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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Dam and Hy-
dropower Safety Improvements Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. FERC BRIEFING ON EDENVILLE DAM AND SANFORD 
DAM FAILURES. 
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
Forensic Investigation Team submits to the Federal En-
ergy Regulatory Commission the report on the root causes, 
and any other contributing causes, of the Edenville Dam 
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and Sanford Dam failures, the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission shall conduct a briefing for, and submit a re-
port summarizing such briefing to, the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives that 
includes— 
(1) an explanation of the findings of the Foren-
sic Investigation Team report on the root causes, 
and any other contributing causes, of the Edenville 
Dam and Sanford Dam failures; 
(2) a determination of whether the dam safety 
procedures established by the Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission should be revised in light of the 
lessons learned from such report; 
(3) a determination of whether additional safety 
inspections of dams should be required after large 
storms; 
(4) a determination of whether the safety re-
quirements and testing protocols for dams ade-
quately account for the projected effects of future 
extreme weather events on the hydrology of river ba-
sins and dams; and 
(5) a determination of whether additional ac-
tions should be taken to ensure the safety of dams 
that operate without an emergency spillway. 
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SEC. 3. DAM SAFETY CONDITIONS. 
Section 10 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) That the dam and other project works meet the 
Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the li-
censee shall continue to manage, operate, and maintain 
the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 
dam safety and public safety under the operating condi-
tions of the license.’’. 
SEC. 4. DAM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 15 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 808) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) The Commission may issue a new license under 
this section only if the Commission determines that the 
dam and other project works covered by the license meet 
the Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the 
licensee can continue to manage, operate, and maintain 
the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 
dam safety and public safety under the operating condi-
tions of the new license.’’. 
SEC. 5. VIABILITY PROCEDURES. 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall es-
tablish procedures to assess the financial viability of an 
applicant for a license under the Federal Power Act (16 
U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to— 
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(1) meet applicable dam safety requirements; 
and 
(2) operate the dam and project works under 
the license. 
SEC. 6. FERC DAM SAFETY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE WITH 
STATES. 
(a) TECHNICAL CONFERENCE.—Not later than April 
1, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, act-
ing through the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, 
shall hold a technical conference with the States to discuss 
and provide information on— 
(1) dam maintenance and repair; 
(2) Risk Informed Decision Making; 
(3) climate and hydrological regional changes 
that may affect the structural integrity of dams; and 
(4) high hazard dams. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$1,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 
(c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of 
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 
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SEC. 7. REQUIRED DAM SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS BE-
TWEEN FERC AND STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, acting through 
the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, shall notify 
each State within which a project is located when— 
(1) the Commission issues a finding, following 
a dam safety inspection, that requires the licensee 
for such project to take actions to repair the dam 
and other project works that are the subject of such 
finding; 
(2) after a period of 5 years starting on the 
date a finding under paragraph (1) is issued, the li-
censee has failed to take actions to repair the dam 
and other project works; and 
(3) the Commission initiates a non-compliance 
proceeding or otherwise takes steps to revoke a li-
cense due to the failure of a licensee to take actions 
to repair a dam and other project works. 
(b) NOTICE UPON REVOCATION, SURRENDER, OR IM-
PLIED SURRENDER OF A LICENSE.—If the Commission 
issues an order to revoke a license or approve the sur-
render or implied surrender of a license under the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.), the Commission shall 
provide to the State within which the project that relates 
to such license is located— 
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(1) all records pertaining to the structure and 
operation of the applicable dam and other project 
works, including, as applicable, any dam safety in-
spection reports by independent consultants, speci-
fications for required repairs or maintenance of such 
dam and other project works that have not been 
completed, and estimates of the costs for such re-
pairs or maintenance; 
(2) all records documenting the history of main-
tenance or repair work for the applicable dam and 
other project works; 
(3) information on the age of the dam and 
other project works and the hazard classification of 
the dam and other project works; 
(4) the most recent assessment of the condition 
of the dam and other project works by the Commis-
sion; 
(5) as applicable, the most recent hydrologic in-
formation used to determine the potential maximum 
flood for the dam and other project works; and 
(6) the results of the most recent risk assess-
ment completed on the dam and other project works. 
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 
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(2) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 
(3) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 
Æ 
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