The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) and many of its members have spent time over the past weeks reflecting on President Carter's immense contributions to national dam safety during his administration and the enduring impact of his actions.
In 1977, early in his presidency, Carter called upon the heads of several federal agencies to create Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. Shortly following, Kelly Barnes Dam, located in Carter's home state of Georgia, failed, leading to the deaths of 39 people. The failure added additional urgency to the need to both understand the state of the nation's dams and create oversight. Among notable resulting efforts were his executive order directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to inspect dams nationwide, revealing deficiencies the majority of non-federal dams, and the creation of the FEMA National Dam Safety Program. These actions continue to have lasting impacts today and even directly lead to the eventual creation of ASDSO as a resource and advocate for state dam safety regulatory programs.
To memorialize his contributions, ASDSO wishes to share some archived documents from this period. Some of these documents are digitized versions of original communications donated to ASDSO's library from Dr. Bruce Tschantz, who served in a White House office charged with carrying out Carter's orders for improving dam safety nationally. ASDSO members are encouraged to share additional remembrances and links on Collaborate.
