It’s Time to Stop the Dam Sale
And We Need You With Us
For more than a century, the thirteen Consumers Energy dams scattered across Michigan’s rivers have impaired the waters Michigan Trout Unlimited was founded to protect. These structures are aging, damaging, and long overdue for retirement. Now, Consumers Energy is proposing to sell all thirteen dams—not to Michigan communities, not to conservation-minded stewards—but to a private equity company with no ties to our state. Each dam would be placed under its own limited liability company, shielding ownership from responsibility and leaving Michigan’s rivers, fisheries, and taxpayers more vulnerable than ever.
For over 40 years, Michigan TU has been deeply engaged in the management of these dams and the impacts they impose on our coldwater resources. We have witnessed what happens when dams fail or are mismanaged—the Dead River, Tittabawassee, Golden Lotus, and Morrow Dam disasters are permanently etched into Michigan’s environmental history. We have seen dam owners walk away from responsibilities, leaving public agencies and taxpayers to clean up the mess. We cannot allow history to repeat itself.
Consumers’ own data shows these dams now produce only about 1% of its energy portfolio—at a cost eight times higher than other energy sources, with a proposed rate increase that would force customers to pay double the market rate for electricity for decades. Meanwhile, the Manistee, Au Sable, and Muskegon—globally unique cold groundwater rivers—continue to suffer from warming, habitat disruption, dissolved oxygen reductions, degraded flows, and blocked fish passage. For more than 100 years, these dams have prevented these rivers from reaching their full ecological and recreational potential. The proposed sale would lock that damage in for yet another generation.
Michigan’s Rivers Deserve Better - Join Us
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Michigan TU’s mission is clear: to conserve, protect, and restore Michigan’s coldwater fisheries and the watersheds that support them. We speak for the rivers, for the fisheries, and for the people who cherish them. We cannot accept a proposal that delivers only risks and costs—to the environment, to ratepayers, to tax payers and to public safety.
That is why Michigan TU has formally intervened in the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) proceedings reviewing this dam sale and related power purchase agreement. We are represented by the Environmental Law & Policy Center and joined by strong partners: the Anglers of the Au Sable, Great Lakes Council of Fly Fishers International, Michigan Salmon & Steelhead Association, and the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition. The Michigan DNR and even the Attorney General have also raised significant concerns.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore these rivers, prevent future catastrophes, and ensure that public interests—not private equity profits—determine the fate of Michigan’s waters. Many of you have stood in these rivers, fished below these dams, felt the effects of warm water releases or erratic flows, and asked what can be done. Today, we have an answer—and we are asking for your help.
How You Can Take Action Now
1. Submit Public Comment to the MPSC
Share your personal perspective—whether environmental, economic, or safety-related—on the proposed sale.
- Case Number:U-21985
- Visit the case docket and click “Submit Comment.”
- Link: https://mi-psc.my.site.com/s/case/500cs000016QyW1AAK/in-the-matter-of-the-application-of-consumers-energy-company-for-approval-of-the-sale-of-its-river-hydroelectric-generating-fleet-related-power-purchase-agreement-and-other-relief.
2. Contact the Senate Energy & Environment Committee
Senate Bill 627 would require the MPSC to ensure any dam buyer has the financial capacity and intent to manage safety risks. Review the bill and share your thoughts with the committee members and your local representative and senator.
3. Provide Additional Financial Support
Our intervention requires substantial legal, technical, and scientific resources. If this issue resonates with you—and we know it does—please consider an additional contribution directed to this case.
Together, we can ensure that Michigan’s rivers are healthier, safer, and more vibrant for generations to come. We can protect the coldwater fisheries that define our identity—and we can finally move toward a future where these rivers are no longer held back by century-old dams.
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