Dam Safety and Security Act of 2003
PL 107-310 (H.R.4727), enacted 12/02/2002

116 STAT. 2450 
PUBLIC LAW 107-310—DEC. 2, 2002 
Dec. 2, 2002 
[H.R. 4727] 
Public Law 107-310 
107th Congress 
An Act 
To reauthorize the national dam safety program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
Dam Safety and 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
Security Act of 
2002. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL DAM SAFETY 
PROGRAM ACT. 
33 use 467 note. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—^This Act may be cited as the "Dam Safety 
and Security Act of 2002". 
(b) AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM ACT.— 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, 
or a repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall 
be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the 
National Dam Safety Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.). 
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON DAM SAFETY. 
Section 7(b) (33 U.S.C. 467e(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking "Federal and State programs" and inserting 
"Federal programs"; and 
(2) by striking "through—" and all that follows through 
the period at the end and inserting "through coordination and 
information exchange among Federal agencies concerning 
implementation of the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety.". 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(3) (33 U.S.C. 467f(a)(3)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking "implementation plan 
described in subsection (e)" and inserting "strategic plan 
described in subsection (b)"; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking "subsection (f)" and 
inserting "subsection (e)". 
(b) DUTIES.—Section 8(b) (33 U.S.C. 467f:b)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
"(b) DUTIES.—^The Director shall prepare a strategic plan— 
"(1) to establish goals, priorities, and target dates to 
improve the safety of dams in the United States; and 
"(2) to the extent feasible, to establish cooperation and 
coordination with, and assistance to, interested governmental 
entities in all States.". 
(c) OBJECTIVES.—Section 8(c) (33 U.S.C. 467f(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5) by striking "and" at the end; 
(2) in paragraph (6) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting "; and"; and 
PUBLIC LAW 107-310—DEC. 2, 2002 
116 STAT. 2451 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(7) develop technical assistance materials, seminars, and 
guidelines to improve security for dams in the United States.". 
(d) FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 8(d)(3)(A) (33 U.S.C. 
467f(d)(3)(A)) is amended by striking "and shall be" and all that 
follows through the period at the end and inserting "and shall 
be exercised by chairing the Board to coordinate national efforts 
to improve the safety of the dams in the United States.". 
(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN; DAM SAFETY TRAINING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 (33 U.S.C. 467f) is amended 
by striking subsections (e) and (g) and redesignating subsections 
(f) and (h) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2 (33 U.S.C. 467) 
is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking "section 8(h)" and 
inserting "section 8(f)"; and 
(B) in paragraph (12) by striking "section 8(f)" and 
inserting "section 8(e)". 
(f) ASSISTANCE FOR STATE DAM SAFETY PROGRAMS.—Section 
8(e) (as redesignated by subsection (e) of this section) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking "the Director shall provide 
assistance" and all that follows through the period at the end 
and inserting "the Director shall provide assistance with 
amounts made available under section 13 to assist States in 
establishing, maintaining, and improving dam safety programs 
in accordance with the criteria specified in paragraph (2)."; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking "primary"; and 
(ii) by striking ", and for a State to be eligible" 
and all that follows before the colon; 
(B) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i) by striking 
"For a State to be eligible for assistance under this 
subsection, a State" and inserting "A State"; and 
(ii) in clause (vi) by inserting "improve security," 
before "revise operating procedures,"; and 
(3) in paragraph (3) by striking "contract" each place it 
appears and inserting "agreement". 
(g) BOARD.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 8(f)(1) (as redesignated by 
subsection (e) of this section) is amended— 
(A) by striking "The Director may establish" and 
inserting "The Director shall establish"; and 
(B) by striking "to monitor" and all that follows through 
the period at the end and inserting "to monitor the safety 
of dams in the United States, to monitor State implementa-
tion of this section, and to advise the Director on national 
dam safety policy.". 
(2) VOTING MEMBERSHIP.—Section 8(f)(3) (as redesignated 
by subsection (e) of this section) is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph heading by striking "MEMBER-
SHIP" and inserting "VOTING MEMBERSHIP"; 
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by 
striking "11 members" and inserting "11 voting members"; 
and 
116 STAT. 2452 
PUBLIC LAW 107-310—DEC. 2, 2002 
(C) by striking subparagraphs (F) and (G) and inserting 
the following: 
"(F) 5 members shall be selected by the Director from 
among State dam safety officials; and 
"(G) 1 member shall be selected by the Director to 
represent the private sector.". 
(3) NONVOTING MEMBERSHIP; DUTIES; WORK GROUPS.—Sec-
tion 8(f) (as redesignated by subsection (e) of this section) 
is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) as 
paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: 
"(4) NONVOTING MEMBERSHIP.—^The Director, in consulta-
tion with the Board, may invite a representative of the National 
Laboratories of the Department of Energy and may invite rep-
resentatives from Federal or State agencies or dam safety 
experts, as needed, to participate in meetings of the Board. 
"(5) DUTIES.— 
"(A) IN GENERAL.—^The Board shall encourage the 
establishment and maintenance of effective programs, poli-
cies, and guidelines to enhance dam safety for the protec-
tion of human life and property throughout the United 
States. 
"(B) 
COORDINATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE 
AMONG AGENCIES.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 
Board 
shall encourage 
coordination and information 
exchange among Federal and State dam safety agencies 
that share common problems and responsibilities for dam 
safety, including planning, design, construction, operation, 
emergency action planning, inspections, maintenance, regu-
lation or licensing, technical or financial 
assistance, 
research, and data management. 
"(6) WORK GROUPS.—^The Director may establish work 
groups under the Board to assist the Board in accomplishing 
its goals. The work groups shall consist of members of the 
Board and other individuals selected by the Director.". 
(4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Section 8(f) (as redesignated by 
subsection (e) of this section) is amended by striking paragraph 
(8) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection) 
and inserting the following: 
"(8) TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 
"(A) REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—^To the 
extent amounts are made available in advance in appro-
priations Acts, each member of the Board who represents 
a Federal agency shall be reimbursed of appropriations 
for travel expenses by his or her agency, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an 
employee of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 
of title 5, United States Code, while away from the home 
or regular place of business of the member in the perform-
ance of services for the Board. 
"(B) OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—^To the extent amounts are 
made available in advance in appropriations Acts, each 
member of the Board who represents a State agency, the 
member of the Board who represents the private sector, 
and each member of a work group created under paragraph 
(1) shall be reimbursed for travel expenses by FEMA, 
PUBLIC LAW 107-310—DEC. 2, 2002 
116 STAT. 2453 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author-
ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter I 
of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away 
from home or regular place of business of the member 
in performance of services for the Board.". 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH. 
Section 9(a) (33 U.S.C. 467g) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking "in cooperation with ICODS" and 
inserting "in cooperation with the Board"; and 
(B) by inserting "and support" after "develop"; 
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking "and" at the end; 
(3) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
"(3) development and maintenance of information resources 
systems needed to support managing the safety of dams; and 
"(4) initiatives to guide the formulation of effective public 
policy and advance improvements in dam safety engineering, 
security, and management.". 
SEC. 5. DAM SAFETY TRAINING. 
The Act (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 10, 11, and 12 as sections 33USC467h-
11, 12, and 13, respectively; and 
467j. 
(2) by inserting after section 9 the following: 
"SEC. 10. DAM SAFETY TRAINING. 
33 USC 467g-l. 
"At the request of any State that has or intends to develop 
a State dam safety program, the Director shall provide training 
for State dam safety staff and inspectors.". 
SEC. 6. REPORTS. 
Section 11 (as redesignated by section 5 of this Act) is amended 33USC467h. 
by striking subsection (a) and all that follows through "(b) BIENNIAL 
REPORTS.—". 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) ANNUAL AMOUNTS.—Section 13(a)(1) (as redesignated by 
section 5 of this Act) is amended— 
33 USC 467j. 
(1) by striking "sections 7, 8, and 10" and inserting "sections 
7, 8, and 11"; and 
(2) by striking "$1,000,000 for fiscal year 1998," and all 
that follows through the period at the end and inserting 
"$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2006, to 
remain available until expended.". 
(b) ALLOCATION.—Section 13(a)(2) (as redesignated by section 
5 of this Act) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A) by striking "section 8(f)" each place 
it appears and inserting "section 8(e)"; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking "needing primary assist-
ance and States needing advanced assistance under section 
8(f)". 
(c) RESEARCH; DAM SAFETY TRAINING; STAFF.—Section 13 (as 
redesignated by section 5 of this Act) is amended by striking sub-
sections (c) through (e) and inserting the following: 
116 STAT. 2454 
PUBLIC LAW 107-310—DEC. 2, 2002 
"(c) RESEARCH.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out section 9 $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 
2006, to remain until expended. 
"(d) DAM SAFETY TRAINING.—^There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out section 10 $500,000 for each of fiscal years 
2003 through 2006. 
"(e) STAFF.—There is authorized to be appropriated to FEMA 
for the employment of such additional staff personnel as are nec-
essary to carry out sections 8 through 10 $600,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2003 through 2006.". 
Approved December 2, 2002. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4727: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 107-626 (Comm. on Transportation and Infrastructure). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 148 (2002): 
Sept. 5, considered and passed House. 
Nov. 14, considered and passed Senate.