Michigan DNR presents Dam Removal Recommendation: Mayor not Buying It

When Dowagiac River advocates appeared to the Niles City Council in December and requested that Dam Removal should be a legitimate option to consider among the others, they were  confronted by the Mayor who countered:


"The Michigan DNR has recommended that we DONT remove the dam". There seems to be conflicting information coming from them". 




The DNR and Dowagiac River Keepers know that this has never been the case.

So this group explained  they would like to help the Mayor's confusion and repeat the state's position in-person  in a public forum in a future meeting to erase any doubt.


On Monday, Jan. 10th, the DNR was able to do that; and  set the record and Mayor straight. The Mayor came up with a new reasoning and his own unique interpretation about the states view of dam removal.  He states that SB213 requires Niles to have 10% of its power be 'green' by 2015. 


However, the Mayor need not worry.  SB213 imparts regulation of this law via the MPSC to generators of power. Niles' is not a generator of power. The the dam is shut down. and-- if it has less than 1,000,000 residential customers, this mandate does not apply. (Christine Battiste, MPSC, Feb. 5th, 2011)


The generator of power for Niles is the I&M division of American Electric Power (AEP).  After discussing this with the AEP legislative affairs director, our liason had twice stated to us and went on reord to state that Niles is NOT required to have 10% of its power be green. They aren't a power generator. AEP is the power generator, and must meed SB213 standards.  (Sarah Bodner, c/o AEP legislative affairs Feb 6th, 2011)



So here is how the article read and what motivated us to at least level the field of options:



NILES --  
The city of Niles is receiving mixed signals from the state of Michigan regarding whether the old city dam on the Dowagiac River should be removed, said Mayor Mike McCauslin.
At a Monday night Niles City Council session in which Jay Wesley, a fisheries biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, pushed for the dam's removal, McCauslin pointed to recent state legislation mandating a 10 percent green power component by 2015. That indicated to him, the mayor said, that the state wants to see dams in operation.

"You could argue whether a dam is green power or not. I'd argue it is," he said.
Yet Wesley was on the other side of the fence, offering the state's support in writing grant applications for the dam's removal. The one point the mayor and Wesley agreed upon was that the council faces a tough decision regarding the dam's fate.

The issue is largely economical, McCauslin said, as a pair of developers have submitted proposals to buy or lease the dam and share with the city the revenue that would result from electricity sales. A third company wants to use in-water turbines to convert kinetic energy to generate power and a fourth group has called for removing the dam. 

Niles City Administrator Terry Eull said the issue will be discussed further at a committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 28.


Wesley called removal of the dam "the best option" for ecological reasons, pointing out it would be conducive to fish movement and result in better water quality. Other dam removal projects the state has been involved in have resulted in grants that have reduced the cost to cities that own the dams to an average of 20 percent, he said.

In answer to a question from Councilman Dan Vanden Heede, Wesley said the cost of installing a fish ladder should the dam be put back into operation would exceed the cost of removal. The state would push for such a ladder should plans call for long-term use of the dam to produce electricity, he said.
Wesley agreed with Pat Scherr, an Indian Lake Road resident seated in the audience, that there was once a natural falls where the dam was constructed that impeded fish movement up the river. Scherr said it would be "unfortunate" if the dam was removed.
"There's no need to change it from the way it is now," he said.
Also at the meeting, McCauslin formally announced that Niles City Administrator Terry Eull and Public Works director Neil Coulston will both retire on Sept. 30. A committee of the whole meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the city fire station to discuss future plans for the positions, he said.

Staff writer Lou Mumford: lmumford@sbtinfo.com 269-687-3551
Credit: Tribune Staff Writer



Thanks!