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<br />Dam Safety <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />During the course of the Cache la Poudre River Basin Special <br /> <br /> <br />Study, local officials expressed a desire for greater dissemination of <br /> <br /> <br />dam safety information at the local level, Therefore, that information <br /> <br /> <br />has been included in this report. <br /> <br />In August 1972, inspection of non-Federal dams was authorized by <br /> <br /> <br />the National Dam Inspection Act (Public Law 92-367). The law autho- <br /> <br /> <br />rizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Corps of Engineers, <br /> <br /> <br />to carry out a prDgram to inspect dams generally 25 feet or more in <br /> <br /> <br />height or impounding more than 50 acre-feet of water. This program is <br /> <br /> <br />known as the National Dam Safety Program. <br /> <br />In 1977, due to several dam failures, interest in implementing the <br /> <br /> <br />inspection program increased and Congress appropriated funds to carry <br /> <br /> <br />out the inspections. On 2 December 1977, the President directed the <br /> <br /> <br />inspection of abDut 9,000 non-Federal dams that present a high poten- <br /> <br /> <br />tial for loss of life and prDperty if they fail, He emphisized that <br /> <br /> <br />this would not relieve the states or dam owners Df their res~onsi- <br /> <br /> <br />bilities for public safety. <br /> <br />Of 4,906 dams <br />to be unsafe,(lO) <br /> <br />inspected through March 1980, 32 percent were found <br /> <br /> <br />Inspection of the approximately 9,000 high-priority <br /> <br />tD be completed by September 1981. <br /> <br />dams was expected <br /> <br />In order to assist the states in developing effective dam safety <br /> <br />programs, the Federal Government has encouraged states to supervise or <br /> <br /> <br />cooperate in the program activities. Most states now have effective <br /> <br />36 <br /> <br />. <br />