LANSING, Mich. (March 2, 2022) — Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) issued the following statement after the State of Michigan filed suit yesterday against Ontario Power Generation and its subsidiaries that operate the Morrow Dam in Kalamazoo County:
“I applaud Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy for moving forward with litigation against the parties responsible for polluting our Kalamazoo River with many tons of ecology-choking, smothering sediment and silt. While this lawsuit moves forward, I will continue pursuing all avenues for immediate cleanup of the river, and also for legislation to equip our state officials with escalated enforcement tools for this and any future similar disaster.”
Sen. McCann and Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) introduced bills in December 2021 to strengthen the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) authority to protect Michigan’s inland lakes and streams from damage by dam operators.
Senate Bill 813 and House Bill 5661 would amend the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to give EGLE the authority to issue written emergency orders when inland lakes and streams are threatened with harm to “public health, safety, welfare, property, or the natural resources or the public trust in those natural resources.” These bills would allow for state environmental regulators to order responsible parties to conduct the immediate cleanup of sediment in the Kalamazoo River and similar situations, without the need for long periods of negotiation.
Senate Bill 813 recently received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources on Feb. 9, 2022 and House Bill 5661 received a hearing in the House Committee on Natural Resources & Outdoor Recreation on Feb. 17, 2022. McCann and Rogers have been engaged in conversations with colleagues and stakeholders since those hearings to incorporate feedback and seek support for legislative solutions to the Kalamazoo River sediment disaster.
STS Hydropower are the operators of the Morrow Dam, located on the banks of the Kalamazoo River in Comstock Township. In October 2019, STS Hydropower lowered water levels around the dam to make repairs deemed necessary by federal regulators. As they did so, 400,000 cubic yards of sediment was released downstream into the river, where it remains and is causing ongoing damage to the river’s ecosystem of fish, wildlife, and vegetation.
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