Tri-City Sun

Michigan Rep. Annette Glenn (R-Midland) said the team hired by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to investigate the Edenville Dam failure is not one that Midland County flood victims deserve.

Glenn criticized the investigative team and called it unacceptable, even though Whitmer claimed she hired an independent firm.

"First, the investigators were chosen and paid for by the owner of the dams. Second, the investigators are approved by and overseen by the state agency responsible for the dams' safety. Both the owner and the state agency are currently being sued for their alleged culpability in the dams' failure," Glenn said on the Michigan House Republicans website. 

Glenn also believes the scope of the investigation needs to go further than assessing the engineering into why the structures failed.  She said the reason the state's regulatory system failed also needs to be looked at, along with the role the state's priorities played. 

The Edenville Dam failed when the area received an excessive amount of rain on May 19 and caused another dam downstream to also give way. Thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed from the catastrophic floods caused by the dam failures. The Edenville Dam's owner, Boyce Hydro LLC, and Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy are being sued. 

"Once again, on behalf of flood victims who are suffering the loss of their homes and livelihoods, I call on the governor to stop ignoring the bipartisan call for a truly independent investigation that's not chosen by, paid for by and overseen by the very individuals and agencies who are being sued," Glenn said on the Michigan House Republicans website. 

Glenn said she would take responsibility for finding a team to look into the dam failure that not only the flood victims, but also the taxpayers, could "take seriously."