On May 19th, 2020, the Edenville Dam collapsed during record-high rain. The dam’s failure flooded Midland area communities. The dam’s collapsed also caused the nearby Sandford Dam to overflow.  Specifically, about 2500 homes and businesses were damaged. Additionally, there were $200,000,000 in damages, and 10,000 people had to be evacuated downstream. It is also estimated that nearly 3 million mussels died due to the disaster.

After a 3 year long legal battle, in October, a federal judge ruled that Lee Mueller, who managed Boyce Hydro, the company which owned the dams. It must pay $119,825,000 for environmental damages. The specifics include $21 million for damage to Michigan’s fisheries and the loss of fish species, $90 million for damage to the freshwater ecosystem, and $8.825 million for miscellaneous damages.

Dating back to 1993, there has been a massive concern for the dam’s safety. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked Mueller’s license to generate power at Edenville in 2018, citing his repeated failure to address the safety concerns. In 2021, after the disaster, the agency fined him $15,000,000 for failure to perform important safety work after the flood. It was also found that the dam was only purchased to avoid paying $600,000 in taxes to the IRS. 

Several experts have repeatedly stated how the floods could have been prevented if Mueller had not been negligent. The court had also ruled that the state had sufficient evidence that Mueller was aware of the dam’s vulnerability. 

Homeowners in the area have also accused Mueller of harrasement, even an instance of him allegedly ramming his car into a pickup truck belonging to residents who parked on his property to go fishing. Another resident stated that Mueller is allegedly anti-government and is always looking for ways to undermine the government.

The Four Lakes Task Force, a nonprofit composed of local residents which acts as the designated authority for dams and lakes in the area is currently working on a multiyear restoration project. They plan to restore the Edenville Dam and three other dams and the impoundment lakes behind them. The project is estimated to be up to $300 million in cost. The cost will be covered by state and federal funding and assessments by nearby residents.