NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

Dec. 8, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 470

For more information contact Frank Piorko, Delaware Dam Safety Program, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 302-739-9921; or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

DNREC Secretary O’Mara issues order adopting Delaware
Dam Safety Regulations to safeguard lives and property

In the interest of public health and safety and as part of the state’s continued upgrade of dam oversight, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin P. O’Mara has issued a Secretary’s Order approving Delaware Dam Safety Regulations for the state’s 53 publicly-owned dams with high or significant hazard classifications. The Secretary’s Order adopts the final regulations effective December 11, 2009.

 “Delaware Dam Safety Regulations address the 2004 legislative mandate (House Bill 514) that established a program and required regulations that detail the requirements and responsibilities of public dam owners to keep their structures in a safe condition,” said Secretary O’Mara. “With the increasing impacts from floods and rising sea levels expected to stress the state’s existing dam infrastructure, the regulations are extremely important to safeguard lives and property and protect our natural resources.”

The new regulations establish requirements for proper design, construction, operation, maintenance, and inspection for dams subject to the regulations and enhance DNREC’s authority to ensure the requirements are fulfilled. The regulations require dam owners and agencies to demonstrate that dams are being properly maintained and meet modern safety standards and include specific responsibilities a dam owner must implement to ensure ongoing safety.

Under Delaware law, only publicly-owned dams with high or significant hazard classification are subject to the regulations. A dam’s classification depends upon the threat to downstream communities and infrastructure in the event of a dam failure and is not related to the condition of a dam.

In 2008 a Delaware Dam Inventory was completed and used to determine that 53 of the state’s publicly-owned dams met the classification requirements for regulation under Delaware law. 

Modeled after national dam safety program guidelines, the new regulations were developed with guidance from a 17-member Dam Safety Regulatory Advisory Committee, comprised of federal, state and local agency experts and dam owners. As required by the Delaware Dam Safety Act, four meetings with the regulatory advisory committee were held, as well as, a public workshop on  Dec. 11, 2008 and a public hearing on April 27, 2009.

DNREC is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Delaware Dam Safety Regulations, which include: licensing existing dams; issuing permits for constructing new dams and repairing existing dams; and ensuring that dam owners conduct inspections and perform maintenance. In 2007, the agency was awarded state funding to develop Emergency Action Plans for Delaware’s highest priority, state-owned, high hazard dams. The Emergency Action Plans for these dams will be completed in 2010.

The Secretary’s Order, dam safety regulations and related documents, including FAQs, can be found on the DNREC Division of Soil & Water Conservation web site at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/Drainage/Pages/DamSafety.aspx. For more information, contact 302-739-9921.