The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) issued a statement criticizing Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday, saying she prioritized mussels over dam safety, leading to massive flooding in the state.
More than 10,000 Midland residents were displaced after heavy rains overflowed Edenville Dam, then Sanford Dam, earlier this week.
Nessel sued the owner of Edenville Dam just three week ago, saying that it allegedly killed thousands of freshwater mussels by lowering water levels, RAGA said. As a result of state pressure to keep water levels high, the dam “did not have an adequate spillway capacity and collapsed.”
“Democrat Dana Nessel clearly has her priorities mixed up. As the top law enforcement officer in the state, an attorney general has a duty to protect its citizens,” said RAGA Chairman Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement. “Newsflash: a personal environmental protection crusade does not trump the safety of the people within your state. Unfortunately, the Democrat prioritized a handful of small crustaceans over the well-being of thousands of Michiganders.”
RAGA also accused Nessel of attempting to cover her “careless actions” by tweeting about Trump and his “legal and moral responsibility” to wear a face mask while touring a Ford manufacturing plant.
Trump refused to wear a face mask during his tour of the Ford plant in Ypsilanti today, despite numerous requests that he do so. Trump does not care about the safety of Michiganders. Luckily, we have an attorney general who does.https://t.co/RikMGXuHp7 pic.twitter.com/bfmkTokZcV
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) May 21, 2020
Trump was given a mask by Ford, which he said he wore while in the “back area” of the plant, according to NBC News.
“As a Michigan native and as an attorney general, I believe that it is clear that Democrat Dana Nessel’s dangerous mix of political pandering and misplaced priorities resulted in massive property damage and the displacement of over 10,000 families,” RAGA Vice Chairman Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. “Even worse, instead of apologizing for putting the interest of mussels before the safety of the people of Michigan, Nessel deflected blame by playing political games and coming unhinged during President Trump’s visit.”
Whitmer has declared a state of emergency for Midland, as well as requested federal aid to help with recovery efforts.
“The people of Michigan won’t forget that when it mattered, ‘Nessel’s Mussels’ got more protection than the families, homes and communities of hardworking Michiganders,” Carr said.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
If you “unbiassed” idiots were to do a little background reading you would learn this privately owned dam has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years. You’d also learn that Nessel’s suit was to address a federal violation the dam owner was, and had previously made with regard to regulated water levels. It wasn’t lowered because of risk of collapse – that is an after-the-fact claim. You’d also read that
“Lee Mueller, a manager at Boyce Hydro, applied for a permit to raise lake levels in the spring and state regulators approved the permit April 9, said Ryan Jarvi, a spokesman for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
That approval came with “several conditions” because the company “was hesitant to promise that it wouldn’t just drop the level again in winter 2020, thus further damaging the state’s natural resources,” Jarvi said.
“It is not clear why Mr. Mueller thinks the state ‘pressured’ Boyce Hydro to raise the lake level in the spring of 2020.” The state sued Boyce on April 29, claiming it illegally lowered lake levels and exposed aquatic life to harm.”
Suing because of a federal water level violation is not the same as forcing the owner to raise the water level.
They are liberal democrats what do you expect,they do what they want.
I don’t always agree with the president, but his not wearing a mask doesn’t endanger the safety of those that do wear a mask. He is apply his Constitutional rights to this virus issue. Many of the rest of us who do wear our masks do it to avoid hassle’s with the police because our municipality and state mandate the wearing of masks.
The thing I say about all this is that this play ground games that are being placed is running this country into the ground. I don’t really care if these people are in the red or blue. they need to work together. My dad always told me you might not see eye to eye but by god you will work together and he was 32 years USAF. The people are tiring of all the BS that has taken place and just want to get on with their life’s. I think this Nessels Mussels deal is a joke. What about the loss to all these people cough in the middle of something they knew nothing about. Shame on our government. Some one needs to answer for this.
Whitmer and her AG have exposed themselves as totally incompetent to manage the affairs of a big diverse state like Michigan, let alone a dog show or two car funeral.