Political Quotes

“In May of this year, unusually heavy rainfall occurred in four countries of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan causing rivers and streams throughout the area to swell out of their banks, inflicting severe and widespread damages. The greatest damages occurred in Marquette County where an earthen dike at Silver Lake Basin failed, sending an estimated 8 billion gallons of water cascading downstream through the city of Marquette toward Lake Superior. The floodwaters destroyed or damaged numerous public and private structures and caused unprecedented environmental and ecological damage within the Dead River Basin and into Lake Superior in Marquette County. Two power generation facilities were damaged. One of the power generation facilities, the Presque Isle plant in the city of Marquette, resulted in shutdown for more than 30 days. Without power, two iron ore mines, which produce about 20 percent of our Nation's annual iron ore output, were shut down, idling 1,200 workers. Dozens of other area businesses, institutions and private homeowners were also seriously impacted. Three of the four counties affected are impoverished, with a majority of the population over 65 years of age. Local governments simply do not have the capital to pay for the public damages. Without an infusion of Federal aid, Marquette and the other three counties will have a difficult, if not impossible, task of recovering from this disaster.”