Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the one recommendation included in our initial audit report, Oversight of Dam Safety (Report 2023-S-16).

About the Program

Hundreds of dam failures have occurred throughout U.S. history, causing immense property and environmental damage and ending thousands of lives. As the nation’s dams age and the population increases, the potential for deadly dam failures grows. Dam failures not only pose risks to public safety, but they can also cause millions of dollars in damage and can result in the impairment of many other infrastructure systems, such as roads, bridges, and water systems. If a dam fails, resources must be devoted to the prevention and treatment of public health risks as well as the resulting structural consequences. To help protect people against loss of life and property from flooding and dam failure, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is entrusted with the regulatory power over dams. Under the Environmental Conservation Law (Law), DEC is authorized to design a program to monitor dam safety. The Law requires dam owners to operate and maintain dams in a safe condition at all times. Dam Safety Regulations (Regulations) govern dam owners’ responsibilities for several areas, such as permitting, periodic engineering assessments, construction, maintenance, repairs, inspections, recordkeeping, and other requirements, and implement DEC’s oversight and enforcement authority.

The objective of our initial audit, issued in February 2025, was to determine if DEC was adequately regulating dam owners across the State to ensure their compliance with safety requirements. The audit covered the period from January 2020 through October 2024 and found that while DEC actively conducts inspections of Hazard Class B and C dams in the State, and has worked to assign condition ratings in alignment with changes in Regulations, there were areas where DEC could make improvements to help ensure dam owner compliance with Regulations so that they meet safety standards to protect people against loss of life and property from flooding and dam failure.

Key Finding

DEC made progress in addressing the issues we identified in the initial audit report. The one recommendation has been partially implemented.

Key Recommendation

DEC is requested, but not required, to provide information about any actions planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this follow-up within 30 days of the report’s issuance.