Effective March 17, 2025, Four Lakes Task Force (FLTF) received the final permit for restoration of Edenville Dam. This means all four dams are permitted for repair and reconstruction, which will restore all four lakes to their normal (legal) lake levels.
Edenville Dam reconstruction and the restoration of Wixom Lake has been the most complex of the four dams to permit. The process included more federal government regulatory engagement than the other dams, such as required floodplain studies and map revision submissions with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It also required a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take Permit (ITP) from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the endangered snuffbox mussel. The permit was recently obtained.
Given the scope of environmental impact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) required project efforts and monitoring related to wetlands, streams and fish habitats, and educational opportunities for the community to learn about low-impact development of shorelines. The scope of these efforts is defined in the permit and final plans are expected be complete by April 30, 2025.
Since 2020, Edenville Dam has had five phases of construction planned. The first four phases primarily addressed dam safety concerns and could be permitted because they did not change the lake level and FLTF had funding from Michigan grants.
• Phase I and II started with emergency orders by EGLE to stabilize the dam after failure by modifying and stabilizing the Tobacco and Tittabawassee spillways and returning the Tittabawassee to its original path.
• Phase III placed a cutoff wall to protect the embankment.
• Phase IV was to bring the embankments to standards and accommodate the new M-30 bridge design. While substantially complete, this phase was suspended as further funding, beyond the state grants, for the Four Lakes project did not occur by July 2024.
• Phase V includes the remaining dam construction to restore the lake level, which includes spillways with an upgraded design placed in their prior locations, adding an auxiliary spillway to protect the dam in the event of a historic flood, and the required environmental projects and monitoring described in the permit.
"Acquiring this permit has been an extensive process and I am proud of our team," said Dave Kepler, president of Four Lakes Task Force. "They successfully acquired permits that address major repairs on Edenville Dam in parallel with the new M-30 bridge construction and restoration of the natural habitat that Wixom Lake creates all while benefiting property owners."
With the Edenville permit now in hand, FLTF will submit the Stream Mitigation and Monitoring Plan in the coming days to EGLE. We now wait for matters with the Supreme Court to be favorably resolved before construction can be financed and restarted on all four dams.
