[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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