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<br />c. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology <br />Policy arrange for review of Federal agency regulations, <br />procedures and practices by an independent panel of <br />recognized experts. <br /> <br />The efforts of the previous informal group of agency repre- <br />sentatives were merged with the activities of the ad hoc <br />interagency committee established by the presidential <br />directive. <br /> <br />As a result of the efforts directed by President <br />Carter's memorandum, the following reports were issued: <br /> <br />Improving Federal Dam Safety -- 1977 (Reference 3) <br />Federal Dam Safety -- 1978 (Reference 1) <br />Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety -- 1979 (See Appendix <br />14) . <br /> <br />Since 1979 and the completion of the activities directed <br />by the 1977 presidential memorandum, Federal interagency <br />activities in dam safety have been carried on primarily <br />through the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS) <br />chaired by a representative of FEMA. <br /> <br />A series of serious failures of non-Federal dams, with <br />great losses of lives and property, led to the 1972 enactment <br />of P.L. 92-367. This act authorized the National Program of <br />Inspection of Non-Federal Dams, carried out under the <br />direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the period <br />1977-1981. This program located and developed inventory data <br />on 68,153 dams, inspected 8,818 dams, and evaluated 2,925 <br />dams as unsafe. <br /> <br />Where feasible, state dam safety agencies participated <br />in the inventory and inspection of dams within their respec- <br />tive state's boundaries. As a result of the financial <br />and technical assistance received through this Federally- <br />financed program, as well as the serious dam safety problems <br />revealed in several instances, many states have taken <br />steps to enhance their programs for regulation of dams in the <br />interest of public safety. One outgrowth of this increased <br />activity of state governments was the establishment of the <br />Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) in 1984. <br />FEMA has assisted individual state agencies and ASDSO in <br />these developments. <br /> <br />3. Institutional Development <br /> <br />Perhaps the most significant move to protect United , <br />States citizens from the hazards of unsafe dams has been the <br />founding of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS) <br /> <br />Chapter 1 - page 8 <br />