ASDSO Dam Safety News Archives
Recent dam safety news is archived on this page. ASDSO's archives include news articles dating from the 1960s to present.
Contact Sarah McCubbin-Cain for assistance with past news articles.
(859-257-2102 or smc [at] damsafety.org) |
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Recent Dam Safety News
August 2010 MSHA plans to change mining dams standards; Follow-up from Arizona and Iowa dam failures; Problems remain at dams at US-Mexico border; A look at Minnesota dams; New design could protect reservoir levees from waves; University of Utah climbing robot could inspect dams; Controversy over fixing wilderness dams with modern tools; Questions still being asked about Kingston Plant ash spill; Heavy rain potential underscores need for EAPs for TX dams; USACE to install additional drains at Howard Hanson Dam; Dam removals, repairs, incidents, much more...
July 2010 Dam failures in Iowa, Arizona, British Columbia...CA: New 465’-high dam proposed above Don Pedro Reservoir; Water users spar over responsibility for improvements to Donner Dam...Divers working on Colorado’s Chessman Dam face month in underwater compression chamber...Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety suing two dam owners for noncompliance....Corps report on May floods in Tennessee notes inadequate interagency communication during crisis. ...Four Texas border dams called marginally safe to conditionally and potentially unsafe...New safety regulations in effect in VA; new TN regulations under consideration...BC Ministry of Environment requiring remedial action on more than 140 dams following Testalinden dam failure...Brazil increases focus on dam safety...Film to examine 1975 Banqiao dam failure in China...
June 2010 Dam failures and incidents in Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Canada, Peru...New Taum Sauk reservoir incorporates advanced safety features...Multiple parties held responsible for Hadlock Pond dam breach...Alleged dam plot thwarted...California: Corps gives OK to most existing trees on 42-mile stretch of levees; officials seek input on comprehensive flood-control plan for Central Valley....
May 2010 Hadlock dam failure trial underway in New York; Many dams impacted by spring floods; Massachusetts legislature considers dam bill; New Virginia dam rules questioned; Near-failure of New Hampshire dam examined; Howard Hanson dam fix continues; Environmentally damaging releases from deteriorated Herbert Hoover Dike deemed essential for public safety; Special investigative series on coal ash storage and regulation; New Jersey case demonstrates complexities of enforcement; Dam rehabilitation, construction and removal nationwide; India approves draft Dam Safety Bill 2010...
April 2010 Massachusetts dam safety bill moves forward; Settlement reached in Big Bay case; Taum Sauk back in operation; NJ reservoir valve system vandalized; NY dam trial to begin; Small dams fail in VA, ME; Lagoon failure in WA; Budget woes in Idaho; Rehabs, floods, water policy…
March 2010 Colorado hosts Chinese engineers; Massachusetts incident focuses attention on dam safety while budget cuts loom; Big Bay dam failure trial begins in Mississippi; Missouri governor appoints three to Dam Council; New Jersey Program inspects dams after floods; New York invites comments on EAPs; North Carolina inspecting coal ash ponds; Oklahoma tackling development below dams; South Dakota hosts dam owner workshop; Tennessee dam breached to prevent failure; Complications at Wolf Creek Dam project; Michiganders show their passion for dams; Northeast dams under watch during recent floods; Utah passes canal bill; WV bill would ban new coal waste impoundments; Fatal dam failure in Kazakhstan…
February 2010 Virginia legislation threatening dam safety; Utah House passes canal management bill; EPA releases plans to improve safety of coal ash impoundments; WV Gov. Manchin urges EPA to drop plans to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste; Safety violations cited in Oroville Dam accident; Wildlife considerations affecting design of Everglades reservoirs; Some high-hazard Tennessee dams avoid regulation due to “farm pond” loophole; Vermont hires hydro dam appraisers; Levee repairs a top priority for new IBWC chief; Study suggests dams play role in climate change; Urgent work continues on Howard Hanson Dam; Dam removal underway in Wisconsin; $54 million modifications to Wyoming dam underway; USDA providing additional funding to repair flood control structures; Costs of repairing dams and levees present problems nationwide…
January 2010 Ill-considered dam safety bill introduced in Virginia; Coal ash storage update; Low-hazard-potential dam failures in California, Mississippi; New Jersey dam safety program audited; Oklahoma Dam safety suffering from reduced budgets; Virginia regulations debated; Dam failure lawsuits being resolved in Hawaii, New Jersey; Kentucky activists press for rigorous oversight of Dix Dam; Missouri DNR and FEMA collaborate on EAP development effort; Pennsylvania DEP promoting public awareness of high-hazard-potential dams; Agreement signed on taking down San Clemente Dam; NH voters may weigh in on removing Great Dam; Dam rehabilitations in the news in Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Idaho, Ohio, Texas; More dam news from Canada, China, Jamaica...
December 2009 Delaware Adopts Final Dam Safety Regulations; Substantial electric rate increase may help fund ongoing work on Wolf Creek Dam - setbacks put project behind schedule; FEMA implements emergency plan program for Missouri dams; Final settlement handed down for 2004 NJ flood damages; Tennessee advisory board recommends tougher regulations of ash impoundments; Power company won't release ash pond dam safety records; FERC investigates dam safety practices at NC hydroelectric plant; Dallas levees decertified; Medina Dam repairs to begin 7 years after emergency; Interim repairs to Howard Hanson Dam reduce flood risks; Russian officials continue investigation of the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam accident; Ancient dam discovered in China; Floods damage dams; States enforce dam safety regulations...
November 2009 New levee studies underway across the nation; Rep. Wood again champions Alabama dam safety legislation; Legal actions related to dam failures in Australia, Hawaii & New Jersey; WV Fly Ash Dam Condition Evaluation Report released....
October 2009 EPA continues to assess safety of coal ash disposal sites; Settlement reached in Kaloko Dam lawsuits; Seismic evaluations and emergency action planning at Lake Isabella, CA; Rehabilitated Georgia dams hold during record flood; Thieves and vandals strike in Kansas and Ohio; Ohio River traffic shut down by lock malfunction; Fate of 150-year-old Massachusetts dam soon to be decided; Montana wilderness dam repaired with aid of helicopter; Stimulus funds shoring up dams and levees across the nation; New hydrologic research on the 1889 Johnstown Flood; River modeling update leads to dam raisings...
September 2009 Small dams fail in Georgia and South Carolina; Cargo ship strikes levee protecting Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; Stimulus-funded dam-safety contracts awarded; Tuttle Creek Dam foundation stabilization completed under budget and ahead of time; PA DEP completes enhanced inspections of coal facilities; More actions resulting from Kingston, TN coal ash spill...
August 2009 Blast at Siberian hydro dam prompts closer look at U.S. dam safety; Corps implements new levee policy related to global sea rise; Wisconsin legislature puts $4 million for dam repairs into state budget; Panel begins plotting strategy to address Utah canal safety; Petitions stall LOW dam work; Planned dam in Washington State would flood Canadian valley; Kentucky Utilities responds to concerns over Dix Dam; Massachusetts DCR, owner at odds over responsibility for dam repairs; MI Dam safety orders draining of Holiday Lake; NC to more closely monitor coal-ash dams; New study doubles estimated cost of raising dam at Hagg Lake, OR; Proposed drainage fee hike to aid Texas levees; Repairs begin on Howard Hanson Dam; Consol gets OK to expand coal slurry dam in West Virginia; Kaloko Dam suits may be settled soon...
July 2009 Three killed in Utah canal failure; Executive Order aims to curb floodplain development; Infrastructure spending predicted; OMB placing more demands on Corps; Corps settles on potential remedy for Success Dam; Investigators seek cause of Oroville Dam accident; Illinois dam safety proposal beached for now; '79 Church Rock dambreak recalled; Tiny ND town faces huge dam repair bill; "Flood Czar" position proposed in Washington State...
June 2009 Federal agencies examine safety of coal waste storage; Audit faults TVA response to coal ash spill; DHS announces $1.8 billion in federal preparedness grants; Stimulus to benefit dams; Huge East Coast Protection Levee in FL “minimally acceptable”; USACE says trees on levees must go; Boating accidents at dams nationwide claim more lives; Kentucky residents want more information on safety of Dix Dam; Kentucky officials concerned about unregulated sediment ponds; Mass. license plate funds go toward dam removal studies, engineering & permitting; NY dam rules may be altered; Hadlock Pond property owners await compensation after 2005 dam break; Wal-Mart proposed in VA dambreak inundation zone; Increasing seepage at Howard Hanson Dam prompts Corps to lower reservoir; Holes found in Marion, WI dam force drawdown; Fatal dam failure in Brazil; Poor construction reportedly endangers several new dams in China; 1909 Maryland dam break remembered; more... more
May 2009 Fatal dam failure in Brazil; New state infrastructure report cards released; Corps classifies 3 Minnesota dams ‘unsafe’; Missouri Supreme Court overturns trial court judgment in favor of dam owners seeking exemption from state regulation; NY accepting public comments on proposed revisions to dam safety regulations; Researchers continue to study historic failure of Austin, PA dam; Small dam failure in Texas; WV activists arrested for protesting proposed blasting near Brushy Fork coal waste impoundment; Wisconsin Legislative Finance Committee approves plan to funding for dam rehabs…
April 2009 North Dakota floods threaten dams and levees; USDA distributing $45M for dam rehabs; National Academy releases new levees report; TVA buys properties affected by coal ash spill; Shasta Dam security gate breached; Stimulus funds for Folsom Dam security; Teton resurrection plan update; Wolf Creek repair costs at issue; Kentuckians debate Dix Dam safety; Katrina levee reviews examined; Report notes flaws in Trinity River levees protecting Dallas; American Rivers challenges removal of trees from levees; Dam rehab cost concerns nationwide…….
March 2009 Dozens killed in Indonesian dam failure...EPA takes action to prevent coal ash releases...Corps implements Dam Safety Action Classification system...New California DWR report analyzes earthquake risks to Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta levees...Big Bay Lake being rebuilt while legal proceedings continue over 2004 Mississippi dam failure...Lack of funding stymies dam repairs & upgrades in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and elsewhere...
February 2009 Coal ash storage debated… Massachusetts AG enforces dam regs… “To-do” lists throughout the nation...
January 2009 At about 1:00 am on Dec. 22, more than a billion gallons of ash sludge poured over more than 300 acres after the walls of an ash pond at TVA's Kingston Plant collapsed. Previous seepage-caused blowouts in 2003 and 2006 prompted fixes involving a series of drainage systems. The ash disposal site is regulated as a Class II industrial landfill by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Gov. Phil Bredesen has called for inspections of all of TVA's ash facilities and a review of state environmental regulations. The disaster has prompted other state and federal officials to consider how to prevent similar occurrences in the future...
December 2008 National Committee on Levee Safety formulates recommendations for Congress…California’s seismically unsound Lake Wohlford dam to be replaced…Accused Nimbus Dam plotters sentenced…Small van snagged on new Dillon Dam popup barrier…Connecticut State Bond Commission expected to approve $2.2 million for improvements to Lake Forest spillway…Iowa DNR looking at options for improving safety at lowhead dams…Fox News investigates dam safety in Virginia and Maryland…Massachusetts Hadley dam bids less than expected…Damaged Massachusetts dam removed…New Jersey homeowners association wants original dam owner to bear dam replacement costs…Crews repair cracks in new Hope Mills, NC dam…Dillsboro dam removal permit delayed…State-owned OK utility facing lawsuit for flood damages …Development costs Virginia homeowners assessed for spillway upgrade…USACE and WVDEP to split price tag for Wells Lock and Dam study…Wisconsin voters approve dam repair sales tax initiative…Lake Delton refilling…
November 2008 Governor Rendell meets with Obama transition team…Dam failures in Australia and Washington State…Grand jury indicts Hawaii land owner over fatal Kaloko Dam collapse…Massachusetts program continues aggressive safety enforcement efforts…Federal agencies taking steps to stabilize North Carolina tailings dam...
October 2008 National Dam Safety Program budget increases by $1M; Infrastructure maintenance gains popular support: Rep. Randy Wood champions push for Alabama dam safety legislation; Massachusetts dam safety program threatened by statewide budget cuts; Big Bay rebuild underway while legal actions over failure continue; Hope Mills glad to regain lake after 2003 dam failure; High costs of dam repairs confront communities in Georgia, Maine, Wisconsin (and just about everywhere else)...
September 2008 Chertoff chides political leaders for state of infrastructure … National Academies report to highlight maintenance…Native American ancestral lands threatened by proposed Shasta Dam raise…Okeechobee sees fastest one-week rise on record…Incident at Hebgen Lake…Michigan dam failure… Vultures at root of Amistad Dam scare...
August 2008 Grand Canyon dam break...National Academies dam security study underway... University of South Carolina receives NSF grant for research on levee & dam failure...Media spotlight on dam safety in Texas and Wisconsin...Unexplained cracks in new Florida reservoir...Hope Mills, NC dam rebuilt...NC counties spar over rehab responsibilities...
July 2008 Midwest officials assess damages from recent floods; Corps website quells rumors about Wolf Creek Dam; Virginia officials grapple with the Lake of the Woods controversy; Connecticut State Bond Commission considers funding for Baltic Reservoir dam repairs; proceedings in Hawaii could lead to charges in deadly Kaloko breach...
June 2008 "MegaDisasters" highlights dam failures, American Legion Magazine cover story features dam safety, NPR examines U.S. infrastructure challenges, further complications at Wolf Creek, gate malfunction at new dam in Ontario, NY dam owners concerned over implications of new regs...
May 2008 Texas and Pennsylvania Dam Safety Audit Reports released...incidents in Georgia and Missouri...USACE taking stock of nation's levees...
April 2008 Unusual source of funding for Alabama dam repairs, legal wrangling over access to Ka Loko dam site, federal funds sought for Virginia dam rehab...
March 2008 New York evaluates its dam safety practices...Washington using GIS to find illegal dams...Past risks of Utah tailings dam revealed...
February 2008 Presidential candidates propose increased infrastructure funding…Legal fallout from Kaloko failure continues…Local officials in several states seek federal funding for dam rehabilitation…Emergency breach order issued in Massachusetts…Dam safety legislation under consideration in Kentucky, Missouri…Nevada levee break causes extensive damages…New dam rules in Virginia…Pennsylvania Governor Rendell says repair of unsafe dams is a "moral imperative." More…
January 2008 Dam experts call for more research on dam safety and rehabilitation...Stateline infrastructure report highlights weaknesses in national infrastructure, including dams...Flooding focuses attention on Indiana's dams...Alabama focusing on building accurate dam inventory...
December 2007 Alabama Water Resources Commission passes resolution on the need for a statewide dam safety program...Study of April 2007 floods in NE US will examine flood causes in relation to dam operation...Village, golf course and citizens join forces to Fix Cardinal Lake Dam in NC...USACE releases Wolf Creek EIS and reports on safety of Center Hill Dam...Lawsuits aplenty over unpermitted dam construction in TX...Officials in Washington State examine costs of levee repairs...
November 2007 Alabama Office of Water Resources plans plans to present new state dam safety legislation in January...Connecticut DEP using newly developed dam monitoring system...Media eye on dam safety in Texas, Minnesota and Ohio...Bowersock Dam (KS) repairs to cost millions...Corps outlines risks of Isabella Dam in CA; Martis Creek Dam in NV...Toccoa Falls remembered...Three Gorges Dam under increasing fire...
October 2007 Why doesn't Alabama have a state dam safety program? Fox News featured a special report on dam safety; Funds needed to repair dams in Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin; Iraq's Mosul Dam poses great risk to thousands...
September 2007 USACE releases Center Hill Dam report; Dam Rehabilitation legislation supported by American Rivers; Experts debate impacts of trees on levees; Protest over planned rebuild of Big Bay Lake dam...
August 2007 Nation focuses on deteriorating infrastructure; Alabama state offices are conducting a sample inventory of the state's dams and continuing efforts to establish a state dam safety program; Colorado Rep. Salazar urges swift passage of The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act; Massachusetts dam safety program vigorously enforcing dam safety statute; New Jersey state loans propel overdue dam repairs; Midwest dam safety programs struggle with floods, long hours; Taum Sauk probe continues...
July 2007 1977 Johnstown Flood remembered...NY DEC steps up dam safety enforcement...Illinois and Ohio taking steps to lessen hazards of run-of-river dams...Questions arise over responsibility for Texas flood control dams...
June 2007 Unpermitted North Carolina dam fails...Some call for new dam construction in light of climate change research...Nightly Business News reports on the high cost of dam rehabilitation...Schwarzenegger acts to limit development in levee-protected areas...Public safety at dam sites in focus in Illinois and Iowa...Recently discovered journals shed light on the 1889 Johnstown Flood...