National Dam Safety Program
Dams are an integral part of our Nation’s infrastructure, equal in importance to bridges, roads, and airports. There are now over 10,000 dams in the United States classified as high-hazard potential, meaning that their failure from any means, including a terrorist attack, could result in loss of life, significant property damage, lifeline disruption, and environmental damage.
The Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002, which was signed into law on December 2, 2002, addresses safety and security for dams through the coordination by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of federal programs and initiatives for dams and the transfer of federal best practices in dam security to the states. The Act of 2002 includes resources for the development and maintenance of a national dam safety information network and the development by the National Dam Safety Review Board of a strategic plan that establishes goals, priorities, and target dates to improve the safety and security of dams in the United States.
The Act of 2002 continues all of the programs established by the 1996 Act that have been serving to increase the safety of the Nation’s dams, including grants to the state dam safety programs that regulate over 78,000 dams in the United States; training for state dam safety staff and inspectors; and technical and archival research, including the development of devices for the continued monitoring of the safety of dams.
fema.gov
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