Agenda - 05-06-2010 - 4m - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Act also requires FEMA to provide education to the public, to dam owners and to others about the need for strong dam safety programs, nationally and locally, and to coordinate partnerships among all players within the dam safety community to enhance dam safety. North Carolina Dam Safety Program The NC Dam Safety Program conducts the following: l. Inspect high hazard dams at least every two years; intermediate and low hazards at least every five years. 2. Notify dam owners of deficiencies found in the dams and needed maintenance or engineering and repairs. 3. Enforcement action if needed. 4. Review plans for construction of new dams, and repairs,modifications and decommissioning of existing dams. 5. Inspect during construction activities as resources permit. 6. Inspect prior to impoundment once construction is completed. 7. Inspect during and after extreme events such as floods. 8. Maintain databases and records of dams under state jurisdiction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for dams under federal jurisdiction, (e.g., Falls Lake Reservoir and Jordan Lake Reservoir) and for hydroelectric dams or cooling water dams for power plants. Potential of Dam Failure Early in the 20th century, it was recognized that some form of regulation was needed after a number of dams failed due to lack of proper engineering and maintenance. Federal agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation built many dams during the early part of the twentieth century and established , safety standards during this time. It was not until a string of significant dam failures in the 1970s that awareness was raised to a new level among the states and the federal government. Driving every other issue and all activities within the dam safety community is the risk of dam failure. Although the majority of dams in the U.S. have responsible owners and are properly maintained, many dams still fail every year. In the past several years,there have been hundreds of documented failures across the nation(this includes 250 after the Georgia Flood of 1994). Dam and downstream repair costs resulting from failures in 23 states reporting in one recent year totaled$54.3 million. Dam failures are most likely to happen for one of the following reasons: •Structural failure of materials used in dam construction • Cracking caused by movements like the natural settling of a dam •Piping—when seepage through a dam is not properly filtered and soil particles continue to progress and form sink holes in the dam. 20