DRAFT – 2 MAR 2010
Issue Brief
The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act
(H.R. 1770/S. 732)
ASCE Position
ASCE, a founding member of the Dam Safety Coalition, supports enactment of
this legislation to address the estimated $12 billion needed to repair the most
critical dams over the next 10 years.
Key Points
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The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act, is a bipartisan bill that would provide $200
million over five years for the repair, rehabilitation, or removal of publicly owned
dams.
The legislation would establish a program within the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) to fund dam rehabilitation and repairs. The fund would
award grants for assistance to publicly-owned deficient dams. Funds provided
through this program may not be used for the operation or maintenance of any dam,
public or private.
The federal government should bear some responsibility in repairing ailing dams as
failures do not necessarily respect state and local boundaries. The proposed
legislation would distribute funds to state dam safety agencies based on the number
of high-hazard publicly owned non-federal dams in the state. The federal
government’s share of any grant provided to a state will not exceed 65 percent of the
total cost of the rehabilitation or repair.
Members of Congress should support prompt introduction and enactment of the Dam
Rehabilitation and Repair Act.
Status
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The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act (H.R. 1770) was introduced in the
House of Representatives by Reps. John Salazar (D-CO), Shelley Moore Capito
(R-WV) and Betsy Markey (D-CO) on March 26, 2009. Companion legislation (S.
732) was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), George
Voinovich (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey, Jr.,
(D-PA), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) on March 26, 2009.
Background
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The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that $50 billion is needed
to rehabilitate all dams across the nation, and $12 billion is needed over the
next 10 years to address the most critical dams, both public and private, that
pose a direct risk to human life should they fail. Needed repairs to publicly owned
dams are estimated at $8.7 billion.
ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave Dams in the United
States a grade of “D”.
DRAFT – 2 MAR 2010
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The number of high-hazard potential dams (dams whose failure would cause loss of
human life) is increasing dramatically. Since 1998, the number of high-hazardpotential dams has increased from 9,281 to 15,237. As downstream land
development increases, so will the number of high-hazard potential dams. As these
dams often require major repair to accommodate more stringent inspection,
maintenance and design standards, financial support for state dam safety programs
must keep pace.
Even more alarming, states presently report more than 4,095 dams which have
deficiencies that leave them more susceptible to failure. Many states have large
numbers of dams in need of repair, including Ohio (524), Pennsylvania (529), New
Jersey (315), and Indiana (538). Many state agencies do not report statistics on
dams in need of repair; therefore the actual number is potentially much higher.
There have been more than 30 dam failures in the past four years, causing over
$200 million in damages.
In April 2007, the Rainbow Lake Dam in New Jersey failed after more than 10 inches
of rain fell in the area, causing a closure of part of State Route 56 in Pittsgrove
Township, Salem County. It also caused the failure of two smaller dams
downstream.
In March 2006, the failure of the Kaloko Reservoir Dam in Kaua’i, Hawaii killed seven
people and washed out the island’s major highway.
In December 2005, a dam in southeast Missouri failed, destroying several homes
and injuring three children.
The combined effect of rapid downstream development, aging/non-compliant
structures and inadequate past design practices, coupled with a predicted
increase in extreme events, demands fully funded and staffed state dam safety
programs, as well as substantial and proactive funding for dam repairs.
In order to provide safe, continuing service, dams require ongoing maintenance,
monitoring, frequent safety inspections and rehabilitation. Aging dams often require
major rehabilitation to assure their safety. Downstream development below dams is
increasing dramatically, and continuing scientific research of dam failure
mechanisms, such as earthquakes and major flood events, frequently demand
repairs to dams constructed long before these advances were realized.
Many state dam safety programs do not have sufficient funding or qualified staff to
effectively regulate dams under their authority. The Federal government either owns
or regulates only 11% of the nation’s dams. Responsibility for assuring the safety of
the rest of the nation’s dams falls to state dam safety programs.
No price can be put on the lives lost due to dam failures.
ASCE Reference
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Policy Statement 470 Dam Rehabilitation and Repair
Policy Statement 299 Infrastructure Improvement Policy
http://www.damsafetycoalition.org
Policy Statements Available at: http://www.asce.org/pressroom/news/policy.cfm
ASCE Staff Contact
Brian Pallasch, Managing Director, Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives,
bpallasch@asce.org , phone: 202-789-7842, fax: 202-789-7859
2/1/10