Power co. settles over Oak Creek bluff collapse

By: Beth Kevit, [email protected]//July 9, 2013//

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collapse1 — The state has settled with Wisconsin Electric Power Co. over a bluff collapse on Oct. 31, 2011, at a power plant in Oak Creek. (File photo by Kevin Harnack)

Wisconsin Electric Power Co., Milwaukee, will pay the state $100,000 in fines and fees in a settlement related to a 2011 bluff collapse caused by the company’s retention pond construction project at its Oak Creek Power Plant.

The state sued Wisconsin Electric over the collapse, which included 22,720 cubic yards of dirt and debris, according to a news release. The debris, which included construction vehicles and equipment, fell into Lake Michigan, and Wisconsin Electric paid an estimated $12.1 million to remediate the collapse.

According to the release, Wisconsin Electric built the retention pond outside the area approved by the DNR and failed to update its erosion control plans.

The $100,000 settlement, announced Tuesday, will cover the roughly $53,400 the DNR spent responding to the collapse, as well as court costs and other charges.

— Beth Kevit

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