Feds order immediate inspection of Cheboygan Dam powerhouse

Spring snowmelt and heavy rains caused widespread flooding across the state, especially Up North, last week
The Cheboygan Dam and several other dams were threatened by high waters
Federal regulators have ordered inspections of Cheboygan and other dams to ensure the high waters caused no damage

Federal energy regulators have ordered immediate inspections of the Cheboygan Dam powerhouse and other Michigan dams that faced the risk of failure in this month’s historic flooding.

Separately, state officials said they plan to inspect dams under their oversight to check for damage from the high waters that nearly overtook several impoundments last week amid spring snowmelt and heavy rains.

After similar flooding in 1986, “a couple of dams failed weeks later because they sustained damage that didn’t get adequately assessed,” Luke Trumble, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s dam safety chief, told Bridge Michigan.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a Thursday letter ordered Hom Paper XI LLC, the owner of the Cheboygan Dam powerhouse, to file a report no later than May 15 detailing how it will keep operational a powerhouse that was reactivated as an emergency measure April 17.

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The powerhouse had been offline since a 2023 fire, despite a FERC order months ago to restart it, significantly reducing the amount of water that could flow through the dam. Crews raced last week to get the powerhouse operational, and the water behind the dam immediately began to fall once it came online.

But the fix is only temporary, FERC noted, and Hom needs to make it permanent.

“It is critical that you work collaboratively with Michigan (Department of Natural Resources) to maintain appropriate flow levels through the operation of the bypass gates to ensure safety,” FERC wrote to Hom.

Hom’s attorney, Tyler Tennent, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for 40 of Michigan’s 83 counties as homes flooded in many parts of the state, prompting evacuations from Cheboygan County to the Muskegon area.

FERC also wrote Thursday to Black River Hydro, owners of the Alverno, Tower and Kleber dams upstream from Chebogyan, to order inspections. The regulators noted several concerns during the high waters, including the fact that the company had no engineers on-site during the flooding, leaking at the Kleber weir, erosion that required emergency riprap at Alverno, and more.

Regulators gave Black River Hydro 15 days to complete inspections and report back with a plan for any needed repairs. An official with the company could not be reached for comment.

Dry skies over the weekend and into this week have helped waters recede, but Trumble said risk still remains, especially in the Upper Peninsula.

“I wouldn’t say we’re 100% out of the woods,” he said. “The UP still has like 3 to 4 feet of snowpack. So next week the UP could be in the same type of situation.”

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