Reclamation Safety of Dams Act
PL 95-578 (S.2820), enacted 11/02/1978

PUBLIC LAW 95-578—NOV. 2, 1978 
92 STAT. 2471 
Public Law 95-578 
95th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct, restore, operate, and 
maintain new or modified features at existing Federal reclamation dams for 
safety of dams purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress asserribled^ That this Act shall 
be cited as the "Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978". 
SEC. 2. In order to preserve the structural safety of Bureau of Recla-
mation dams and related facilities the Secretary of the Interior is 
authorized to perform such modifications as he determines to be 
reasonably required. Said performance of work shall be in accordance 
with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17,1902, 32 Stat. 388, 
and Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto). 
SEC. 3. Construction authorized by this Act shall be for the pur-
poses of dam safety and not for the specific purposes of providing 
additional conservation storage capacity or of developing benefits over 
and above those provided by the original dams and reservoirs. Nothing 
in this Act shall be construed to reduce the amount of project costs 
allocated to reimbursable purposes heretofore authorized. 
SEC. 4. (a) Costs heretofore or hereafter incurred in the modifica-
tion of structures under this Act, the cause of which results from age 
and normal deterioration of the structure or from nonperformance 
of reasonable and normal maintenance of the structure by the operat-
ing entity shall be considered as project costs and will be allocated to 
the purposes for which the structure was authorized initially to be 
constructed and will be reimbursable as provided by existing law. 
(b) Costs heretofore or hereafter incurred in the modification of 
structures under this Act, the cause of which results from new hydro-
logic or seismic data or changes in state-of-the-art criteria deemed 
necessary for safety purposes shall be nonreimbursable and nonreturn-
able under the Federal Reclamation law. 
SEC. 5. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal 
year 1979 and ensuing fiscal years such sums as may be necessary, but 
not to exceed $100,000,000, to carry out the provisions of this Act to 
remain available until expended if so provided by the appropriations 
Act: Provided^ That no funds shall be obligated for carrying out 
actual construction to modify an existing dam under authority of this 
Act prior to sixty days (which sixty days shall not include days on 
which either the House of Representatives or the Senate is not in ses-
sion because of an adjournment of more than three calendar days to a 
day certain) from the date that the Secretary has transmitted a report 
on such existing dam to the Congress. The report required to be sub-
mitted by this section will consist of a finding by the Secretary of the 
Interior to the effect that modifications are required to be made to 
insure the safety of an existing dam. Such finding shall be accom-
panied by a technical report containing information on the need for 
structural modification, the corrective action deemed to be required, 
alternative solutions to structural modification that were considered, 
the estimated cost of needed modifications, and environmental impacts 
if any resulting from the implementation of the recommended plan 
of modification. 
Nov. 2, 1978 
[S. 2820] 
Reclamation 
Safety of Dams 
Act of 1978. 
43 u s e 506 note. 
Structures, 
modifications. 
43 u s e 506. 
43 u s e 391 
note. 
43 u s e 507. 
43 u s e 508. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
43 u s e 509. 
Report to 
92 STAT. 2472 
PUBLIC LAW 95-578—NOV. 2, 1978 
Salt River 
Project, 
reimbursement. 
SEC. 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 
of the Interior is authorized and directed to reimburse the Salt River 
Project for expenses incurred to modify the Bartlett Dam spillway 
and outfall channel, undertaken for safety of dam purposes pursuant 
to the provisions of this Act. 
American Falls 
Dam costs, 
payment and 
contracts. 
91 Stat. 227. 
Investigation 
and study. 
Submittal to 
President and 
Congress. 
43 u s e 1511. 
FEDERAL RECLAMATION DAMS SAFETY 
SEC. 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 
the Interior is authorized and directed to pay and discharge that por-
tion of the costs associated with the replacement of the American Falls 
Dam which the irrigation spaceholder contracting entities are obli-
gated to pay pursuant to the implementation of the act of December 
28,1973 (87 Stat. 904), to treat such costs as costs incurred under this 
act, and to enter into contracts with the irrigation spaceholder con-
tracting entities to accomplish the payment and discharge of such 
costs. 
SEC. 8. The Congress hereby finds that the oversight provided for in 
section 3 of Public Law 95-46 has been accomplished with respect to 
the three temporary water service contracts between the United States 
and the Westlands Water District, as forwarded to Congress on 
October 4,1978. 
SEC. 9. (a) The Secretary of the Interior, after October 1, 1979, 
shall make a full investigation and study to determine the feasibility 
of carrying out a project to rehabilitate and improve the existing 
Santa Cruz Dam and Eeservoir, Santa Cruz Irrigation District, New 
Mexico, including-— 
(1) repairing and stabilizing the face of the dam; 
(2) enlarging spillway capacity to insure the safety of the 
dam; and 
(3) raising the dam to increase the storage capacity of Santa 
Cruz Reservoir. 
(b) In carrying out the investigation and study authorized by sub-
section (a) the Secretary shall give full consideration to the potential 
for developing the Santa Cruz Dam and Reservoir as a unit or part of 
the San Juan-Chama project. 
(c) The Secretary shall submit to the President and the Congress as 
soon as practicable the results of such investigation together with 
his recommendations. 
(d) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this bill. 
SEC. 10. The fourth sentence of section 201 of the Act of September 
30, 1968 (Public Law 90-537) is amended by striking out "from the 
date of this Act" and by inserting in lieu thereof the following: "from 
the date of the enactment of the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 
1978". 
PUBLIC LAW 95-578—NOV. 2, 1978 
92 STAT. 2473 
SEC. 11. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed, notwith- Scoggins Valley 
standing the terms of the Contract Numbers 14-06-100-7174, to make Road, Ore., 
necessary repairs on the Scoggins Valley Road around Henry Hagg repairs. 
Lake, Oregon, at Federal expense pursuant to the authority of Public 
Law 89-596 which authorized the construction, operation and main- 43 USC 616nnn. 
tenance of the Tualatin Reclamation Project in Oregon. 
Approved November 2, 1978. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-1125, accompanying H.R. 11153 (Comm. on Interior and 
Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 95-810 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 124 (1978): 
July 28, considered and passed Senate. 
Oct. 14, H.R. 11153 considered and passed House; passage vacated, and S. 2820, 
amended, passed in lieu. 
Oct. 15, Senate concurred in House amendment. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 14, No. 44: 
Nov. 2, Presidential statement.