Democrats join GOP lawmaker in urging Whitmer to “reverse course” on review

Midland, Mich. — Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, is winning bipartisan support for calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday to reverse course and secure an independent investigation into the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams, which last week resulted in severe flooding and devastating damage in Midland and surrounding counties.

Glenn’s comments came in response to Whitmer’s news conference earlier Wednesday in Sanford, just west of Midland, during which the governor announced to skepticism by reporters that she had directed her own state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to conduct an investigation. But it was DEGLE that last year approved the dams’ continued operation, only to be followed by Attorney General Dana Nessel suing the dam owner for threatening freshwater clams when he lowered water levels, he said, to repair and relieve pressure on the dams.

Glenn’s call for the governor to set up an independent investigation instead won support Thursday from fellow Republicans — state Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, and Rep. Roger Hauck, R-Union City, whose district includes rural portions of Midland County.

Friday and Saturday, Glenn also secured the bipartisan support of three county commissioners in Bay County, downstream from the floodwaters — Bay County Commission Chairman Mike Duranzcyk, Commission Vice-Chairman Mike Lutz, both Democrats, and Commissioner Vaughn Begick, a Republican.
Duranczyk said in a Facebook comment that an “independent investigation is the only way to get at the truth behind who dropped the ball.”

“The common sense call for an independent investigator is bipartisan, and it’s growing,” Glenn said, “I’m hopeful the governor will quickly reverse course and act to ensure an independent investigation that flood victims and taxpayers can find credible.”

Referring to Nessel’s lawsuit, Glenn asked Wednesday if “mollusks were more important to the state than protecting the people of Midland, and snails more important than the people of Sanford. That’s a question only an independent investigator can be trusted to investigate. We can’t trust the state bureaucracy to investigate itself.”

Whitmer, when asked Wednesday by a reporter why she hadn’t appointed an independent investigator, said she understood the point of the question, acknowledged the “usual wisdom” in having an independent investigator, but said the investigation has to be done by an entity with technical expertise, and “there are very few that have the technical expertise that’s really needed to be able to properly do this investigation.”

Glenn, who serves as vice chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee that sets the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s budget, said she hopes the governor, upon further reflection, will agree that “flood victims deserve a third-party, independent investigation to ensure a fair and just conclusion for the thousands of families who’ve been devastated.”

“We didn’t trust the state Department of Environmental Quality to investigate its own mishandling of the Flint water crisis,” Glenn said, “and after being in a lot of wet, mud-filled basements this week, I know it doesn’t feel right to ask one of our own executive branch agencies to investigate whether the state shares any culpability for these devastating failures. This situation clearly warrants an independent investigation.”

Glenn said there are other regulatory bodies or individuals with the necessary technical expertise to conduct an investigation.

She said the Army Corps of Engineers and multiple other federal agencies could be asked to investigate, or energy regulatory bodies in other states, or a bipartisan or nonpartisan panel of former energy and infrastructure regulators from Michigan or elsewhere – the key point being their independence. For example, former Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth, R-Grand Rapids, and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, D-Detroit, were third-party individuals who led the independent, bipartisan investigation of the Flint water crisis.

“Imagine how flood victims would react if the owners of the dams announced they were directing their own staff to conduct an investigation,” Glenn said of the governor’s initial decision.

“Words cannot fully describe how horrendous this has been for families in our community,” Glenn said. “Thousands of our neighbors and friends who had to evacuate their homes and small businesses returned only to find unbelievable devastation. I’m confident we’ll get through these trying times and be stronger for what we have rebuilt together. But we must make sure those responsible are held accountable.”