Officials push for $15M Edenville Dam fine, cite ‘blatant’ safety disregard
Updated Feb 04, 2021;
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WASHINGTON, DC Senior investigation and enforcement officials with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are urging the agency to follow through with a proposed $15 million fine against the former owner of mid-Michigan dam that collapsed last spring and unleashed catastrophic flooding.
In a Feb. 3 filing, five top FERC officials, including LarryParkinson, Office of Enforcement director, argue that former dam owner Lee Mueller and his company, Boyce Hydro, deserve the huge fine and that complications caused by a bankruptcy case can be easily sidestepped.
“There is no excuse for Boyce Hydro’s lengthy disregard of its dam safety obligations and the safety of its dams’ neighbors,” they wrote, adding that arguments raised by Boyce attorneys against the fine in January are “either irrelevant to this proceeding or wholly without merit.”