HB 159 -- Dam and Reservoir Safety

Sponsor:  Bivins

This bill changes the laws regarding dam and reservoir safety.
In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Revises the definition of "dam" to include appurtenant works
and dams that are 50 feet or more in height with a storage volume
of at least 100 acre-feet of water;

(2)  Defines "high hazard," "significant hazard," and "operating
permit";

(3)  Exempts any dam or reservoir that will be used for fireclay
quarry reclamation from the provisions of the bill;

(4)  Adds one member to the Dam and Reservoir Safety Council who
is an owner of a high hazard or significant hazard dam or
reservoir and requires the council to establish fees to be
reviewed every three years for permits required for renewal,
design review, and inspection of high hazard and significant
hazard dams;

(5)  Limits the fees established for design review of high hazard
and significant hazard dams to no more than 1% of the total
estimated cost of the dam or reservoir;

(6)  Establishes an interim joint committee whose responsibility
will be to examine the fee structure imposed under the bill and
evaluate the costs of the dam safety program.  The committee is
required to submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly
no later than January 1, 2009;

(7)  Specifies that all high hazard and significant hazard dams
be inspected periodically to determine if they constitute a
threat to public safety.  The Chief Engineer of the Department of
Transportation and the head of the Dam and Reservoir Safety
Program at the Department of Natural Resources must make
recommendations concerning construction permits for high hazard
and significant hazard dams and operating permits for these
structures;

(8)  Requires all owners of high hazard or significant hazard
dams to first apply for a construction permit prior to beginning
work on any structure.  The application must include the
signature of an experienced engineer registered in Missouri;

(9)  Removes the language exempting dams constructed for soil and
water conservation, irrigation, or wildlife conservation;

(10)  Maintains the exemption for agricultural dams and
reservoirs from regulation by the council;

(11)  Allows any landowner who owns an agricultural dam or
reservoir to be regulated by the council if he or she requests to
be regulated in a certified letter to the council.  After a
request has been made and granted, any subsequent request to have
an agricultural dam or reservoir removed from regulation can only
be made by the department director.  Nothing in the bill will be
construed to require any landowner who owns an agricultural dam
or reservoir to choose regulation by the council as a condition
of doing business;

(12)  Allows the department to initiate an engineering study on
any agricultural dam it believes satisfies the high hazard
standard.  Upon completion of the study, the department will
submit its findings to the appropriate soil and water district
board for its agreement.  If the board agrees with the
department's findings, the dam in question will be regulated
under the provisions of the bill.  If the board does not agree,
the bill prohibits any new studies from being initiated within
one year of the board's decision and the dam in question
maintains the exemption.  If the board does not render a decision
within 60 days of the department's submission, the findings will
be considered agreed to and the dam in question will be
regulated;

(13)  Requires all owners of high hazard or significant hazard
dams to notify the council upon completion of any construction
related to high hazard or significant hazard dams to apply for an
operating permit;

(14)  Requires every dam constructed after August 28, 2007, that
is not registered to do so within six months, and those owners of
high hazard and significant hazard dams must apply for an
operating permit no later than August 28, 2008.  Those owners
licensed under the federal Power Act must apply for an operating
permit no later than three months after August 28, 2007;

(15)  Requires the owner to notify the council within three
months of any change in downstream conditions which changes the
hazard classification of any dam or reservoir;

(16)  Requires the permit to be suspended if a high hazard or
significant hazard dam is found to present a threat to public
safety until the owner has completed all necessary alterations to
ensure the protection of public safety;

(17)  Allows the transfer of any operating permit to a successive
owner of a dam or reservoir along with the notification of the
current hazard classification of the dam.  Failure to notify the
council of the transfer will result in the prior owner retaining
responsibility for the dam and being subject to the provisions of
the bill; and

(18)  Specifies that violations of the provisions of the bill are
punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to fines of up to $10,000
or jail time of up to one year.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:18 am