AU TRAIN, Mich. (WLUC) – The Au Train Reservoir has been almost completely reduced to mud after years of neglect at the Au Train Dam.
This comes after the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) inspected the dam last month and noted an unauthorized withdrawal of water from the Forest Lake reservoir.
“Obviously, from a practical standpoint, releasing water from the reservoir will impact both the aquatic habitats and the organisms that currently live there,” said Ryan McCone, EGLE Water Resources Division UP district manager.
McCone says the dam needed withdrawal permits. According to the notice of violation, dam owner Renewable World Energies (RWE) failed to submit any permits to the state.
EGLE’s Water Resources Division found that water levels were nearly three feet below minimum requirements. Currently, the water level has dropped dramatically.
According to the Michigan DNR, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has jurisdiction over the dam. He first ordered upgrades to the dam’s inadequate spillway capacity 25 years ago, when it was still owned by UPPCO.
The DNR says the order has been reissued to two additional owners. First to UP Hydro in 2010, and then to RWE in 2016, when the license was transferred to itself. The DNR says no necessary updates to the dam’s safety have been initiated.
Although FERC requested a plan to repair the dam on an expedited date, RWE said in documented letters to the agency that it would be unable to do so because its subsidiary, Harris Energy Group, had filed for bankruptcy.
Now state agencies are pressing FERC for urgency. McCone says EGLE is cooperating with FERC and hopes RWE will cooperate.
“We have been working with them locally and also in Lansing for several years,” McCone said. “We need a willing partner and owner to step in and do the right thing.”
DNR spokesman John Pepin says low water levels are impacting migrating waterfowl and fisheries, but there are also safety concerns. He says the situation is similar to that at the Edenville Dam in mid-Michigan. Edenville Dam has also required spillway capacity repairs over the years.
The DNR says FERC has tried unsuccessfully for years to send letters to the owner.
Ultimately, the commission turned the dam over to the state without first filing a foreclosure lawsuit, which would have held RWE legally responsible for starting to modernize the dam.
In 2020, the Edenville Dam burst, flooding parts of Gladwin and Midland counties in lower Michigan. Last August, the DNR even wrote a letter to FERC outlining the comparison.
Pepin claims that if the Au Train Dam were to flood, M-94 would be destroyed.
“And further downstream, there could be a lot of negative impacts on the environment and wildlife, in addition to the homes and camps around Au Train Lake,” Pepin said.
Pepin says the DNR is urging the federal agency not to do the same thing this time.
“Make sure FERC tells the dam owner to do what it needs to do before it even considers turning the dam over to the state,” Pepin added.
RWE has until November 12 to respond to FERC’s request to update its plan going forward.
More information about FERC’s letters to RWE can be found in their eLibrary. To find it, use ticket number P-10856.
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