# Lawsuits filed over Dead River deluge



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Lawsuits filed over Dead River deluge; Flood damage 
http://www.miningjournal.net/ Sunday, May 08, 2005 

Lawsuits filed over Dead River deluge; Flood damage 
By SCOTT SWANSON, Journal Staff Writer 

MARQUETTE - WE Energies has filed suit for damages incurred during the Dead River flood of 2003, and Marquette County will be filing soon. 

The city of Marquette also is considering legal action. 
WE Energies has filed a suit naming MWH Americas Inc. of Bloomfield. Colo., and Moyle Construction of Houghton, company spokesman Richard Cieslak said. Marquette County plans to file suit against both of those companies, as well as the Upper Peninsula Power Company, County Administrator Steve Powers said. 

The flood was caused when the Silver Lake Basin dam's fuse plug, an emergency water release system, failed after several days of heavy rainfall in May 2003, releasing 8 billion gallons of water from the Champion Township impoundment into the Dead River. 

UPPCO owns and operates the level controls at the Silver Lake Basin, MWH designed the fuse plug release system, and Moyle was the general contractor that installed the fuse plug. 

The county incurred about $100,000 in damages, including expenses by the Marquette County Sheriff's Department, county planning department and county drain commissioner, Powers said Thursday. The county will be filing suit naming UPPCO, MWH and Moyle in the coming days, he said. 

The flood also affected WE Energies' power plant at Presque Isle, which flooded and was forced into a shutdown that lasted for weeks. Cieslak said Thursday that WE Energies filed a suit naming MWH and Moyle in Marquette's 25th Circuit Court on April 29. 

WE Energies' complaint consists of one count: negligence. 

"As a direct and proximate result of the direct physical property damage at the Presque Isle Power Plant, Wisconsin Energy could not generate power at capacity for a substantial period of time. Wisconsin Energy suffered significant damage, included but not limited to, property damage, business interruption, lost revenue and profits, and extra expenses," the complaint states. 

While no monetary amount is listed in the complaint, it requests that the court award damages to Wisconsin Energy, as well as accumulated legal fees. WE Energies is a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy. 

At a special meeting of the Marquette City Commission Wednesday, City Manager Gerald Peterson said that the city had until May 15 to file a lawsuit to advance a claim of $500,000, including $213,000 for the loss of a road entering Tourist Park, $179,000 for the loss of land north of the North Marquette Athletic Field and $77,000 for the loss of a swimming beach at the Tourist Park. 

If the city decides to file suit, Peterson said that UPPCO, and potentially other parties, would be named. 

The Marquette Board of Light and Power's .7 megawatt hydro dam at the Tourist Park was destroyed and the basin behind it drained as a result of the flood. 

Production Superintendent Bill Pyle said he was not sure if the May 15 deadline applied to the BLP. 

"The board is still considering its options," he said. 

Reached for comment Thursday, UPPCO President Gary Erickson said: "UPPCO understands why the (parties involved) took the actions they have taken. UPPCO realizes they have to preserve their rights within the legal system." 

Moyle Vice President Jeff Moyle on Friday said that investigations of the flood - including one by the Federal Energy Regulation Commission - have shown no wrongdoing on Moyle's behalf. 

"We did this project per the specs and did it exactly the way it was designed," Moyle said. "To come back and say that somehow any of this is our fault is really grabbing for straws." 

The company will be filing a notice of removal to get the case moved into federal court, as well as a motion for dismissal, Moyle said. 

"(The lawsuit) is meritless and we're going to fight it vigorously," he said. 

Local officials estimated damage for all of Marquette County at $102 million, including $127,000 in emergency and public safety costs, $3 million in damage to roads and bridges, $10.4 million in damaged or destroyed utilities, $4 million to the Dead River fisheries, soils and trees and $84 million in economic losses.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Company refutes lawsuit claims

Wednesday, May 11, 2005
MARQUETTE - MWH Americas Inc. plans to "defend itself vigorously" against a lawsuit pertaining to the Dead River flood of 2003. 

Last month WE Energies filed a suit in Marquette's 25th Circuit Court naming MWH of Bloomfield, Colo., and Moyle Construction of Houghton for damages incurred during the flood. The company's Presque Isle Power Plant was forced to shut down for weeks due to flooding. 
The flood was caused when the Silver Lake Basin dam's fuse plug, an emergency water release system, gave way after several days of heavy rainfall in May 2003, releasing 8 billion gallons of water from the Champion Township impoundment into the Dead River. 

MWH designed the fuse plug release system. 

According to an MWH press release, the engineering services provided by the company were "fully appropriate and were not a factor in the reservoir release. 

"The company had provided engineering design solutions for the Silver Lake Reservoir which, if followed, would have prevented the May 14 incident. The Silver Lake incident was the result of extraordinary rains that coincided with heavy seasonal runoff from melting snow coupled with operator error at the reservoir. 

"The company will defend itself vigorously and is confident that it will prevail." 

Last week, Marquette County Administrator Steve Powers told The Mining Journal that the county plans to file suit against MWH and Moyle, as well as the Upper Peninsula Power Company, which owns and operates the level controls at the Silver Lake Basin. 

The city of Marquette is also considering legal action. 

Jeff Moyle, vice president of Moyle Construction, told The Mining Journal last week that WE Energy's lawsuit was "meritless" and will be fought vigorously. UPPCO President Gary Erickson said that UPPCO understood that the plaintiffs "have to preserve their rights within the legal system." 

Local officials estimated damage from the flood for all of Marquette County at $102 million.


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