Historical Review of President Jimmy Carter’s Role in Dam Safety

On April 23, 1977, just 93 days in office, President Jimmy Carter signed a memorandum addressed to the federal agencies involved in the design, operation and regulation of dams. The memorandum initiated at the federal level, and later on a national scale, a move to improve the safety of dams. The president’s directive led to the creation of the National Dam Safety Program, the preparation of the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety, and a heightened focus on the safety of dams. This paper looks at the content of the president’s memorandum, its origins, and its implications for the future of dam safety. It is part historical review and part mystery. The memorandum follows the 1976 Teton Dam failure which caused 11 fatalities and approximately $900 million in damages. More importantly the failure of a dam designed and owned by the federal government brought considerable public and political attention to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and ultimately to the issue of dam safety. The president’s memorandum was remarkable in a number of respects. Foremost, it brought national attention to the issue of dam safety and gave federal agencies specific direction to make dam safety a priority. Secondly, the memorandum was detailed with respect to what the agencies should be doing to improve and advance dam safety. This paper examines the president’s memorandum and a search for its origin.