Early Progress to Implement the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety and Recommendations to Improve Federal Dam Safety Programs

Office of Mitigation Research Report. President Carter directed each of the Federal agencies responsible for dam safety to implement the new Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety on October 4, 1979. He also directed the major agency heads to report their progress toward implementing the Guidelines to the FEMA Director by January 31, 1980. This report summarizes and transmits these agency progress reports and two overall progress evaluation reports--one by a Federal Task Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety and the other by a FEMA-sponsored independent consulting Panel. The reports show that agencies have made major progress in the areas of organizational management, operation and maintenance, periodic inspection, initiating emergency action planning, staff training, external reviews, interagency coordination, and initiating actions to correct major dam deficiencies. Problems remain in agency personnel staffing and funding for dam safety, correcting deficiencies in Federally-built or -assisted private dams, regulating mine tailings dams, implementing emergency action plans at hazardous dams, and performing systematic remedial work at deficient dams. Detailed information and insight about agency progress, remaining problems, and recommendations directed to FEMA and the other agencies for improving Federal dam safety procedures are contained in the three attached documents.