Judge dismisses suit seeking to hold state liable for Edenville dam failure

On Thursday, a Court of Claims judge dismissed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan after determining a pair of state agencies were not responsible for a catastrophic dam failure in 2020.

When the Edenville and Sanford dams failed more than five years ago following days of heavy rainfall, thousands of residents were forced to evacuate and their homes and businesses were damaged by the flooding. 

Residents sued the dams’ owner, Boyce Hydro Power LLC, forcing the entity to liquidate its assets, while the state pursued its own case, securing a nearly $120 million judgment against the former owner and operators for violating Michigan’s Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act.

Thousands of residents have also signed on to a class action case holding the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Department of Natural Resources accountable for the dam’s failure, arguing that they ignored repeated warnings about safety risks and continued to permit Boyce Hydro to raise the water levels within the lake created by the Edenville Dam.

Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford rejected those arguments, noting that “At all times relevant to this case, no state entity, including either defendant exercised ownership of or operational control of the Edenville Dam,” and that, unless there was imminent danger of failure, EGLE had no authority to issue an emergency order requiring the operator to immediately repair, draw down, breach or cease operations at the dam.

“Edenville Dam failed in the context of a flooding event that was historically unprecedented in the lifespan of the dam,” Redford noted in his fact-finding “The water level rose to approximately 5.5 feet above the normal summer level, which was twice as high as the last highest peak flow ever recorded.”

Despite dismissing the case, Redford acknowledged that the residents impacted by the dam failure still face an “immensely difficult and heavy burden.”

“While all the world will remember 2020 as before and after COVID, those of our fellow Michiganders who called Wixom and Sanford Lakes and those downstream from them as their places of peace, family and individual contentment; their individual and collective reference point will likely also be ‘before the dam failed’ and ‘after the dam failed’,” Redford wrote.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office represented the state, similarly acknowledged the hardship faced by residents whose homes and businesses were damaged.

“The Edenville Dam failure was tragic, and while the evidence has always shown the State was not responsible, we have taken decisive action against those who were,” Nessel said in a statement. “We acknowledge the lasting impact this has on Mid-Michigan, and our thoughts remain with those affected.”

The attorneys pursuing the case say they’re not backing down. 

“While this decision is disappointing for the thousands of flood victims who have been waiting six years for justice and accountability, the fight is far from over,” attorney Ven Johnson said. “Our attorneys will appeal this decision and present the facts we believe warrant a second review.”