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<br />During the period 1976-79, following the Teton failure, when major <br /> <br />Federal attention was focused on reviewing Federal dam safety, two <br /> <br />additional dam failures occurred, renewing public concern for non-Federal <br /> <br />dams. <br /> <br />In July 1977, heavy rainfall contributed to the failure of Laurel Run Dam <br /> <br />near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing at least 40 people, and causing <br /> <br />millions of dollars worth of damage. <br /> <br />In November 1977, Kelly Barnes Dam near Toccoa, Georgia, failed during a <br /> <br />per iod of intense rainfall. <br /> <br />The resulting flood took 39 lives and did <br /> <br />extensive damage to the Toccoa area, especially to the Campus of Toccoa <br /> <br />Falls College. <br /> <br />Within a month following the disaster, the President <br /> <br />directed the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, <br /> <br />to conduct a program to inspect non-Federal dams that presented a high <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />potential for loss of life and property damage should they fail. <br /> <br />A four- <br /> <br />I <br />I' <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />, <br /> <br />year $100 million program, scheduled for completion on 30 September 1981, <br /> <br />was developed to perform the following activities: <br /> <br />(1) Update and verify the national inventory of dams. <br /> <br />(2) Inspect the 9,000 "high-hazard" category non-Federal dams. <br /> <br />(3) Encourage and prepare the states to implement effective state dam <br />safety programs. <br /> <br />(4) Provide data for the definition of a viable national dam safety <br />program. <br /> <br />The Corps published the results of the inspection program in its May 1982 <br /> <br />report to Congress, National Program of Inspection of Non-Federal Dams. 5 <br /> <br />The inventory for all states and territories showed that there were 68,153 <br /> <br />dams, of which 63,419 met the size requirements of P.L. 92-367. <br /> <br />-5. <br />