ASDSO Resolution : Complete Privatization of State Dam Safety Regulatory Programs

WHEREAS, many state governments are currently in a position where budget cutting and downsizing are essential to maintain or move toward efficiency, and
WHEREAS, some states have focused on state dam safety programs suggesting that more efficient government could be achieved by complete privatization of dam safety regulatory programs, and
WHEREAS, the public and private sectors both have responsibility for assuring safe dams; but, protecting the health and safety of the public is a long-accepted and proper role for government, and
WHEREAS, a balanced public-private partnership is essential in this area where the private sector provides engineering expertise to owners to achieve safe dams and the public sector, through state dam safety programs, provides assurance that dams are properly designed, constructed, operated and maintained, and that problem dams receive necessary attention, and
WHEREAS, this public-private approach has a long track record of successful performance,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by a majority vote of the member states of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) meeting in National Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this 9th day of September 1997, that ASDSO advocates the continuation and improvement of strong state-run regulatory programs for dam safety as detailed in the attached statement.