Oakland Township files lawsuit against Clinton River Watershed Council

At the August 12, 2014 Oakland Township Board meeting, the Board unanimously approved authorizing the Township attorney to file a ’cause of action’ suit against the Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC).

The Board’s reason for the suit is that they allege the CRWC breached a contract they believe the Township had with the CRWC regarding the Paint Creek Dam removal project. The CRWC is a non-profit organization that worked with the Department of Natural Resources to eliminate the dam on the Paint Creek. The State of Michigan has established dam removal as a priority to improve the habitat and quality of the water in our streams and lakes. The millrace is not considered a natural stream since it was created years ago to divert water from the Paint Creek to the Cider Mill location. After the dam was removed, the elevation of the water feeding the Paint Creek Cider millrace was lower, as was expected.

There are several individual properties that the millrace runs through. When the dam was removed, water no longer flowed through their property. The property owners claim that their property values have been diminished as a result of the dam removal. One of the main reasons that the water no longer flows down the millrace is that the millrace has years of sediment buildup.

Bob Yager, the Oakland Township resident that had been publishing ‘The Oakland Township Sentinel’, had pulled together a historical summary of the Millrace Project going back to 2011 based on Township records.

In reviewing the documented history, it is clear that the issue of years of sediment buildup in the millrace was raised several times. In fact, the Clinton River Watershed Council raised that concern at the September 13, 2011 meeting. Clarifying whose responsibility it was to dredge the millrace was never addressed. The Clinton River Watershed Council never agreed that they would dredge the millrace. Without the dredging of the millrace, it should come as no surprise that the millrace went dry (water does not flow up hill!).

The affected citizens have been major supporters of the current Township Board. The millrace issue played a role in the current Board being elected. Many of the Board members ran on this issue in their campaign.

Our Township has already spent thousands of dollars on this issue. With this lawsuit, we are now facing additional legal expenditures. The Township should have determined whom has/had responsibility for dredging the millrace before proceeding with this lawsuit. We may spend more on legal fees than it would have cost to dredge the millrace.

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Oakland Township file lawsuit against Clinton River Watershed Council