Updating Dam Safety Regulations in Virginia

 

Changes to Affect Both New and Existing Dam Standards

At the July 21, 2005, Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board (Board) meeting, discussions continued concerning the revision of current dam safety regulations in Virginia. In a previous meeting on May 19, 2005, the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Study Committee presented two alternatives, one of which may require existing dam owners to upgrade their dams to compensate for the additional potential hazards created by subsequent downstream development.

At the May meeting, the Board passed a motion to accept the report of the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Study Committee and directed staff to provide additional information. As a result, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) staff presented their recommendations at the July 21st meeting, which included:
  • Making specific changes to the current regulations;
  • Forming a special workgroup to develop regulatory concepts to share with the public;
  • Preparing legislative proposals that would create funding, developing a budget for supporting additional dam safety engineers; and
  • Establishing a Dam Break Ordinance for local governments to consider.
After hearing the DCR staff recommendations, the Board authorized the Director of DCR and the Departmental Regulatory Coordinator to prepare and submit a Notice of Intended Regulatory Actions (NOIRA) to address the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Committee and the DCR staff.

Background

Previously, in a April 30, 2005 report entitled, Report of the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Committee to the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, two alternatives were recommended. Alternative 1 would require both new and existing dams to meet the same design and safety requirements. This option would still require spillways to be designed for the full Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) for the highest hazard dams and would require some owners to upgrade the existing impounding structure.

Alternative 2 would provide alternative standards for existing dams. This option would allow less stringent design standards for dam owners that could justify and/or demonstrate that their existing impounding structure would result in no significant increase in downstream hazard. Decisions would need to be made on a case-by-case basis, requiring more time, coordination, negotiation and possibly field monitoring.

July 21, 2005 Meeting Results

In response to the above-referenced report by the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Committee, DCR staff presented recommendations as outlined in a document entitled, Department of Conservation and Recreation Recommendations to the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board in Response to the April 30, 2005 Ad Hoc Dam Safety Report, dated Thursday, July 21, 2005.

In this document, the DCR staff did not recommend one alternative over the other, but simply concurred with the findings of the Ad Hoc Dam Safety Committee and made specific recommendations as to how the regulations could be amended in order to institute either of the two alternatives.

In response to the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation to raise awareness of dam break inundation zones, the staff recommended developing a Dam Break Inundation Zone Model Ordinance for local governments to consider and “with the Board’s support, that the department [DCR] develop a budget decision package to support additional dam safety engineers that would focus on evaluating and determining the status of those dams that became regulated in July 2002…, performing locality outreach on dam break inundation zone protections, and assisting with regulatory development and implementation of an Alternatives Analysis necessary under Alternative #2”. In addition, “the department concurs that funding for dam repairs is a critical issue and recommends that the board recommend the development of legislation to address funding needs”.

Therefore, in response to the DCR staff’s comments of July 21, 2005, the Board established a motion to authorize “the Director of DCR and the Departmental Regulatory Coordinator to prepare and submit a NOIRA to consider changes and solicit recommendations related to the Board’s Virginia Impounding Structures Regulations”. This motion further authorized a public meeting following the publication of the NOIRA, the establishment of a technical committee to make recommendations to the Director and the Board, other stakeholder group meetings as deemed necessary by the Department, and the development of draft proposed regulations by the Department to be presented to the Board for it’s review and consideration.

Conclusion

Deadlines have not been established by the Board or DCR concerning the authorized tasks. However, David Dowling of DCR commented that the NOIRA process can take 18 – 24 months to complete. The following links to the Virginia Regulatory Townhall website outline the standard regulatory process:

Basic Regulatory Process
Detailed Regulatory Process

If you would like to be notified of meetings, notifications or regulatory changes related to this topic, you can log on to the Virginia Regulatory Townhall website and sign up to receive such notifications. Registration not only ensures that you will receive timely notification, but you may also submit comments via email during any public comment period.

If you prefer to attend the meetings in person, the Virginia Regulatory Townhall website also posts the dates of the meetings one week in advance. Typically, the Board meets on the third Thursday of the scheduled month. The locations vary among several Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices in Virginia. The next Board meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 15, 2005, at the NRCS’s Charlottesville Office.

If you have concerns about a dam structure on your site or for more information on this topic, contact Mike Marsala or Bill Nell.