(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/06/23) A bicameral bill package giving the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) greater power to issue emergency water management orders was introduced in both chambers last week, in response to a still-unsettled lawsuit over Kalamazoo’s Morrow Dam.
The package, spearheaded by Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) and Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), amends the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. It gives EGLE authority to issue written emergency orders in cases where inland lakes or streams threaten “public health, safety, welfare, property, or natural resources.”
Rogers said the pair introduced the package in response to continued environmental damage caused by STS Hydropower, operator of Kalamazoo’s Morrow Dam.
In 2019, STS Hydropower lowered water levels around the dam to make necessary repairs ordered by federal regulators. In the process, they released large quantities of sediment downstream into the river, which Rogers said continues to cause damage to the river’s ecosystem of fish, wildlife and vegetation.
In March 2022, Attorney General Dana Nessel sued STS, and it's parent company Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, on behalf of EGLE and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for mismanaging the drainage project and failing to address the hazards.
The AG’s office reported sediment deposits spanned multiple acres and were up to 12 feet deep in some locations, which Nessel’s lawsuit wants them to fix, along with paying for the damages to the state’s natural resources.
Nessel’s office said STS Hydropower did not submit plans for repair of the gates until June 2020, and did not undertake efforts to manage sediment until July and August 2020. The repairs were completed and the lake was refilled in January 2021.
The latest publicly available update from STS on sediment removal is dated Feb. 26, 2021, with plans for a dredging project to remove sediment.
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment made to one of their two headquarters, located in Maryland.
Rogers said the cleanup effort so far has been “beyond unacceptable.”
“It has been nearly four years since the Kalamazoo River faced a man-made ecological emergency, and little of it has been cleaned up,” she said. ”No company who causes harm to our rivers, lakes and streams should be able to walk away without taking responsibility for the mess they created.
“Sen. McCann and I are committed to giving the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy the additional tools they need to require that responsible parties take corrective actions if they pollute our waterways,” she said.
McCann added that himself and Rogers have sent letters to STS demanding action, “and our entire community has been pleading for them to clean up their mess.
The pair also introduced legislation in previous terms to address the problem. But those bills didn't advance.
“Our requests have been ignored or outright refused,” McCann said. “It is crucial that our laws are updated to give EGLE mechanisms to protect our inland lakes and streams and their ecosystems.”
The legislation, SB 398 and HB 4832, allows EGLE to issue a written emergency order requiring the owner of a structure located on bottomlands to immediately repair or remove the structure, “or take any other action that the director of the department determines necessary,” if the structure is about to fail or is causing significant harm.
If an owner fails to comply with an order or is unable to be contacted, the department can then take action themselves and recover the costs in a civil suit.
The bills also mandate that within 15 days after an emergency order is issued, the department must provide an owner with an opportunity for a hearing.
Both bills were introduced on June 21. The Senate version was first assigned to the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, then reassigned to the Committee on Energy and Environment. The House version was referred to the Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee.
