Florida Dam Safety Program Initiatives Owete S. Owete, PhD, PE State Dam Safety Officer Tracy C. Freiwald, PG Bureau of Mining and Minerals Regulation Florida Department of Environmental Protection
National Dam Safety Program The purpose of the NDSP is to reduce risks to life and property from dam failures. Assistance is provided to States to establish, maintain, and improve an effective State Dam Safety Program for activities, such as: The development of regulatory authority for the design, construction, and maintenance of dams The undertaking of dam inspections The development of Emergency Action Plans for dams 2
State Performance Measures NDSP Review Board developed three State Performance Measure Identifiers in accordance with the requirements of the Dam Safety Act of 2006. 1. Identification of Deficient Dams (Condition Assessment) 2. Increase Inspections of High-Hazard Potential Dams 3. Emergency Action Planning * Public Awareness Initiative (communication of State Performance Measures) Each year the State must provide a Work Plan showing how the grant funds will be used to achieve the goals of the State Performance Measure Identifiers. 3
Identification of Deficient Dams (Condition Assessment) Condition Assessments are performed to evaluate the performance of a dam under different loading conditions. Dams are classified in one of five condition categories; satisfactory, fair, poor, unsatisfactory, and not rated. The NDSP goal is for each State to conduct Condition Assessments for 100% of HHP dams and assign each dam to a condition category. States with <85% HHP dams with assigned condition categories must devote grant funds to perform Condition Assessments. Florida has 0% HHP dams with assigned condition categories. 4
Increase Inspections of High-Hazard Potential Dams The NDSP requires the State s dam safety program to conduct detailed and frequent safety inspections under the supervision of a State-registered professional engineer with related experience in dam design and construction. The NDSP goal is for each State to have 100% of stateregulated HHP dams inspected during the reporting period, within the State s inspection frequency by statute/ regulation. Approximately 83% HHP were inspected in Florida in 2010. This estimate is largely based on readily-available inspection records. Florida needs a more formalized method for gathering g inspection reports for HHP dams. 5
Emergency Action Planning Increasing the number of EAPs for HHP dams remains a top priority of the NDSP. States with <75% EAP compliance for state-regulated HHP dams must devote 25% of their grant funds to increase the number of EAPs for these dams by 10% each year. The NDSP goal is for each State to have EAPs for 100% of state-regulated HHP dams. Florida has EAPs for 34% of the HHP dams. 6
Florida Dam Safety Program Dam safety in Florida is a shared responsibility among the FDEP, the regional WMDs, the USACE, the local governments and private dam owners. Current FDSP activities include: Dam Safety Training NID Data-Gathering & Reporting Revision to the Florida EAP Template & Instruction Manual Inundation Mapping and EAP Preparation for HHP Dams EAP Table Top Exercises Incident Response, Site Visits, Inspections by Regulatory Program & Assistance with Environmental Resource Permits 7
Condition Assessment Activities The FDSP has proposed to provide a 2-part Condition Assessment Workshop, as follows: Part 1 To develop a system of assigning Condition Categories during dam inspections, which will ensure compliance with the State s regulatory criteria and tolerable risk guidelines. Part 2 To train the States, local l agencies, and dam owners inspectors on the dam inspection procedures and Condition Assessment guidelines. Inspect & Perform Condition Assessments for inclusion in NID Database. Who will perform the assessments? 8
Who will Perform the Condition Assessments? The DEP, NWFWMD, SRWMD, SJRWMD, SWFWMD, SFWMD, local government, and public and private dam owners. 9
Florida Dam Locations 877 Florida dams 10 1 0
High-Hazard Potential Dams 73 HHP Dams 11
Owner Type of HHP Dams in each WMD State, Local, SWFWMD, 9 NWFWMD, 1 Private, SWFWD, 20 Private, NWFWMD, 14 State, SFWMD, 15 Private, SFWMD, 1 Local, SWFWMD, 1 State, SJRWMD, 2 Private, SJRWMD, 6 Local, SJRWMD, 4 12
Inspections of High-Hazard Dams Phosphate mining, beneficiation operation and phosphogypsum stack system impoundments, regulated by DEP Bureau of Mining and Minerals Regulation Permitted Dams, regulated by WMDs SWFWMD, SJRWMD, and SFWMD owned-dams Utility / Power Plant impoundments (Industrial Wastewater), regulated by DEP District Offices Pre-Permit Constructed Dams 13
HHP Dams by year constructed 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1920-1930 1941-1950 1951-1960 1961-1970 1971-1980 1981-1990 2001-2010 14
Condition Assessment Activity Summary Develop guidelines to perform Condition Assessments Assemble representative agency personnel and private interests. Review WMD surface water management regulations and guidelines. Establish guidelines and entities for assigning Condition Categories. Conduct Dam Safety Training on Condition Assessment. Perform Condition Assessments. Collect Condition Assessment results and report to NID. 15
Questions? 16