LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – Michigan has filed a lawsuit against a hydroelectricity provider over its dam problems in May.
On June 9, state Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a lawsuit on behalf of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Department of Natural Resources against Boyce Hydro.
Boyce knew about deficiencies identified as early as 1993, Nessel says, when it bought the Edenville Dam in 2004 but has failed to upgrade. The dam’s spillway capacity is one of those areas never fixed, Nessel says.
“For more than 14 years, Defendants earned millions of dollars by using Michigan’s natural resources – namely, the power of Michigan’s waterways,” the lawsuit says.
“This created a duty to protect the public from potential threats posed by the dam and to serve the public’s interest in exchange for their use of the public’s natural resources.”
After essentially draining Wixom Lake in the winter months, Boyce and other defendants raised the levels this spring to comply with court orders.
In mid-May, heavy storms overwhelmed the dam’s earthen embankment and created flooding – something that would have been avoided if the defendants had properly taken care of the dam over the years, Nessel said.
“Defendants’ actions have caused Wixom Lake and its associated wetlands to cease to exist – they are effectively drained,” the lawsuit says.
“The lake and wetlands have been replaced by enormous mud flats. Additionally, the diversion of the Tobacco River caused by the failure of the dam is causing ongoing erosion and natural resource damages, has transformed the remaining portion of the dame into a public safety hazard and has interfered with the M-30 crossing, which has additional public safety implications because it is a major road in the area.”