4. Lack of Adequate Authority and Resources for State Dam Safety Programs
Although most states have legislative authority to carry out a comprehensive dam safety program, many are lacking in specific areas. Some states are unable, by specific language in their law, to regulate certain types of dams, allowing these structures to fall between the regulatory cracks. Other states have limited ability to enforce the law. In some states, officials have no recourse if dam owners do not carry out safety repairs ordered by the state.
Many states are simply under-resourced for carrying out the letter of the law. State budgets for dam safety range from $0 to $6.4 million. But the average annual state dam safety budget is about $454,000. The average number of regulated dams per state is approximately 2,000.
The average number of dam inspectors per state is less than eight; this means that each dam inspector is responsible for overseeing the safety of about 250 existing dams, plus the additional responsibilities of overseeing new construction.
The industry has determined that, in general, ten state regulators are necessary per 250 dams to do the best job possible in carrying out the regulatory mandate set out in most state dam safety laws. (Model State Dam Safety Program, Association of State Dam Safety Officials, 1998) This would mean that the average program regulating 1,500 dams would need about 60 professionals as opposed to six.
There is, therefore, a serious need, in almost every state, to pump additional state resources into these programs.