Judge enters $120M order against former owner of failed Michigan dam

2024-12-25 01:10:43 source: category:Invest

DETROIT (AP) — The former owner of a Michigan dam is on the hook for roughly $120 million sought by the state for environmental damage when the structure failed after days of rain in 2020, a judge said.

But it’s not known how the state will ever collect: Lee Mueller has filed for bankruptcy protection in Nevada.

“There isn’t that kind of money anywhere,” Mueller’s attorney, Troy Fox, said Tuesday.

After three days of rain, the Edenville Dam collapsed in May 2020, releasing a torrent that overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland, located about 128 miles (206.00 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. Thousands of people were temporarily evacuated and 150 homes were destroyed.

Other news Indian rescuers are flying into the region where a flood washed out bridges and killed at least 74 Deaths rise to 47 after an icy flood swept through India’s Himalayan northeast Icy flood that killed at least 41 in India’s northeast was feared for years

Wixom Lake, a reservoir behind the Edenville Dam, disappeared.

U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney on Monday granted the state’s request for a $120 million judgment against Mueller, who didn’t contest it. The state said much of that amount is related to damage to fisheries and the ecosystem for mussels.

The state insists that the Edenville Dam collapsed as a result of poor maintenance and a lack of critical repairs.

“The failures of the Edenville and Sanford dams caused impacts that were devastating but avoidable,” said Phil Roos, director of the state environment agency.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked experts to study what happened at the Edenville and Sanford dams. The 2022 report said failure was “foreseeable and preventable” but could not be “attributed to any one individual, group or organization.”

Separately, the state is facing a flood of litigation from affected property owners. They accuse regulators of making decisions that contributed to the disaster, including setting higher water levels in Wixom Lake.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez

More:Invest

Recommend

Judge set to rule on whether to scrap Trump’s conviction in hush money case

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge is due to decide Tuesday whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conv

Justice Department says it won't prosecute Merrick Garland after House contempt vote

Washington — The Justice Department said Friday that it will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick

Healing Coach Sarit Shaer Reveals the Self-Care Tool That's More Effective Than Positive Thinking

Sometimes, we can be our own worst critics.That's why healing coach Sarit Shaer doesn't necessarily