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<br />SUMMARY <br /> <br />The National Reaearch Council organized the <br />Committee on the Safety of Nonfederal Dams, at the <br />request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency <br />(FEMA), to study issues related to the safety of <br />nonfederal dams. The committee's primary objective <br />during the phase of the work reported here was to <br />determine the proper role of the United States <br />government in enhancing the dam safety programs of the <br />individual states. A second phase will addresa <br />technical issues pertinent to dam safety and is <br />scheduled for completion by March, 1983. <br /> <br />The committee held a workahop in Washington, D.C. <br />from November 30 through December 2, 1981 that addresse, <br />complex issues underlying the need for a federal role i' <br />the safety of nonfederal dams. The main issues <br />discussed were questions of responsibility and liabilit <br />for nonfederal dams; state dam inventories; risk <br />classification of dams; emergency preparedness planning <br />technical, funding and training assistance to the <br />states; post-failure investigations; liability inauranc, <br />for dam owners; data on the true cost of dam failure; <br />and dam terminology. The committee also identified <br />technical issues that could be addressed in the second <br />phase of its study. The plan for the second phase is <br />described in Section VI. <br /> <br />LIABILITY <br /> <br />Although common law doctrine holds that dam owners <br />are liable for damages resulting from failures of their <br />dams, several judicial decisions have confused the issu <br /> <br />-1- <br />