FERC blames GRDA for flooding of Miami in northeast Oklahoma

It will kill our town.' Residents upstream from Grand Lake worry more flooding could be headed their way

 

 

“A big win for us.” It’s the response of Miami city officials in northeast Oklahoma after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled the Grand River Dam Authority was responsible for major flooding in the city.

FERC said the GRDA violated its license by not buying out affected property owners, reported The Frontier. It also declaredthe Pensacola Dam was a major cause of flooding in the city.

“We haven’t won the war, but we have won a battle,” stated Melinda Stotts, a spokeswoman for the city of Miami. The City and the GRDA have been at odds for years over who was responsible for the flooding that has city the city. Even the federal government in the 1940s felt the Grand Lake was causing flooding in the City.

Under the Jan. 18 order from FERC, the GRDA has 120 days to file a report on the flooding in the upper part of Grand Lake.

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