The village of Breedsville is being sued by the Michigan Attorney General’s office for allegedly filling a regulated wetland area and riverbed on property it owns. The AG’s office says in 2008, a dam in the South Branch Black River suffered a breach, which caused an uncontrolled release of impounded water. At that time, EGLE notified the village any attempt to reconstruct the dam would require a permit. In July 2020, EGLE staff noticed the unauthorized placement of fill by the village in a portion of the river, in violation of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. Despite notice to the village to stop, the state says the work continued without a permit. Last February, EGLE issued a notice for the violations and an additional violation for repairing or reconstructing a failed dam without a permit. Another inspection conducted by EGLE in September revealed additional fill placed in wetlands, on bottomlands, and within the 100-year floodplain. The AG’s office asks for a court to order that Breedsville to pay a civil fine for past violations, remove the fill, and restore the property to the condition immediately before the alleged violations.
