Some dams have applied for certificates, but understaffing of the dam safety office has kept their applications from being processed. But most have never applied for certificates. The dam problem is a statewide concern. The 171 non-coal dams without certificates are spread throughout 42 of West Virginia's 55 counties. A DEP report pinpointing dams the agency is most concerned about lists structures ranging from the Lake Washington Dam at Hurricane in Putnam County to Thomas Dam in Tucker County, the Castleman's Run Dam in Brooke County and Cacapon Park Dam in Morgan County.
Companies generally recognize the huge liability and have the resources to maintain their dams.
Most of the troubled dams are owned by state agencies or local government bodies that complain they don't have money to fix them. More than 70 of the dams without certificates are owned by cities, small towns and local public service districts. Another 26 are owned by the state, through the wildlife resources and parks and recreation sections of the Division of Natural Resources. Fourteen of the state-owned dams without certificates are classified as high hazard. The people who live below these dams should take an active interest in the fact that there's a dam upstream.