Virginia’s House of Delegates has overwhelmingly backed a measure that would ease state safety standards for more than 130 dams.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, is likely to save dam owners millions of dollars in costly upgrades that were required under tougher state standards put in place two years ago. Dam safety advocates say the change will undercut reasonable regulations.
Under the bill, the structures would need to be built to handle a flood of less epic magnitude than current requirements dictate. The bill applies only to “high hazard” dams whose failure would result in a probable loss of life.
“This is a less stringent standard without question,” said Russ Baxter, acting director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which backed an amended version of the bill. “It is still a standard that presumes it would be rains of historic proportions that would have to fall in the watershed of a regulated dam for it to potentially be over top.”
Houck’s measure passed the House 97-2. It passed the Senate unanimously. – William C. Flook
