Gary Peters

WASHINGTON, DC — During a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) pressed Energy Secretary Chris Wright on the Trump Administration freezing federal funds dedicated to strengthening dam safety and resiliency. This comes amid record snowmelt and flooding this spring that led the State of Michigan to issue numerous emergency declarations, including for Cheboygan County due to the threat of high-water levels overtopping the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex. Peters reiterated the need for the Administration to release these funds to help Michigan communities upgrade aging dam infrastructure and protect public safety.

“We had record snowmelt and flooding in Northern Michigan that have pushed multiple dams to the state of brink,” Peters said during the hearing. “My state desperately needs these investments. This is old, aging infrastructure that needs to be improved to prevent the kinds of things we are seeing in Northern Michigan now. You know aging dams and increasingly frequent storms and more severe storms are basically all converging to create a real public safety challenge. We have no time to waste.”