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Local, state, and federal officials had long been aware of the mounting risks surrounding the Cheboygan Lock and Dam—yet years of inaction, regulatory delays, and private ownership complications allowed the situation to deteriorate into a full-scale emergency.
At the center of the crisis is a nonfunctional hydroelectric plant connected to the publicly owned dam, a critical component for safely channeling floodwaters downstream. Despite repeated warnings, authorities failed to compel successive private owners to restore the facility, leaving the dam increasingly vulnerable as conditions worsened.
The structure housing the plant—once a Charmin toilet paper mill—passed through multiple owners over the decades, gradually falling into disrepair. Today, taxpayers are funding urgent efforts to revive the facility before a potential dam failure sends catastrophic floodwaters into downtown Cheboygan.
“I’m very concerned that this was not handled properly,” said Richard Sangster, a Cheboygan County commissioner and former mayor, pointing to years of federal regulatory oversight that failed to produce meaningful action.
The property is currently owned by Hom Paper XI, LLC, controlled by former NFL linebacker Thomas Homco, who has not responded to inquiries. Local officials, meanwhile, maintain they were limited in their ability to intervene.
“We didn’t wait ’til the last minute,” said Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross. “It’s privately owned. There’s only so much we can do.”
Although the full cost of emergency repairs remains unclear, earlier estimates placed the necessary work at over $1 million.
Federal records show that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the primary regulator of hydropower dams, issued warnings to a rotating list of owners for years, citing missing inspection reports and malfunctioning equipment essential for flood management. Despite these concerns, multiple compliance deadlines were extended.
As early as 2019, inspectors identified structural issues including cracked concrete, deteriorating retaining walls, and faulty gates. By 2021, FERC warned that “multiple items are overdue and completion dates are rapidly approaching.”
The situation worsened in 2023 when a fire shut down the plant entirely. Prior to that, the facility had already been cited 16 times in just 10 months by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations. Yet even after the fire, federal regulators continued issuing warnings and granting extensions, while state officials acknowledged they had no direct enforcement authority.
“Safety concerns have been raised many times,” Sangster said, adding that the consequences of a dam failure would be immeasurable. “In my eyes, it appears like total neglect.”
FERC declined to address specific questions about its oversight, instead emphasizing its role in the current emergency response. “Above all, our priority is to coordinate with all involved partners to safeguard both the community and the environment,” spokesperson Celeste Miller said in a statement.
The unfolding crisis echoes the 2020 Midland dam failures, which followed a similar pattern of delayed action and regulatory gaps. Despite pledges from Michigan lawmakers to strengthen dam safety oversight, proposed reforms were never enacted.
“A solution keeps getting kicked down the road,” said state Sen. John Damoose after touring the site with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “Now we’ve got a whole community in peril because it was mismanaged by private owners.”
Damoose warned the issue is not isolated. “This could happen all over the state,” he said, calling for a deeper reassessment of how such infrastructure is regulated.
Whitmer acknowledged the complexity of the situation, citing the overlapping responsibilities between public and private entities. “There’s no simple answer,” she said, noting the “complicated web” of ownership structures across Michigan’s dams.
The Cheboygan complex itself has a long and complicated history. Originally operated by utilities to generate power, it was sold to the state for $1 in 1967 after ceasing electricity production. Over time, the dam’s reservoir became a key link between Lake Huron and Michigan’s Inland Waterway.
In 1983, Procter & Gamble took over the hydroelectric portion, securing a federal exemption and investing in upgrades. However, the company closed its operations in 1990, triggering a gradual decline of the facility.
Subsequent owners, including Great Lakes Tissue, faced repeated regulatory pressure to make repairs. The company ultimately sold the plant before meeting a 2022 deadline to restore critical water-control gates. It remains unclear whether the required work was ever completed or whether regulators tracked ownership changes effectively—FERC records continued listing Great Lakes Tissue as the owner into 2025.
Following the 2023 fire, the hydro plant remained offline, eliminating roughly 30% of the river’s controlled flow into Lake Huron. State officials warned this would lead to significant water level fluctuations, but it’s unclear what actions were taken to address the risk.
Federal regulators continued to issue warnings while attempting to determine ownership amid legal disputes. Eventually, Hom Paper XI was recognized as the responsible party and ordered to either restore operations or risk losing its license exemption.
Initially, the company indicated it had no intention of resuming hydropower operations. However, it later pursued a potential sale to HydroMine Cheboygan LLC, a Wyoming-based firm led by entrepreneur Roy Davis, who has revived aging hydro facilities elsewhere in Michigan.
Negotiations dragged on, with repeated extension requests submitted to FERC. As recently as January, Hom Paper’s legal team stated that a deal was close and that efforts were underway to coordinate with state agencies and Consumers Energy.
Yet by Thursday evening, the plant remained nonfunctional, severely limiting the dam’s capacity to manage rising floodwaters—now just inches below its crest. Authorities have urged residents in vulnerable areas to prepare for possible evacuation.
Roughly 75 Consumers Energy workers have been deployed in a last-minute push to restore the facility. Officials indicated that progress was being made and that operations could resume imminently.
Beyond the immediate crisis, the situation has reignited debate over whether critical infrastructure like the Cheboygan hydro plant should remain in private hands.
“We know that it being in private hands has produced a really bad result,” said Sharen Lange, a local business owner involved in regional development efforts.
As northern Michigan braces for the outcome, the Cheboygan crisis stands as a stark reminder of the consequences of deferred maintenance, fragmented oversight, and unresolved questions about ownership—issues that continue to put communities at risk.
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