[8] In an exercise of a rarely used legal authority, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) terminated Boyce Hydro Power's license in 2018, because of its "inability to pass the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF)",[9] as well as seven other failures.

"[11] Following the Commission's 2018 license revocation, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) took oversight of the dam.

[13] Edenville and the other former Boyce dams were taken over in 2019 by the Four Lakes Task Force, a county delegated authority,[14][15][16] with title to transfer in early 2022.

In 2019, Michigan's 42nd Circuit Court was involved in determining if only the lakefront owners or all area residents would pay tax to the Four Lakes Assessment District.

[24] In April 2020, EGLE sued Boyce, alleging it had lowered the water level without permission in 2018 and 2019, killing thousands of freshwater mussels.

[25][26][27][28] In October 2022, however, a federal judge accepted as basic facts that Boyce had conducted what the Michigan Attorney General called a "propaganda" campaign trying to blame the State of Michigan for keeping water levels high, when in fact, Boyce had continually touted the structural safety of the Edenville Dam.

[29] On May 19, 2020, 5:46 p.m., due to massive inflow from heavy rains in the area, the eastern side of the dam collapsed, prompting immediate evacuations in the towns of Edenville and Sanford.

[31] Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency, and announced an investigation into the dam's operators for alleged neglect.

[35] The Tittabawassee River crested at 35.05 feet (10.68 m) late on May 20, resulting in extensive flooding throughout eastern Midland and low-lying parts of its downtown district, and severely damaging most of the village of Sanford.

Their final report was issued on 4 May 2022, and determined that the cause was “foreseeable and preventable,” and resulted from multiple errors committed over nearly a century.

Instead the IFT believes loose sands, inside a portion of the dam, became saturated with water, which led to their static liquefaction which is a sudden loss of strength.