[Senate Report 110-495]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]






                                                      Calendar No. 1071
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-495

======================================================================



 
             THE DAM REHABILITATION AND REPAIR ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

  September 24 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.--Ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mrs. Boxer, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3224]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred 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, 
reports favorably thereon and recommends that the bill do pass.

                      Purposes of the Legislation

    H.R. 3224 would require the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to create a program to provide grant assistance 
to states for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned deficient 
dams.

                    General Statement and Background

    According to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials 
(ASDSO), there have been 129 dam failures since 1999, including 
the dam failure at the Ka Loko Dam in Hawaii, which killed 
seven people and caused millions of dollars of damage in March 
2006. The ASDSO has also estimated that $36.2 billion is needed 
to rehabilitate dams throughout the nation, including $10.1 
billion to deal with the most critical dams that pose a direct 
risk to human life should they fail.
    H.R. 3224 would address this situation by expanding the 
National Dam Safety Program to include grant assistance to 
states for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned deficient dams.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the bill title as the ``Dam 
Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007''.

Section 2. Rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams

    Subsection (a) amends section 2 of the National Dam Safety 
Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467) by inserting definitions for 
``deficient dam'' and ``rehabilitation''. A ``deficient dam'' 
is defined as one that fails to meet the minimum dam safety 
standards of the State in which it is located and that poses an 
unacceptable risk to the public. The term ``rehabilitation'' is 
defined as the repair, replacement, reconstruction, or removal 
of a dam that is carried out to meet applicable State dam 
safety and security standards.
    Subsection (b) adds a new section 8A to the National Dam 
Safety Program Act to direct FEMA to create a program to 
provide grant assistance to States for use in the 
rehabilitation of publicly-owned deficient dams. The new 
section 8A(b) sets out requirements for the applications and 
project agreements for grants, including applying Federal 
prevailing wage laws to construction work related to 
rehabilitation of dams undertaken with this grant assistance.
    The new section 8A(c) obligates the Director of FEMA, in 
consultation with the National Dam Safety Review Board, to 
create a risk-based priority system for use in identifying 
deficient dams for which grants may be awarded as a result of 
this section. The new section 8A(d) establishes the following 
formula for distributing this grant assistance: In any fiscal 
year, one-third of funds appropriated will be divided equally 
among the States applying for grants. The remaining two-thirds 
of funds will be disseminated to applying States based on a 
specific ratio. The ratio consists of the number of non-Federal 
publicly-owned dams that the Secretary of the Army identifies 
in the national inventory of dams that comprise a danger to 
human health and that are located within the boundaries of the 
State as such number relates to the number of non-Federal 
publicly-owned dams so identified located within the boundaries 
of all applying States.
    The new section 8A(e) establishes that the Federal share of 
the cost of rehabilitation of a deficient dam may not exceed 65 
percent.
    The new section 8A(f) authorizes appropriations of $10 
million in fiscal year (`FY') 2008; $15 million in FY 2009; $25 
million in FY 2010; $50 million in FY 2011; and $100 million in 
FY 2012. Also, this subsection authorizes $400,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2008 through 2010 to finance additional FEMA staff 
needed to carry out the grant program.

Section 3. Rulemaking

    This section requires that, not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of FEMA must 
issue a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the program 
described in Section 2.
    This section requires that, not later than 120 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of FEMA shall 
issue a final rule regarding the program described in Section 
2.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 3224 was introduced by Representative John T. Salazar 
of Colorado. On October 30, 2007, the bill was received in the 
Senate, read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
and Public Works. The Committee met on September 17, 2008, when 
H.R. 3224 was ordered favorably reported by voice vote.

                             Rollcall Votes

    There were no roll call votes during the consideration of 
the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2008 by the Committee.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes evaluation of 
the regulatory impact of the reported bill. The Committee finds 
that this legislation, which makes grants to address deficient 
dams, does not cause substantial regulatory impacts.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee finds that this legislation does 
not impose intergovernmental or private sector mandates as 
defined under UMRA.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

                                                September 23, 2008.
Hon. Barbara Boxer, 
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3224, the Dam 
Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel 
Hoople.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3224--Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007

    Summary: H.R. 3224 would authorize appropriations totaling 
about $190 million through 2012 for the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to states for 
repairing, replacing, reconstructing, and removing structurally 
deficient dams. Assuming appropriation of the specified 
amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3224 would cost 
$143 million over the 2009-2013 period and $47 million 
thereafter. Enacting H.R. 3224 would not affect direct spending 
or revenues.
    H.R. 3224 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3224 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 450 
(community and regional development).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
                                                            2009     2010     2011     2012     2013   2009-2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorization Level.....................................       15       25       50      100        0       190
Estimated Outlays.......................................        4       12       25       51       51       143
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted near the start of fiscal year 2009 
and that the amounts specified by the act will be appropriated 
for each fiscal year.

Grants to States

    H.R. 3224 would authorize the appropriation of $190 million 
through 2012 for FEMA to make grants to states for a maximum of 
65 percent of the cost to repair, replace, reconstruct, or 
remove publically owned dams determined to be deficient. 
Deficient dams would be defined as those failing to meet 
minimum standards set by states and that pose an unacceptable 
level of risk to the public. One-third of the funds authorized 
by the act would be equally divided among all states that apply 
for assistance. The remaining two-thirds would be awarded based 
on the number of deficient dams within a state compared with 
all other applicants.
    Based on historical expenditure patterns for similar 
activities, CBO estimates that spending for the proposed grants 
would total $142 million over the 2009-2013 period. This 
estimate assumes that grant funds would be disbursed as 
construction and repairs occur and that projects would take an 
average of three years to complete.

Administration

    H.R. 3224 also would authorize the appropriation of 
$400,000 a year through 2010 for the salaries and related 
expenses of additional staff necessary for FEMA to implement 
the grant program. CBO estimates that implementing this 
provision would cost about $1 million over the next five years.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3224 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. States would benefit from the grants 
provided in this legislation, and any costs those governments 
incur to comply with grant requirements would be incurred 
voluntarily as conditions of receiving that federal assistance.
    Previous CBO estimate: On August 14, 2007, CBO transmitted 
a cost estimate for H.R. 3224 as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on August 2, 
2007. That version is similar to this legislation; however, CBO 
estimates total costs over the next five years to be greater 
under the Senate version of the legislation because of a later 
assumed enactment date.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Daniel Hoople; Impact 
on state, local, and tribal governments: Melissa Merrell; 
Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill 
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman:

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                    NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM ACT


SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act, the following definitions apply:
          (1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means a National Dam 
        Safety Review Board established under section 8(f).
          (2) Dam.--The term ``dam''--
                  (A) means any artificial barrier that has the 
                ability to impound water, wastewater, or any 
                liquid-borne material, for the purpose of 
                storage or control of water, that--
                          (i) is 25 feet or more in height 
                        from--
                                  (I) the natural bed of the 
                                stream channel or watercourse 
                                measured at the downstream toe 
                                of the barrier; or
                                  (II) if the barrier is not 
                                across a stream channel or 
                                watercourse, from the lowest 
                                elevation of the outside limit 
                                of the barrier;
                        to the maximum water storage elevation; 
                        or
                          (ii) has an impounding capacity for 
                        maximum storage elevation of 50 acre-
                        feet or more; but
                  (B) does not include--
                          (i) a levee; or
                          (ii) a barrier described in 
                        subparagraph (A) that--
                                  (I) is 6 feet or less in 
                                height regardless of storage 
                                capacity; or
                                  (II) has a storage capacity 
                                at the maximum water storage 
                                elevation that is 15 acre-feet 
                                or less regardless of height;
                        unless the barrier, because of the 
                        location of the barrier or another 
                        physical characteristic of the barrier, 
                        is likely to pose a significant threat 
                        to human life or property if the 
                        barrier fails (as determined by the 
                        Director).
          (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.
          [(3)](4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the 
        Director of FEMA.
          [(4)](5) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' 
        means a Federal agency that designs, finances, 
        constructs, owns, operates, maintains, or regulates the 
        construction, operation, or maintenance of a dam.
          [(5)](6) Federal guidelines for dam safety.--The term 
        ``Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety'' means the FEMA 
        publication, numbered 93 and dated June 1979, that 
        defines management practices for dam safety at all 
        Federal agencies.
          [(6)](7) FEMA.--The term ``FEMA'' means the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency.
          [(7)](8) Hazard reduction.--The term ``hazard 
        reduction'' means the reduction in the potential 
        consequences to life and property of dam failure.
          [(8)](9) ICODS.--The term ``ICODS'' means the 
        Interagency Committee on Dam Safety established by 
        section 7.
          [(9)](10) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the 
        national dam safety program established under section 
        8.
          (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.
          [(10)](12) State.--The term ``State'' means each of 
        the several States of the United States, the District 
        of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 
        of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other 
        territory or possession of the United States.
          [(11)](13) State dam safety agency.--The term ``State 
        dam safety agency'' means a State agency that has 
        regulatory authority over the safety of non-Federal 
        dams.
          [(12)](14) State dam safety program.--The term 
        ``State dam safety program'' means a State dam safety 
        program approved and assisted under section 8(e).
          [(13)](15) United states.--The term ``United 
        States'', when used in a geographical sense, means all 
        of the States.

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SEC. 8. NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM.

  (a) In General.--The Director, in consultation with ICODS and 
State dam safety agencies, and the Board shall establish and 
maintain, in accordance with this section, a coordinated 
national dam safety program. The Program shall--
          (1)* * *

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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.

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