[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 165 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12123-H12124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DAM REHABILITATION AND REPAIR ACT OF 2007

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3224) to amend the National Dam Safety Program Act to 
establish a program to provide grant assistance to States for the 
rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3224

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Dam Rehabilitation and 
     Repair Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. REHABILITATION AND REPAIR OF DEFICIENT DAMS.

       (a) Definitions.--Section 2 of the National Dam Safety 
     Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), 
     (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), and (13) as paragraphs (4), (5), 
     (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (12), (13), (14), and (15), 
     respectively;
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) Deficient dam.--The term `deficient dam' means a dam 
     that the State within the boundaries of which the dam is 
     located determines--
       ``(A) fails to meet minimum dam safety standards of the 
     State; and
       ``(B) poses an unacceptable risk to the public.''; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as redesignated by 
     paragraph (1)) the following:
       ``(11) Rehabilitation.--The term `rehabilitation' means the 
     repair, replacement, reconstruction, or removal of a dam that 
     is carried out to meet applicable State dam safety and 
     security standards.''.
       (b) Program for Rehabilitation and Repair of Deficient 
     Dams.--The National Dam Safety Program Act is amended by 
     inserting after section 8 (33 U.S.C. 467f) the following:

     ``SEC. 8A. REHABILITATION AND REPAIR OF DEFICIENT DAMS.

       ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Director shall 
     establish, within FEMA, a program to provide grant assistance 
     to States for use in rehabilitation of publicly-owned 
     deficient dams.
       ``(b) Award of Grants.--
       ``(1) Application.--A State interested in receiving a grant 
     under this section may submit to the Director an application 
     for such grant. Applications submitted to the Director under 
     this section shall be submitted at such times, be in such 
     form, and contain such information, as the Director may 
     prescribe by regulation.
       ``(2) In general.--Subject to the provisions of this 
     section, the Director may make a grant for rehabilitation of 
     a deficient dam to a State that submits an application for 
     the grant in accordance with the regulations prescribed by 
     the Director. The Director shall enter into a project grant 
     agreement with the State to establish the terms of the grant 
     and the project, including the amount of the grant.
       ``(3) Applicability of standards.--The Director shall 
     require States that apply for grants under this section to 
     comply with the standards of section 611(j)(9) of the Robert 
     T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5196(j)(9)), as in effect on the date of enactment of 
     this section, with respect to projects assisted under this 
     section in the same manner as recipients are required to 
     comply in order to receive financial contributions from the 
     Director for emergency preparedness purposes.
       ``(c) Priority System.--The Director, in consultation with 
     the Board, shall develop a risk-based priority system for use 
     in identifying deficient dams for which grants may be made 
     under this section.
       ``(d) Allocation of Funds.--The total amount of funds 
     appropriated pursuant to subsection (f)(1) for a fiscal year 
     shall be allocated for making grants under this section to 
     States applying for such grants for that fiscal year as 
     follows:
       ``(1) One-third divided equally among applying States.
       ``(2) Two-thirds among applying States based on the ratio 
     that--
       ``(A) the number of non-Federal publicly-owned dams that 
     the Secretary of the Army identifies in the national 
     inventory of dams maintained under section 6 as constituting 
     a danger to human health and that are located within the 
     boundaries of the State; bears to
       ``(B) the number of non-Federal publicly-owned dams that 
     are so identified and that are located within the boundaries 
     of all applying States.
       ``(e) Cost Sharing.--The Federal share of the cost of 
     rehabilitation of a deficient dam for which a grant is made 
     under this section may not exceed 65 percent of the cost of 
     such rehabilitation.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to carry out this section--
       ``(A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
       ``(B) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
       ``(C) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
       ``(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and
       ``(E) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
       ``(2) Staff.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     provide for the employment of such additional staff of FEMA 
     as are necessary to carry out this section $400,000 for each 
     of fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
       ``(3) Period of availability.--Sums appropriated pursuant 
     to this section shall remain available until expended.''.

     SEC. 3. RULEMAKING.

       (a) Proposed Rulemaking.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency shall issue a notice of proposed 
     rulemaking regarding the amendments made by section 2 to the 
     National Dam Safety Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.).
       (b) Final Rule.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency shall issue a final rule regarding such 
     amendments.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Salazar) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 3224.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, many people are not aware that there are approximately 
80,000 dams in the United States; and, of these, the Association of 
State Dam Safety Officials has identified 3,500 dams that are 
considered deficient or unsafe. In my State of Colorado, we have over 
1,800 dams. Of those, 131 are high hazard public dams, and an 
additional 19 dams are deficient. The State has determined that they 
are in serious need of repair.
  Without proper maintenance, these dams are an obvious threat to 
public safety. It is critical that we help to ensure the safety and 
security of these dams. H.R. 3224, introduced by myself and the 
gentleman from New York, Mr. Randy Kuhl, is a bill that does help to 
ensure such safety and security by addressing rehabilitation and repair 
of safety-deficient State-owned dams.
  This bill is direct, quite simple, and will go a long way to mitigate 
significant hazards to our communities. First, the bill adds 
``deficient dam'' and ``rehabilitation'' to the definition section of 
the Dam Safety Act and thus makes this category of dams eligible for 
funding for rehabilitation. Second, the bill directs the administrator 
of FEMA to establish within FEMA a program to provide grant assistance 
to States for use in rehabilitation of publicly owned deficient dams. 
The grants will be awarded so that each State will get an equal share 
of one-third of the total amount, while the remaining two-thirds will 
be awarded by risk. The Federal cost share is capped at 65 percent.
  The program's goal is to reduce the risks to life and property by 
establishing an effective national dam safety rehabilitation program 
that utilizes the resources and expertise of the Federal and non-
Federal communities to achieve the reduction of dam safety hazards. In 
other words, one of the primary purposes of the Dam Rehabilitation and 
Repair Act of 2007 is to provide financial assistance to the States for 
strengthening their dam safety programs.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill and urge its passage.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H12124]]

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3224 amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to 
establish a program to provide grant assistance to States for the 
rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams.
  I would like to commend Congressman Randy Kuhl for his steadfast 
leadership on this issue. He was the original sponsor of similar 
legislation this year, and he was instrumental in the reauthorization 
of the National Dam Safety Program last year. I would also like to 
thank Mr. Salazar, again, for his leadership in this issue also.
  This bill would authorize a program at the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to provide funding for repairs to publicly owned dams 
that would pose a direct risk to human life if they failed. The number 
of unsafe dams has risen by 80 percent since 1998 to more than 3,200.

                              {time}  1600

  This grant program would fund repairs of the most critical dams, 
which the Association of State Dam Safety officials estimates is a $10 
billion need over the next 12 years. Dams require ongoing maintenance, 
monitoring, and rehabilitation. Many States are unable to fund 
necessary repairs to publicly owned dams without assistance from the 
Federal Government. This new program will provide assistance up to 65 
percent of the cost of the repairs. H.R. 3224 authorizes the program 
for 5 years at $200 million.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important issue throughout the country in 
areas with numerous old and abandoned dams. Too often, the 19th century 
companies that built the dams no longer exist and local governments are 
left with orphaned dams in their jurisdiction. These downstream 
communities have a responsibility to protect their population, but they 
rarely have the tax base or revenue to repair the failing dams.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SALAZAR. I want to thank the gentleman from Arkansas for his 
leadership also on transportation issues. This is a very important 
piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, this legislation has strong 
bipartisan support and outside groups, including the Association of 
State Dam Safety Officials, American Rivers, the American Society of 
Civil Engineers and the Associated General Contractors, who all have 
endorsed this important piece of legislation.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New York, Mr. Randy Kuhl, for 
working with us on this critical bill, as well as other committee 
members of the Transportation Committee who have supported this bill as 
well. I would urge my colleagues to swiftly pass H.R. 3224.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3224, 
as amended, a bill to further enhance the safety of and bring to a 
state of good repair our Nation's aging dam infrastructure. This 
important bill has broad bipartisan support.
  I commend the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Salazar) and the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Kuhl) for introducing this legislation and for their 
strong support. I would also like to thank Subcommittee Chairwoman 
Norton for her leadership and for diligently guiding the work of the 
Subcommittee on the issue of dam safety and rehabilitation.
  During a May 8, 2007 hearing, the Subcommittee on Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management received 
compelling testimony about the need to rehabilitate our Nation's dams. 
The statements of witnesses reinforced some troubling statistics. There 
are approximately 80,000 dams in the United States; of these, 
approximately 10,000 dams are considered to have high-hazard potential, 
meaning their failure could result in loss of life or severe property 
damage. From 2000 to 2006, the number of high-hazard dams increased by 
almost 20 percent.
  Further, States have identified approximately 3,400 dams as currently 
deficient or unsafe. These dams have been identified as having 
hydrologic or structural deficiencies that make them susceptible to 
failure triggered by a storm, an earthquake, progressive deterioration, 
or inadequate maintenance.
  Since 1972, Congress has helped to mitigate the risk of dam failure 
by establishing a program to provide technical and financial assistance 
to States for dam safety. Through the National Dam Safety Program, the 
Federal government has helped to increase the level of knowledge and 
preparedness to prevent and mitigate the effects of dam failures across 
the country. Dam safety inspections have increased significantly and 
greater direct assistance has been provided for training State 
officials and providing technical seminars and workshops.
  H.R. 3224 builds on this successful program and authorizes the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (``FEMA'') to 
provide grants for the rehabilitation and repair of publicly-owned 
dams. States must provide at least 35 percent of the funds necessary to 
rehabilitate a dam. While all States are eligible to apply, grants will 
be distributed after prioritization by the Administrator, along with 
the National Dam Safety Review Board, of all applications, based on 
degree of deficiency.
  The bill is a necessary step in the right direction to upgrade our 
Nation's aging dam infrastructure.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3224.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California). The 
question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Salazar) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3224, 
as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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