Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007

DAM REHABILITATION AND REPAIR ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - October 29, 2007)

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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.

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