WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), along with Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), recently introduced the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 – legislation to establish a program within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund dam rehabilitation and repairs.

The House version of the bill, which has nearly 20 co-sponsors, has now passed overwhelmingly and is awaiting Senate action. The fund would award grants to states to repair, rehabilitate or remove publicly-owned deficient dams. Deficient dams are defined as dams that, as determined by a state, fail to meet minimum state dam safety standards and pose an unacceptable risk to the public. “I have long been concerned with our nation’s infrastructure and for years have lauded the accuracy of experts who warned that the infrastructure supporting our economy and quality of life is crumbling,” Voinovich said.

“Yet, we have continually failed to invest in the improvements necessary to keep pace with our growing population and increasing demands. As a former governor of Ohio I believe that the federal government should bear some responsibility in rehabilitating public infrastructure, including dams. This legislation is truly a step in the right direction.”

Currently, Ohio has 825 deficient dams – the most deficient dams in the country – including 240 high-hazard dams (dams whose failure can cause loss of life and significant property destruction). The state has failed to inspect about 600 high-hazard dams that could kill residents or cause significant property damage if they burst, due to lack of funds.

“The term ‘high risk’ is not a reflection on the condition of the dam; it is a classification of the dam based on its size and the fact that people live downstream from the dam,” said Cristie Wilt, an Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources representative.

“We actually use Class I, II and III for Ohio’s dams instead of high risk, because it is somewhat misleading. This classification can change if the dam is modified to make it larger or smaller, or if the downstream hazard changes such as a house being built downstream or removed downstream.”

The National Inventory of Dams lists 11,811 high hazard dams nationwide, meaning that loss of life is probable should dam failure occur as well as possible economic or environmental loss, although economic and environmental losses are not necessary for this classification.

An additional 13,407 dams are classified as a significant hazard, meaning that should dam failure occur there would be no probable loss of human life but it could result in economic loss, environmental damage and disruption of lifeline facilities. The majority of the nation’s dams, 54,349, are considered low hazard, meaning that a dam failure would result in no probable loss of human life and few economic or environmental losses, which would generally be restricted to the owner. Again, these hazard classifications are completely independent of the condition of the dam; they only reflect potential harm should dam failure occur.

What makes dams a unique part of the national infrastructure is that dam owners are solely responsible for the safety and liability of the dam as well as for financing its upkeep, upgrade and repair. While most infrastructure facilities (roads, bridges, sewer systems, etc.) are owned by public entities, 58 percent of U.S. dams are privately owned. Local governments own and operate about 16 percent of the dams, and states own about four percent. The federal government, public utilities and undetermined interests own similarly small numbers of dams.

Dam failures can be devastating to dam owners, to the dam’s intended purpose and especially to those downstream populations and properties. Property value can range from thousands to billions of dollars, not to mention potential loss of life. And failures know no state boundaries; inundation from a dam failure could affect several states and large populations.

This legislation would authorize a total of $200 million to help rehabilitate deficient dams. The federal share of the grants cannot exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the rehabilitation or repair.

The funding would be broken down by year as follows:

•$10 million for Fiscal Year 2008
•$15 million for Fiscal Year 2009
•$25 million for Fiscal Year 2010
•$50 million for Fiscal Year 2011
•$100 million for Fiscal Year 2012
•$400,000 for each of Fiscal Years 2008 to 2010 for additional FEMA staff

Examples of Ohio high-risk dams that would be eligible for funding include:

•Lower Girard Lake Dam (Girard in Trumbull County)
•Ballville Dam (Fremont in Sandusky County)
•Swift Run Lake Dam (Piqua in Miami County)
•Forest Hill Park Dam No. 2 (East Cleveland in Cuyahoga County)
•Somerset Reservoir Dam (Somerset in Perry County)
•Lower Shaker Lake Dam (Cleveland in Cuyahoga County)
•Roosevelt Lake Dam (Scioto County)
•Buckeye Lake Dam (Fairfield and Licking Counties)
•East Reservoir Dam (Summit County)
•Lake Milton Dam (Mahoning County)

Unfortunately, a complete list of the state’s deficient dams is not accessible by database according to Wilt.