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<br />The National Park Service has reported the outcome of <br />litigation involving claims against the Federal government <br />arising from the failures of two dams in Rocky Mountain <br />National Park near Estes Park, Colorado. A 24-foot high <br />privately-owned dam with impounding capacity of 1,276 acre- <br />feet failed in July 1982. The resulting flood caused the <br />failure of a downstream 10-foot high dam. The two failures <br />caused three deaths and an estimated $50,000,000 in damages. <br /> <br />In February 1985, a Federal court in Illinois awarded <br />the family of one victim of the Rocky Mountain National Park <br />tragedy a $480,000 judgment against the National Park <br />Service. The award was the result of a $2,000,000 suit that <br />contended the Park Service rangers were negligent in failing <br />to evacuate campers from the downstream areas fast enough. <br />The U.S. district judge found that the Park Service bore 60 <br />percent of the responsibility for the victim's death. A <br />possible appeal of the award decision is under consideration. <br /> <br />These two examples of actions on damage claims involving <br />dam failures are indicative of the potential liabilities rep- <br />resented by Federal dams with known safety deficiencies. The <br />judgment against the National Park Service suggests the <br />potential for claims against the Federal regulatory agencies <br />if they are negligent in enforcing safety regulations and a <br />dam fails. <br /> <br />3. Federal policv <br /> <br />The policy of the Federal government on correcting <br />safety deficiencies for dams is and has been quite clear. <br />The memorandum of President Carter dated October 4, 1979, to <br />the heads of Federal agencies concerned with dams (Appendix <br />11) indicated that those agencies should meet the high <br />standards set out in the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. <br />A January 24, 1984, letter of President Reagan to Senator <br />Paul Laxalt (Appendix 12) states that: "Safety problems at <br />Federal dams should be corrected as expeditiously as <br />possible." <br /> <br />These presidential attitudes have certainly met with <br />strong support elsewhere in WaShington. The Bureau of <br />Reclamation has gone to congress for both authorization and <br />funding to undertake major remedial work on dams in the <br />interest of public safety and has met with success on those <br />requests. The Corps of Engineers likewise has been success- <br />ful in efforts to fund its rehabilitation and safety <br />modification programs. In short, the Federal policy is to <br />correct safety deficiencies in Federal dams as rapidly as <br />practicable. This clear policy stands in stark contrast to <br />some agency reports which seem to support putting aside dam <br />safety work in favor of other agency priorities. <br /> <br />Chapter 2 - page 13 <br />