Whitmer requests investigation of dam breach that caused massive flooding in mid-Michigan
LIVE STREAM: Gov. Whitmer holds briefing on Midland County flooding response
Read full article: LIVE STREAM: Gov. Whitmer holds briefing on Midland County flooding responseMIDLAND, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will offer an update on the state’s response to the devastating floods in Midland County last month. Whitmer will provide a brief update alongside local officials on the state’s response to the historic flooding in Mid-Michigan. Afterward, she will volunteer at the flood relief donation distribution center. The briefing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. -- you can watch it live in the video player above.
More mid-Michigan residents sue Edenville, Sanford dam owners after flooding devastation
Read full article: More mid-Michigan residents sue Edenville, Sanford dam owners after flooding devastationDETROIT – Buckfire Law Firm announced Tuesday two class-action lawsuits filed against Edenville and Sanford dam owners and the state of Michigan following the devastating flood emergency in central Michigan last month. Nearly 11,000 mid-Michigan residents evacuated their homes on May 20 after multiple dams were breached, causing a massive flooding emergency in the region. Tuesday’s lawsuits are part of a series of filings against the dam owners and state for allegedly neglecting to ensure the dams operated in accordance with federal guidelines. The dam owners have previously received multiple citations from federal regulators for failure to meet safety guidelines over the last decade. MORE: Residents want answers in Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floodsBuckfire Law is representing 19 mid-Michigan residents in the federal class-action lawsuit against dam owners Boyce Hydro and its manager Lee Mueller.
Residents want answers in Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floods
Read full article: Residents want answers in Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floodsEDENVILLE, Mich. The Local 4 Defenders have uncovered new information about who is responsible for the failure of the Edenville Dam, which led to catastrophic floods in mid-Michigan. READ: Catastrophic flooding, evacuations in mid-Michigan as dams fail: What to knowThe situation has turned into a bitterly contested finger pointing match on who is to blame for the Edenville Dam failure. Dam failure isnt unheard of in Michigan. Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades. That, combined with the historic rainfall and flooding, were factors in the Edenville Dam failure."
Investigating who is responsible for Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floods
Read full article: Investigating who is responsible for Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floodsEDENVILLE, Mich. – The Local 4 Defenders have uncovered new information about who is responsible for the failure of the Edenville Dam, which led to catastrophic floods in mid-Michigan. The owners of the Edenville Dam have been cited by federal regulators since 2004 for safety issues. The company that owns the aging, crumbling 96-year-old dam, Boyce Hydro, was cited for years for its failure to increase the project spillway capacity. Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades. That, combined with the historic rainfall and flooding, were factors in the Edenville Dam failure."
Michigan dam had repeated safety violations before flooding
Read full article: Michigan dam had repeated safety violations before floodingThis photo shows a view of a dam on Wixom Lake in Edenville, Mich., Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The Edenville dam, in Michigans Gladwin and Midland counties, includes a series of earthen embankments totaling about 6,600 feet (2,012 meters) long, with a maximum height of nearly 55 feet (16.8 meters). The Edenville dam's spillway capacity was only about 50 percent of the probable maximum flood, the commission said. Among its other violations: performing unauthorized dam repairs and earth-moving and failing to file an adequate public safety plan, maintain recreation facilities or monitor water quality. The record demonstrates that there is no reason to believe that Boyce Hydro will come into compliance," the commission added.