H. R. 1426

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four

An Act

To provide for the maintenance of dams located on Indian lands by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs or through contracts with Indian tribes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Dams Safety Act of

1994’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that—

(1) the Secretary of the Interior has identified 53 dams

on Indian lands that present a threat to human life in the

event of a failure;

(2) because of inadequate attention in the past to problems

stemming from structural deficiencies and regular maintenance

requirements for dams operated by the Bureau of Indian

Affairs, unsafe Bureau dams continue to pose an imminent

threat to people and property;

(3) many Bureau dams have maintenance deficiencies

regardless of their current safety condition classification and

the deficiencies must be corrected to avoid future threats to

human life and property;

(4) safe working dams on Indian lands are necessary to

supply irrigation water, to provide flood control, to provide

water for municipal, industrial, domestic, livestock, and recreation uses, and for fish and wildlife habitats; and

(5) it is necessary to institute a regular dam maintenance

and repair program, utilizing the expertise in the Bureau,

Indian tribes, and other Federal agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act:

(1) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(2) The term ‘‘dam’’ has the same meaning given such term by the first section of Public Law 92–367 (33 U.S.C.

467).

(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the

Interior.

(4) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian tribe, band,

nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional corporation as defined

in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for the special pro-
H. R. 1426—2

grams and services provided by the United States to Indian

tribes because of their status as Indians.

SEC. 4. DAM SAFETY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR PROGRAM.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a dam

safety maintenance and repair program within the Bureau to ensure

maintenance and monitoring of the condition of each dam identified

pursuant to subsection (e) necessary to maintain the dam in a

satisfactory condition on a long-term basis.

(b) TRANSFER OF EXISTING FUNCTIONS AND PERSONNEL.—All

functions performed before the date of the enactment of this Act

pursuant to the Dam Safety Program established by the Secretary

of the Interior by order dated February 28, 1980, and all Bureau

of Indian Affairs personnel assigned to such program as of the

date of enactment of this Act are hereby transferred to the Dam

Safety Maintenance and Repair Program. Any reference in any

law, regulation, executive order, reorganization plan, or delegation

of authority to the Dam Safety Program is deemed to be a reference

to the Dam Safety Maintenance and Repair Program.

(c) REHABILITATION.—Under the Dam Safety Maintenance and

Repair Program, the Secretary shall perform such rehabilitation

work as is necessary to bring the dams identified pursuant to

subsection (e) to a satisfactory condition. In addition, each dam

located on Indian lands shall be regularly maintained pursuant

to the Dam Safety Maintenance and Repair Program established

pursuant to subsection (a).

(d) MAINTENANCE ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary shall develop

a maintenance action plan, which shall include a prioritization

of actions to be taken, for those dams with a risk hazard rating

of high or significant as identified pursuant to subsection (e).

(e) IDENTIFICATION OF DAMS.—

(1) DEVELOPMENT OF LIST.—The Secretary shall develop

a comprehensive list of dams located on Indian lands that

describes the dam safety condition classification of each dam,

as specified in paragraph (2), the risk hazard classification

of each dam, as specified in paragraph (3), and the conditions

resulting from maintenance deficiencies.

(2) DAM SAFETY CONDITION CLASSIFICATIONS.—The dam

safety condition classification referred to in paragraph (1) is

one of the following classifications:

(A) SATISFACTORY.—No existing or potential dam safety

deficiencies are recognized. Safe performance is expected

under all anticipated conditions.

(B) FAIR.—No existing dam safety deficiencies are recognized for normal loading conditions. Infrequent hydrologic or seismic events would probably result in a dam

safety deficiency.

(C) CONDITIONALLY POOR.—A potential dam safety deficiency is recognized for unusual loading conditions that

may realistically occur during the expected life of the structure.

(D) POOR.—A potential dam safety deficiency is clearly

recognized for normal loading conditions. Immediate

actions to resolve the deficiency are recommended; reservoir

restrictions may be necessary until resolution of the problem.
H. R. 1426—3

(E) UNSATISFACTORY.—A dam safety deficiency exists

for normal loading conditions. Immediate remedial action

is required for resolution of the problem.

(3) RISK HAZARD CLASSIFICATION.—The risk hazard classification referred to in paragraph (1) is one of the following

classifications:

(A) HIGH.—Six or more lives would be at risk or extensive property damage could occur if the dam failed.

(B) SIGNIFICANT.—Between one and six lives would

be at risk or significant property damage could occur if

the dam failed.

(C) LOW.—No lives would be at risk and limited property damage would occur if the dam failed.

(f) LIMITATION ON PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—Work authorized

by this Act shall be for the purpose of dam safety maintenance

and structural repair. The Secretary may authorize, upon request

of an Indian tribe, up to 20 percent of the cost of repairs to

be used to provide additional conservation storage capacity or developing benefits beyond those provided by the original dams and

reservoirs. This Act is not intended to preclude development of

increased storage or benefits under any other authority or to preclude measures to protect fish and wildlife.

(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To carry out the purposes of this

Act, the Secretary may obtain technical assistance on a

nonreimbursable basis from other departments and agencies. Notwithstanding any such technical assistance, the Dam Safety Maintenance and Repair Program established under subsection (a) shall

be under the direction and control of the Bureau.

(h) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—In addition to any other authority

established by law, the Secretary is authorized to contract with

Indian tribes (under the Indian Self-Determination and Education

Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e))), as amended, to carry out the

Dam Safety Maintenance and Repair Program established under

this Act.

(i) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit an annual

report on the implementation of this Act. The report shall include—

(1) the list of dams and their status on the maintenance

action plan developed under this section; and

(2) the projected total cost and a schedule of the projected

annual cost of rehabilitation or repair for each dam under

this section.

The report shall be submitted at the time the budget is required

to be submitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code,

to the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs of the Committee

on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the

Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate.
H. R. 1426—4

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

be necessary to carry out this Act. Funds provided under this

Act are to be considered nonreimbursable.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.