As Great Lakes waters threaten roads, beaches and treatment facilities, COVID-19 has created giant budget shortfalls. Local officials must make tough decisions about which problems to fix, and which to let fester.
Kelly House
Kelly House covers Michigan environmental issues for Bridge. She joined the Bridge staff in March 2020. Previously, Kelly reported for the Oregonian, where her coverage of the environment and other topics garnered national honors and sparked state efforts to better protect Oregon’s natural resources. She has a master’s degree in environmental law from Lewis & Clark Law School and a bachelor’s in journalism from Michigan State University. She is from Harrison and lives in Lansing. You can reach her at khouse@bridgemi.com or on Twitter at @Kelly_M_House.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Corrected: Michigan knew of Edenville dam issues in August 2019
The owner of the failed Edenville dam claimed it lacked money to make needed safety upgrades. Instead of demanding flood repairs, state lawyers played hardball on the cost of dead mussels.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Judge: Edenville Dam still poses ‘grave risk,’ needs immediate inspection
A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the Edenville Dam’s owner to report back by Friday with a plan to take “immediate action” if lingering damage to the dam’s Tobacco River side poses an ongoing risk to the public.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Appeals court sides with Enbridge over Dana Nessel in Line 5 tunnel dispute
In a unanimous opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge panel rejected the Michigan Attorney General’s constitutional challenge to the Republican-passed 2018 law that made way for the Line 5 tunnel project.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
After Edenville Dam fail, five other Michigan dams may pose lethal danger
Five state-regulated dams listed as high-hazard and in poor condition could kill people and cause widespread damage if they fail, according to the state. They are located throughout the state.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
After Midland floods, a question: Where did waters carry toxic chemicals?
Scientists and environmental activists say they’re hopeful recent floodwaters didn’t undo years of work to clean up dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River, but they’re awaiting sampling results to know for sure.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Insomnia, flashbacks hitting Michigan hospital workers as coronavirus ebbs
Burnout and suicide rates were already high among health care workers. Now, hospital systems and mental health providers are responding to trauma caused by the intensity of responding to COVID-19.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Line 5 tunnel’s future could hinge on a few words in 2018 law, court learns
The Michigan Court of Appeals to decide whether a law that paved the way for a planned tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac is constitutional, since words in its title didn’t match the text of the law.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
How weak regulations failed to prevent catastrophe at notorious Midland dam
Regulators warned for 25 years that mid-Michigan dams were dangerous, yet their problems persisted. Dam safety experts say the failure to fix the dams is emblematic of the country’s broken regulatory system.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Two heirs bought Midland dams as a tax shelter. Tragedy followed.
Heirs to the fortune of the Boy Scouts founder — an architect and a bagpiper — purchased the Edenville Dam as an investment to avoid taxes, records show. For 14 years, the family trust clashed with government officials on taxes, regulations, fishing and other issues. Then came the rains.