Dam rules to be tightened

Move prompted by study of deficient dams

By FRITZ MAYER

NEW YORK STATE — New rules being considered in Albany would require the owners of up to 1,000 dams to keep more detailed records and make other improvements in their structural management. The changes would also require owners to create emergency action plans.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is charged with maintaining the safety of dams, proposed the rule changes in reaction to a study by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office, which found that 133 dams in New York had deficiencies that had not been addressed for years. In the case of one dam in Hamilton County, structural problems that were cited 36 years ago have not yet been addressed. Five dams in Sullivan County were on the list.

One of the facilities, Swamp Pond Dam, is located at Weiden Lake in Tusten and is owned by the Weiden Lake Property Owners Association. The March 26 report indicates that this dam has maintenance, stability and seepage issues that have not been addressed for six years. The report also said, however, that none of the dams, including this one, represented a threat to the public.

Tim Wood, president of the Weiden Lake Property Owners Association, said the members have been trying for four years to obtain a permit from the DEC to make repairs. He added that it had taken about 18 months to find an engineer who was willing to take on the project. Moreover, because of inadequate staff and budget, the DEC is slow to respond to the permitting process. Wood said, “The process is almost the same one you would go through if you were proposing to build a new dam.”

In responding to the report, the DEC said that much of the inattention was because of a shortage of funding. However, the agency has increased the number of staff members of its dam safety program from the three in 2006 to 20 now.

According to the report, the other dams in Sullivan County include the Lake Muskoday Dam in Fremont, owned by the Lake Muskoday Bungalow Colony; the St. Josephs Lake Dam in Forestburgh, owned by the St. Josephs Development Corporation; the Pleasure Lake Dam in Fallsburg, owned by the Fallsburg Fish and Boat Club; and the Mud Pond Dam in Rockland, owned by Alan Gerry and Cablevision Industries.

Under current law, the DEC cannot force a dam owner to make repairs unless the dam poses an immediate threat to public safety. But in light of the high number that need attention, DiNapoli recommended that the DEC be granted increased powers of enforcement to allow the agency to take action against dam owners who fail to correct problems within a certain amount of time.

The DEC’s new rules don’t go that far, but they do impose significant changes. Wood said the process to do repair work on a dam is expensive and challenging. He said, “Dam ownership is changing, and some people who own small dams, who’ve never had any interaction with the DEC or any engineers, are in for a big surprise.”

A copy of the new rules can be seen at www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/39559.html. Comments on the rule changes will be accepted until May 17, and can be sent to damsregs@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Comments can also be sent to Comments on Dam Safety Rule Making, Bureau of Flood Protection and Dam Safety, Division of Water, NYS DEC, 625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-3504.