Michigan AG Sued Dam Owner Weeks Before Failure After Lower Lake Level Previously ‘Caused Death’ of Mussels

Just three weeks before a dam broke in Michigan, triggering mass flooding, Attorney General Dana Nessel sued the owner after it “illegally” lowered the lake level in 2018 and 2019.

Specifically, Nessel was more focused on the plight of freshwater mussels in Wixom Lake than what could happen if the water raised to dangerous levels.

“Defendants wrongfully exerted dominion over the freshwater mussels and caused their death which denies and is inconsistent with the state’s right to them,” the AG’s lawyers wrote in an April lawsuit, Bridge reported.

“How we got to the point where environmental issues trumped public safety, I don’t know,” David Kepler, president of the Four Lakes Task Force, told the magazine.

Via Bridge:

The dam’s owner, Boyce Hydro Power LLC, claims Michigan pressured it to raise lake levels before the flood and the company took steps to lower them because “mis-operation could pose a significant risk to the Village of Sanford, Northwood University, the City of Midland, and other downstream areas,” according to a lawsuit last month.

“The state agencies clearly care more about mussels living in the impoundment than they do about the people living downstream of the dams,” Lee Mueller, part owner of Boyce Hydro LLC, said.

The Attorney General’s office called that claim “categorically false”.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on Thursday that the state will “pursue every line of legal recourse” against those responsible for the disaster, Mlive reported. She also said such infrastructure should not be privately owned.

Edenville Dam gave way on Tuesday, sending a deluge of water downstream, triggering the failure of a second dam, according to Fox 2.

The Michigan Republican Party has called for Nessel to recuse herself from any investigation.

Local 4 reported:

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox is calling on Nessel to recuse her office from the investigation of the Edenville Dam tragedy and transfer the inquiry to federal authorities.

Cox also called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to rescind her executive order blocking Freedom of Information Act Requests during the COVID-19 crisis so that members of the press can do their due diligence and examine the state’s role in the tragedy.

“I am heartbroken by the devastation that has affected so many families in Mid-Michigan, and my prayers are with them as they begin the recovery process,” Cox said.

“With these troubling new revelations that the state’s lawsuits may have played a role in this tragedy, it is clear that Attorney General Dana Nessel should not lead this investigation,” she said.

“In addition, to have full public transparency, Governor Whitmer must rescind her order absolving the executive branch from FOIA requests effective immediately.”

Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays. Listen to segments on YouTube. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook.