I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8935 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2020 

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 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FERC BRIEFING ON EDENVILLE DAM AND SANFORD 

7 DAM FAILURES. 

8 Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 

9 Forensic Investigation Team submits to the Federal En10 ergy Regulatory Commission the report on the root causes, 

11 and any other contributing causes, of the Edenville Dam 


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1 and Sanford Dam failures, the Federal Energy Regulatory 

2 Commission shall conduct a briefing for, and submit a re3 port summarizing such briefing to, the Committee on En4 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives that 

5 includes— 

6 (1) an explanation of the findings of the Foren7 sic Investigation Team report on the root causes, 

8 and any other contributing causes, of the Edenville 

9 Dam and Sanford Dam failures; 

10 (2) a determination of whether the dam safety 

11 procedures established by the Federal Energy Regu12 latory Commission should be revised in light of the 

13 lessons learned from such report; 

14 (3) a determination of whether additional safety 

15 inspections of dams should be required after large 

16 storms; 

17 (4) a determination of whether the safety re18 quirements and testing protocols for dams ade19 quately account for the projected effects of future 

20 extreme weather events on the hydrology of river ba21 sins and dams; and 

22 (5) a determination of whether additional ac23 tions should be taken to ensure the safety of dams 

24 that operate without an emergency spillway. 


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1 SEC. 3. DAM SAFETY CONDITIONS. 

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

3 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

5 Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the li6 censee shall continue to manage, operate, and maintain 

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

8 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi9 tions of the license.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. DAM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. 

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

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

14 this section only if the Commission determines that the 

15 dam and other project works covered by the license meet 

16 the Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the 

17 licensee can continue to manage, operate, and maintain 

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

19 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi20 tions of the new license.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. VIABILITY PROCEDURES. 

22 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall es23 tablish procedures to assess the financial viability of an 

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

25 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to— 


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1 (1) meet applicable dam safety requirements; 

2 and 

3 (2) operate the dam and project works under 

4 the license. 

5 SEC. 6. FERC DAM SAFETY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE WITH 

6 STATES. 

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

8 1, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, act9 ing through the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, 

10 shall hold a technical conference with the States to discuss 

11 and provide information on— 

12 (1) dam maintenance and repair; 

13 (2) Risk Informed Decision Making; 

14 (3) climate and hydrological regional changes 

15 that may affect the structural integrity of dams; and 

16 (4) high hazard dams. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

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

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

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


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1 SEC. 7. REQUIRED DAM SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS BE2 TWEEN FERC AND STATES. 

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

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

5 each State within which a project is located when— 

6 (1) the Commission issues a finding, following 

7 a dam safety inspection, that requires the licensee 

8 for such project to take actions to repair the dam 

9 and other project works that are the subject of such 

10 finding; 

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

12 date a finding under paragraph (1) is issued, the li13 censee has failed to take actions to repair the dam 

14 and other project works; and 

15 (3) the Commission initiates a non-compliance 

16 proceeding or otherwise takes steps to revoke a li17 cense due to the failure of a licensee to take actions 

18 to repair a dam and other project works. 

19 (b) NOTICE UPON REVOCATION, SURRENDER, OR IM20 PLIED SURRENDER OF A LICENSE.—If the Commission 

21 issues an order to revoke a license or approve the sur22 render or implied surrender of a license under the Federal 

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

24 provide to the State within which the project that relates 

25 to such license is located— 


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1 (1) all records pertaining to the structure and 

2 operation of the applicable dam and other project 

3 works, including, as applicable, any dam safety in4 spection reports by independent consultants, speci5 fications for required repairs or maintenance of such 

6 dam and other project works that have not been 

7 completed, and estimates of the costs for such re8 pairs or maintenance; 

9 (2) all records documenting the history of main10 tenance or repair work for the applicable dam and 

11 other project works; 

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

13 other project works and the hazard classification of 

14 the dam and other project works; 

15 (4) the most recent assessment of the condition 

16 of the dam and other project works by the Commis17 sion; 

18 (5) as applicable, the most recent hydrologic in19 formation used to determine the potential maximum 

20 flood for the dam and other project works; and 

21 (6) the results of the most recent risk assess22 ment completed on the dam and other project works. 

23 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

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

25 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 


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

2 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 

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

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

5 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 

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

Æ 


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