The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) should improve oversight and enforcement of compliance with the state’s dam safety regulations to guard against potential costly and life-threatening failures, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“Dam failures are rare in New York, and we want to keep it that way,” DiNapoli said. “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation can take steps to improve its oversight of dams that pose the greatest risks and potential of failure by ensuring owners comply with safety standards and regulations, including having up-to-date engineering assessments, emergency plans and proof they are operated and maintained in a safe condition at all times.”

DEC has regulatory authority over approximately 6,500 dams across the state that are owned and operated by the state, private parties or local municipalities, and the law requires dam owners to operate and maintain dams in a safe condition. Dam failures can occur for a host of reasons, including floods, construction defects, erosion, poor maintenance and aging. To protect against loss of life and property from flooding and dam failures, DEC manages a program that includes safety inspections, permitting, and oversight of compliance with regulations.

Auditors looked at 843 dams from January 2020 through October 2024 that were classified by DEC as posing the greatest risks if they failed. They found that some dam owners had not submitted to DEC the required emergency plans, engineering assessments or proof the dams were operated and maintained safely. These documents are used to identify deficiencies and corrective actions and provide DEC with the ability to review dam owners’ emergency response procedures, which are necessary to ensure adequate regulation and safety of dams in the state.

DEC may assign a hazard classification to a dam that indicates the level of damage that may occur if the dam was to fail. The failure of a Hazard Class B dam could damage a limited number of homes or minor roads, potentially disrupt important utilities and is likely to pose the threat of personal injury. The failure of a Hazard Class C dam may result in widespread or serious damage to homes, main highways and important utilities, and could cause the loss of human life or widespread economic loss.

Auditors found:

• 158 of 843 dams (19%) did not have an emergency plan on file with DEC, including 153 of 505 (30%) Hazard Class B dams and five of 338 (1.5%) Hazard Class C dams.
• 456 of 685 dams (67%) did not have a recently updated Emergency Plan on file and 28 (6%) did not have an annual update filed within the past 10 years.
• 278 of 843 dams (33%) did not have an engineering assessment on file, including 249 of 505 (49%) Hazard Class B dams and 29 of 338 (8.6%) Hazard Class C dams.
• 86 of 565 dams (15%) did not have an up-to-date engineering assessment prepared and submitted to DEC within the last 10 years.
• 115 of 843 dams (14%) did not have an annual certification on file, including 110 of 505 (22%) Hazard Class B dams and five of 338 (1.5%) Hazard Class C dams.
• 248 of 728 dams (34%) did not have a recent annual certification on file, and 43 of 728 (6%) did not have an annual certification filed within the last 10 years.

Although current enforcement procedures do not include steps to act against dam owners that do not comply with certain regulatory requirements, DEC told auditors they are drafting procedures that incorporate detailed enforcement actions.

Additionally, auditors found that while DEC implemented a process to assign condition ratings to Hazard Class B and C dams in 2015, as of March 2024, 220 of the 843 (26%) dams had not been assigned a rating. Although assigning condition ratings is not a prerequisite to enforcement, it better enables DEC’s efforts to implement enforcement actions because certain condition ratings require the dam owner to act. For example, a condition rating of unsafe requires immediate action to lower or drain the reservoir to reduce or eliminate the potential for a dam failure.

DiNapoli’s audit also recommends DEC:

• Update DEC’s database to include dam condition ratings.
• Increase the number of timely inspections in alignment with DEC’s goals for Hazard Class B and C dams.
• Establish time frames for the completion of inspection reports.
• Implement enforcement procedures for dam owners who fail to operate and maintain a dam in a safe condition and fail to submit required documents to DEC.

In response, DEC generally agreed with the audits’ findings and said it has been taking appropriate action to implement the recommendations cited.

Audit
Department of Environmental Conservation Oversight of Dam Safety