The reaction from members of a state task force who first recommended such reforms<\/a> six years ago: Better late than never.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been kicking a can down the road, and that\u2019s not a good strategy,\u201d said Dana Infante, chair of the Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, who sat on the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force.<\/p>\n The bill is a second attempt at reforms the group first proposed in the aftermath of the 2020 Edenville dam failure. <\/p>\n Lawmakers at the time vowed to enact the proposals but never did.<\/a><\/p>\n A key sponsor of the latest legislation told Bridge Michigan he\u2019s confident Michigan\u2019s latest costly, dangerous dam safety scare will spark success this time around. <\/p>\n \u201cIt shows you that the need for strong, sustainable water infrastructure is more important than ever,\u201d said Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland.<\/p>\n But the proposal comes as House lawmakers are also considering<\/a> steep cuts to the agency that regulates dams \u2014 an indicator, advocates say, of lawmakers\u2019 struggle to prioritize safety when it competes with other concerns such as cutting regulations and spending.<\/p>\n Big talk, little action<\/p>\n The Midland dam failures of May 2020 exposed multiple weak points<\/a> in the regulatory system governing Michigan\u2019s 2,600 dams, from low flood control standards to a lack of staffing and poor communication between federal and state officials who split jurisdiction over dams.<\/p>\n In circumstances similar to the ones surrounding the Cheboygan Lock and Dam\u2019s ongoing failure scare<\/a>, the Midland area dams were old and undersized, privately owned, poorly maintained and on regulators\u2019 radar for years before a massive spring flood destroyed them.<\/p>\n The resulting emergency forced 10,000 people to evacuate and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, much of which taxpayers have paid to repair.<\/p>\n In the aftermath, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered state officials to investigate the incident and recommend solutions to prevent a repeat disaster. Two separate task forces blamed<\/a> the catastrophe partly on weak dam safety standards, which allowed owner Boyce Hydro to operate the dams with spillways too small to handle a major flood while pleading poverty as regulators pushed for upgrades.<\/p>\n Lawmakers initially vowed swift action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to lock the state into a real plan big enough to actually fix the problem and fast enough to start delivering results in our most vulnerable areas before it\u2019s too late,\u201d then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, said at the time.<\/p>\n The bills never even got a committee hearing.<\/p>\n Lawmakers did free up $50 million to help cash-strapped dam owners repair or remove the structures and another $6 million for emergency repairs. It didn\u2019t go far<\/a> in a state where experts say dams need $1 billion in investment<\/a>. <\/p>\n More than 160 state-regulated dams are classified as having high hazard potential, meaning a failure could kill people downstream. About 15% of them are in poor condition or do not have a current rating. Nearly 100 dams with lower hazard ratings are also in poor condition.<\/p>\n \u201cPolicy often moves in Lansing when there is visibility to the issues, and dams aren\u2019t super visible until there\u2019s a big challenge,\u201d lamented Liesl Clark, who directed the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy during the 2020 failures and sat on the dam safety task force. \u201cAnd then unfortunately, our memories are short.\u201d<\/p>\n Five years later, lawmakers are trying again with a bipartisan bill<\/a> that contains many of the same provisions.<\/p>\n Rep. David Martin, R-Davison and chair of the House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee, said he is scheduling a hearing on the bills for next week. He said he wants to deliberate on the proposal while the latest crisis is still fresh in lawmakers\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost everybody has more than one dam in their districts,\u201d said Martin, adding that ongoing flooding has sparked \u201ca will\u201d to prioritize dam safety.<\/p>\n While some in the chamber\u2019s controlling party push for greater regulations, others have proposed deep cuts to the state department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy budget, which agency officials say will hinder their ability to monitor problem dams.<\/p>\n Last Thursday, a House budget subcommittee advanced legislation that would roughly halve EGLE\u2019s budget to $470.6 million.<\/p>\n EGLE spokesperson Dale George said that includes cutting several positions in the dam safety unit, where staffing currently stands at eight. <\/p>\n That\u2019s more than the two employees on staff during the Midland failures, but still short of the 11 recommended by the dam safety task force.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed reductions would eliminate dozens of currently filled positions and cut funding for the staff actively responding to flooding and dam safety issues statewide,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n An ongoing crisis<\/p>\n While lawmakers ponder their next steps, state dam safety officials remain on alert while floodwaters recede.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crisis is still very much ongoing,\u201d said EGLE dam safety chief Luke Trumble. \u201cBut we\u2019re breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point during the flooding, Trumble\u2019s unit was monitoring about 40 dams that threatened failure.<\/p>\n Floodwaters destroyed several small, low-hazard dams in the northern Lower and Upper Peninsula, while multiple larger dams in Cheboygan, Hesperia, Bellaire and other communities came within inches of disaster. <\/p>\n Moving forward, \u201cthe whole thing has got to be replaced,\u201d Hesperia Village President Mike Farber said of the old, undersized dam his municipality owns. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear how the community of roughly 1,000 people will come up with $20 million for the project.<\/p>\n At nearly the last minute, emergency crews managed to repower the privately owned hydro plant adjacent to the state-owned Cheboygan Lock & Dam, increasing the complex\u2019s ability to pass floodwater that had crept within inches of overtopping the dam.<\/p>\n Crews remain onsite 24\/7, monitoring the dam\u2019s condition and clearing flotsam from its gates. They are also monitoring the upstream Alverno, Tower and Kleber dams, privately owned impoundments that could trigger cascading breaches if they fail.<\/p>\n Beyond those efforts, \u201cwe\u2019re watching the weather,\u201d Patrick Ertel, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which owns the Cheboygan dam. \u201cWe\u2019re still at risk of a large rainfall event having us right back out here.\u201d<\/p>\n Costly repair needs, limited funding<\/p>\n It will be days before the waters dip low enough to inspect dams across the region for signs of lingering damage, Trumble said.<\/p>\n Officials also have not begun discussing how to settle the bill for repair costs that taxpayers fronted at the privately owned Cheboygan hydro plant. Those repairs are temporary, meaning further action will be needed to bolster the facility against future floods.<\/p>\n
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