I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2309 

To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2021 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Mr. MOOLENAAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Dam and Hy5 dropower Safety Improvements Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DAM SAFETY CONDITIONS. 

7 Section 10 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(k) That the dam and other project works meet the 

10 Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the li11 censee shall continue to manage, operate, and maintain 


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1 the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 

2 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi3 tions of the license.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. DAM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. 

5 Section 15 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 808) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(g) The Commission may issue a new license under 

8 this section only if the Commission determines that the 

9 dam and other project works covered by the license meet 

10 the Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the 

11 licensee can continue to manage, operate, and maintain 

12 the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 

13 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi14 tions of the new license.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. VIABILITY PROCEDURES. 

16 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall es17 tablish procedures to assess the financial viability of an 

18 applicant for a license under the Federal Power Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to— 

20 (1) meet applicable dam safety requirements; 

21 and 

22 (2) operate the dam and project works under 

23 the license. 


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1 SEC. 5. FERC DAM SAFETY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE WITH 

2 STATES. 

3 (a) TECHNICAL CONFERENCE.—Not later than April 

4 1, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, act5 ing through the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, 

6 shall hold a technical conference with the States to discuss 

7 and provide information on— 

8 (1) dam maintenance and repair; 

9 (2) Risk Informed Decision Making; 

10 (3) climate and hydrological regional changes 

11 that may affect the structural integrity of dams; and 

12 (4) high hazard dams. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

16 (c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of 

18 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

19 SEC. 6. REQUIRED DAM SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS BE20 TWEEN FERC AND STATES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, acting through 

22 the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, shall notify 

23 each State within which a project is located when— 

24 (1) the Commission issues a finding, following 

25 a dam safety inspection, that requires the licensee 

26 for such project to take actions to repair the dam 


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1 and other project works that are the subject of such 

2 finding; 

3 (2) after a period of 5 years starting on the 

4 date a finding under paragraph (1) is issued, the li5 censee has failed to take actions to repair the dam 

6 and other project works; and 

7 (3) the Commission initiates a non-compliance 

8 proceeding or otherwise takes steps to revoke a li9 cense due to the failure of a licensee to take actions 

10 to repair a dam and other project works. 

11 (b) NOTICE UPON REVOCATION, SURRENDER, OR IM12 PLIED SURRENDER OF A LICENSE.—If the Commission 

13 issues an order to revoke a license or approve the sur14 render or implied surrender of a license under the Federal 

15 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.), the Commission shall 

16 provide to the State within which the project that relates 

17 to such license is located— 

18 (1) all records pertaining to the structure and 

19 operation of the applicable dam and other project 

20 works, including, as applicable, any dam safety in21 spection reports by independent consultants, speci22 fications for required repairs or maintenance of such 

23 dam and other project works that have not been 

24 completed, and estimates of the costs for such re25 pairs or maintenance; 


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1 (2) all records documenting the history of main2 tenance or repair work for the applicable dam and 

3 other project works; 

4 (3) information on the age of the dam and 

5 other project works and the hazard classification of 

6 the dam and other project works; 

7 (4) the most recent assessment of the condition 

8 of the dam and other project works by the Commis9 sion; 

10 (5) as applicable, the most recent hydrologic in11 formation used to determine the potential maximum 

12 flood for the dam and other project works; and 

13 (6) the results of the most recent risk assess14 ment completed on the dam and other project works. 

15 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

16 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

17 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

18 (2) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ has the 

19 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 

20 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

21 (3) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ has the 

22 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 

23 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

Æ 


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