U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin wants the federal government to pay for the purchase of flooded land in Oklahoma along major tributaries of Grand Lake and also wants to scrap a plan to study whether toxic sediment is building up.
Mullin’s May 7 letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accuses the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of reinterpreting “language from more than 85 years of precedent and multiple acts of Congress.” The Commission ruled in January that the Grand River Dam Authority, a non-appropriated state agency that oversees Grand Lake and Pensacola Dam, is responsible for buying out landowners near Miami, Oklahoma, where it regularly floods. The Grand River Dam Authority has appealed the ruling.
Mullin argued that the costs could be passed on to many Native American, rural and poor Grand River Dam Authority taxpayers and that the federal government should pay instead.
The costs “must be borne by the public as a whole,” Mullin wrote.
The senator asks the federal regulator to reverse his previous ruling.
More: Why federal regulators say the Grand River Dam Authority is responsible for flooding in northeastern Oklahoma
Miami, a city of about 13,000 residents just north of where the Neosho, Spring and Elk rivers meet to form Grand Lake, has suffered from flooding for years. City officials say much of the flooding was caused by a backwater effect from the Pensacola Dam during heavy rainstorms.
Construction of the Pensacola Dam in Langley ended in 1940, impounding what is now Grand Lake. Since then, the dam has undergone several relicensings. The Grand River Dam Authority began the current license renewal process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017. Officials hope to have a new license issued by May 2025.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s January decision came after the city of Miami successfully appealed an earlier ruling that found the Grand River Dam Authority was not responsible for flooding.
The city, some local Indian tribes, environmental groups and residents have also asked the Grand River Dam Authority to conduct a toxic sediment study as part of the relicensing process.
Tar Creek is a stream highly contaminated with heavy metals that flows from the old Tri-State Mining District to the Neosho River. Residents and city officials are concerned that toxic sediment from Tar Creek is accumulating in the upper reaches of the lake as sediment is deposited. Grand River Dam officials dispute this.
Mullin has asked the federal regulator not to require the Grand River Dam Authority to investigate whether sediment from Tar Creek is contaminating nearby waterways.
The Grand River Dam Authority has resisted conducting the toxic sediment study, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should be responsible for the work.
Mullin wrote in his letter that the Grand River Dam Authority could be dependent on paying for “expensive and burdensome remediation measures” depending on what the investigation reveals, and that the state-owned company should not be held responsible for cleaning up old mining operations.
Dan Sullivan, CEO of the Grand River Dam Authority, said he agreed with Mullin’s letter. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee drainage once the lake floods, and Congress has asked it in the past to study whether additional land is needed for flood control purposes.
“The question to ask at that point is why would Congress ask the Corps of Engineers to study flood control if it wasn’t the responsibility of the Corps of Engineers to provide that,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan estimates it would cost about $150 million to buy land from affected property owners, which would increase energy rates. The Grand River Dam Authority supplies electricity to the city of Miami, meaning Miami residents will also face higher rates, he said.
“There should be no one to turn to other than our taxpayers, including the people of Miami,” Sullivan said. “So the citizens of Miami are now footing the bill for the legal fees through their utility company, and I think that’s something that I don’t know many people understand how that lawsuit is funded. But they would pay not only to prosecute a case, but also their share of damages.”
Melinda Stotts, spokeswoman for the city of Miami, said the city and its tribal partners hope to find solutions to flooding for the community and are actively participating in the relicensing of the Pensacola Dam.
“In light of the recent tragic weather events that have profoundly affected our city and state, our commitment to finding real solutions has only grown stronger,” Stotts said. “As we work to rebuild and strengthen our city in the wake of these events, we will continue to advocate for the interests of our community in all our efforts. This includes addressing the interactions between the Pensacola project and contamination at the Tar Creek Superfund site.”
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Senator Wants Taxpayers to Pay for Land Acquisitions Due to Flooding in Grand Lake
