Pending federal bill aims to enhance dam, hydropower safety

The National Dam and Hydropower Safety Improvements Act, H.R. 9893, introduced Oct. 1 by U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), seeks to bolster dam and hydropower safety across the country.

“This bipartisan legislation addresses failures in existing law and will help ensure compliance with the safety regulations that are needed to protect the American people,” Moolenaar said. “We know in Michigan that the failures of federal bureaucrats, state officials, and a negligent dam owner led to devastating consequences, and we must update the laws to prevent that from happening again.”

Moolenaar sponsored the bill alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) to modernize existing infrastructure through the development of new best practices and improved communications between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and states.

Specifically, H.R. 9893 would add a new requirement to section 10 of the Federal Power Act to mandate that dam and project works meet the FERC’s dam safety requirements and to require the licensee to manage, operate, and maintain the dam and project works consistent with dam safety requirements, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

The bill also would amend section 15 of the Federal Power Act to require that FERC issue a new license only if it determines the dam and other project works meet the commission’s dam safety requirements and that the operating conditions of the license are consistent with those requirements.

FERC also would be required to establish procedures for evaluating the financial health of prospective hydropower licensees, among other provisions, the summary says.

The lawmakers originally pushed for the provisions after the 2020 Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam failures in Michigan caused $200 million in damage throughout the region’s downstream communities.

“The 2020 breach of the Edenville and Sanford dams caused extensive damage in Michigan and its downstream communities. It drowned homes, businesses, and whole cities,” said Dingell. “It is clear there are serious gaps in existing laws that need to be addressed, and this catastrophe could have been prevented. We can never let this happen again in any city in America with a high hazard dam.”

The measure is under consideration in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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