Press Releases
Dingell, Moolenaar Introduce National Dam and Hydropower Safety LegislationBill addresses Edenville and Sanford Dams Failures; Improves Federal Oversight, State Cooperation, and Best Practices
Washington,
December 10, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) today introduced bipartisan legislation that makes reforms and improvements to dam and hydropower safety operations and oversight. Dingell and Moolenaar pushed for the provisions after the breach of the Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam failures in Michigan caused extensive damage throughout the region’s downstream communities, destroying homes, businesses, roads, and bridges. The lawmakers’ legislation, the National Dam and Hydropower Safety Improvements Act of 2020, would enhance dam and hydropower safety operation requirements nationwide and aims to modernize existing infrastructure through the development of new best practices and improved communications between FERC and states. This legislation was written in response to the aftermath of the Edenville dam and Stanford dam failures in Michigan this year and would also require a FERC to provide a briefing and report to Congress on the tragic incident. “In the midst of a global health pandemic and economic devastation, Michigan experienced a catastrophic, avoidable infrastructure collapse. The breach of the Edenville and Sanford dams caused extensive damage in Michigan and its downstream communities. It drowned homes, businesses, and whole cities,” said Dingell. “It is clear there are serious gaps in existing laws that need to be addressed and this could have been prevented. We can never let this happen again in any city in America with a high hazard dam. I look forward to continuing to advance this legislation next Congress and hope to enlist strong bipartisan support from my colleagues.” “I’ve been working hard to help our community recover, including securing approval for more than $100 million in federal assistance that has come to our community to rebuild homes, small businesses, and private wells, as well as roads and bridges,” said Moolenaar. “However, there’s no doubt that the federal and state regulators failed our community when they were working with an uncooperative private dam owner. Those failures compounded over more than a decade into a devastating event that affected the lives of thousands of residents. This bipartisan legislation will address gaps in existing law and do more to ensure compliance with the safety regulations that are paramount to protecting the people of Michigan.” The National Dam and Hydropower Safety Improvements Act of 2020 would specifically do the following:
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