"(Update) agency policies for violation management to include clear timelines for actions to alleviate significant risks posed by high and significant hazard dams and (utilize) water-level lowering orders as a compliance tool to reduce the safety risks posed by long unmaintained, deteriorating dams and unresponsive dam owners," the report states.ĭam owners should also be required to maintain adequate financial security for maintenance and ultimate removal of no longer necessary dams, the task force recommends. View Gallery: Cleanup continues in Sanford and surrounding communities after two dams fail "What you're doing is providing low-cost financing for a private entity," he said.Īmong the Dam Safety Task Force report's 86 recommendations are to have the Legislature revise and adopt laws and rules clarifying the responsibilities of dam owners and the engineers they hire, to "ensure owner accountability." But, politically, it could be tough to establish, he said. The revolving loan and grant program recommended by the task force would be helpful in allowing dam owners - often small subdivisions or families - to have funding sources to reduce risk, Daddow said. "You can't have a self-inspection program. "Why would somebody come clean on something they know is a problem?" Daddow said. He also questioned EGLE's regular practice of accepting safety inspection reports from contractors hired by dam owners, and then reviewing the paperwork. "The notion that you have two people to inspect these dams, when they need huge engineering studies to determine if they are going to fail, is ludicrous," he said. "Aging dams, just like all infrastructure throughout Michigan, suffer from a lack of consistent investment, which must be addressed if we want to avoid future tragedies," she said.ĮGLE is in the process of hiring three additional dam safety engineers to join the current two who oversee Michigan's 1,100 regulated dams statewide.īut those historic staffing levels just don't work, Daddow said. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Liesl Clark, a member of the Dam Safety Task Force, voices similar concerns now. Adequate, consistent, and long-term funding sources are limited for dam removal." "Dams are not routinely assessed for social and economic value and operational risks, which hinders reaching informed decisions on reinvestment, repair, removal, or replacement. "These decades-old dams have deteriorated due to age, erosion, poor maintenance, flood damage, or antiquated design and they are particularly vulnerable during high water flow events," Snyder's commission's report stated in 2016. Many of the same problems identified in Whitmer's task force's report were also outlined five years ago. Rick Snyder in 2016 to a 21st Century Infrastructure Commission, which issued a report to advise the governor on a vision forward for the state on a variety of infrastructure challenges, including dams. "The dams will be competing with roads - which is a political hot-button for Whitmer - and local issues like water and sewer."ĭaddow, who was not part of Whitmer's Dam Safety Task Force, was appointed by then-Gov. Brooks Patterson in Oakland County for 28 years. Daddow resigned in August 2019 after Patterson's death and as new county executive David Coulter took office. "(Policy makers) have got dozens of priorities which ones do you deal with? Because you can't deal with them all," said Robert Daddow, who served as deputy county executive under L. "The state is heading toward a grave situation with many dams if significant investments are not made in the short and medium term," the report stated.īut the task force's recommendations - at those price tags - are going to be tough to accomplish, a retired, longtime Oakland County official said. Establish a 20-year, $400 million revolving loan fund to help dam owners fund much-needed maintenance on the state's aging, crumbling, high-hazard dams.Set a $25 million dam safety emergency fund over the next five years.More than quadruple its staffing for dam safety regulation from the three full-time employees, including two dam safety inspectors, it had when the Edenville and Sanford dams failed.Among its findings, the task force recommends the state of Michigan: The task force's report was crafted after 22 public meetings and numerous other, smaller workgroup sessions.
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