Federal Actors in Dam Removal Policy: Legal and Bureaucratic Influences in the Decommissioning of Powered and Non-Powered Dams in the United States

Multiple avenues exist by which the Federal Government can influence dam removal for environmental, safety, economic, and socio-cultural purposes. For non-federal powered dams, FERC’s regulatory procedures accommodate for non-developmental values and the participation of resource agencies in project licensing, which can compel the decommissioning of certain projects. In addition, as aging dams increasingly pose risks to downstream populations, FEMA has supported the removal of certain non-federal non-powered dams to prevent dam failure-related emergencies. For federal dams, which are largely owned and operated by the USBR and USACE, removal is less-frequently considered, as a formal relicensing process does not exist for this dam class.
Though federal forums for dam removal do exist, the Federal Government does not have a dominant role in compelling dam removal. Dam removal is primarily negotiated through settlements, in which public participation has an increasingly important role. In public settings, it is especially important to discuss dam removal by the partitioning of dam class, to direct public sentiment appropriately and encourage the longevity of America’s hydropower industry.