It's with some irony that shortly after the U.S. Army Corps denied a loan to FLTF, Bridge reported that more than $770 million in federal funding under the USACE CWIFP could be directed to hydropower dams in Michigan owned by Consumers Energy, fueling speculation that the company may keep at least some of the aging structures intact. The article states, “Consumers officials said while they intend to apply for the funding, they are still mulling whether to keep, sell, or dismantle the dams.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently announced the eligible recipients for the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) credit assistance. Four Lakes Task Force (FLTF) received notification that it DID NOT qualify for the loan under the current rules of the program. 

In May of 2021, FLTF published the "Plan for the Restoration of the Four Lakes" (AKA Feasibility Study) - a comprehensive report that determined that the best path forward for the community and the environment was to restore the lakes and dams. 

The "September 2024 Restoration Plan" provides the background, progress and current status of the restoration plan since the 2021 Feasibility Study.

FLTF to File Response Brief
The Claim of Appeal process in the Michigan Court of Appeals continues with Heron Cove Association's (HCA) filing of its appellate brief today. 

Four Lakes Task Force (FLTF) will review HCA's brief and file a response by September 19. HCA will then have an opportunity to file a reply to our response within seven days.

Under Michigan law, a litigant has the right to request a higher court to review the errors of a lower court. On July 12th, HCA filed a request asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to review the decision of Midland Circuit Court Judge Beale. HCA took the full allotted time to file its motion of appeal. FLTF continues to maintain that Judge Beale got it right and there are no errors that warrant a reversal of his decision. 
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Two weeks ago, we shared how the ongoing litigation will impact the construction suspension schedule. If you missed the update, read it here.

 Edenville Restoration Overview 
The Edenville Restoration Overview is now published, it provides the background from pre-failure to present on the Edenville Dam. We will have the entire “Four Lakes Restoration Status Update” report published in the next week or so. Since we announced the suspension schedule last week, there have been a fair number of statements coming out that are inaccurate as it relates to Edenville. For those that want a complete understanding of the Edenville Restoration project, please read the report, the link is included.

For those that want a simple statement as it relates to Edenville, here it is:
FLTF is not removing the mussels from Wixom Lake; Edenville permitting timing does not have an impact on Secord, Smallwood or Sanford. The four lakes do not have the capacity to be used for flood control; Dow Chemical does not need the dams for their operations.
To permit, all dams need auxiliary spillways and having spillway capacity to pass a 5,000-year frequency flood is a good thing for the safety of the public.
If I missed any other issues send a note to [email protected], and we will answer.

The basic fact is that if we would have been able to issue bonds in the summer as planned all four dams would  continue to be under construction until their lakes were filled.
Secord, Smallwood and Sanford are only encumbered in restarting construction after the suspension by the resolution of the appeal and lawsuits.
Wixom lake has had the most challenging permitting path but it will be restored. The Edenville Restoration Overview provides a good overview for those on Wixom regarding the steps to permitting, financing and the restart of construction. 

Last week the Michigan Court of Appeals granted our motion to expedite the briefing schedule in connection with Heron Cove Association’s (HCA) Claim of Appeal. Under the Michigan appellate court rules, HCA must submit its appellate brief by September 5. FLTF will only have 14 days to file our response brief (which would have been 21 days if we hadn’t filed the motion to expedite). HCA will then have an opportunity to file a reply to our response, but that must be filed within seven days after we file our response brief.
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Construction Suspension
Based on this timing, there will not be a resolution to the appeal by the end of September. Consequently, we will suspend work on the three remaining dams under construction:

• Secord will be suspended in October
• Smallwood will be suspended in September
• Edenville construction was suspended in June
• Sanford will be suspended in January

Construction suspension dates are based on the contractor’s crews' ability to get the dams to stable suspension points that adhere to dam safety requirements of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Funding for this work relies on the remaining funds from the $200 million state grant and Michigan Treasury’s release of those funds. 

FLTF Continues to Push Forward
HCA has used every legal opportunity to delay the process required to restore the lakes, and their legal actions have and will continue to delay dam safety upgrades and environmental mitigation, as well as increase costs to property owners. To date, HCA has presented no feasible alternative, and one can only assume HCA intends to completely stop the project which if successful, will result in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in property values.
Hopefully, HCA’s appeal and their lawsuits currently pending in federal court, will be resolved before the end of the year so FLTF can move forward with financing the final phase of construction in early 2025. Even so, this delay will add an estimated cost of $10 to $20 million to the project. This year's construction work was impacted and will push back the restoration of the lakes. If we are not able to start early in 2025, another year would likely be added to the table below.
We understand the frustration of all those in the community with these delays. If construction cannot start in the spring then FLTF has the funds to maintain operations and manage all matters through 2025 until construction can begin.
The FLTF Board appreciates the continued support of the lakes' restoration.
Dave Kepler