Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee hears bill to pilot emergency plans for high-hazard dams

The Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee on April 7 reviewed H.778, a bill to fund a pilot project that would produce coordinated emergency operations plans for municipalities downstream of two state high-hazard dams, clarify evacuation authority for the governor and the state director of emergency management, and return a report to the Legislature on how to scale the work statewide.

A House sponsor who described herself as a member of the House Environment Committee told the panel the measure builds on prior dam-safety work—Act 161 and the Flood Safety Act—and focuses on ‘‘high-hazard’’ sites, defined in state inventory as dams whose failure could cause probable loss of life. The sponsor said the state has at least 77 high-hazard dams and 50 of those are regulated by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). She said the bill ‘‘sets up a pilot project . . . to set up emergency operations plans for the municipalities below two different dams’’ and carries $375,000 for the effort.

Ben Green, section chief of the Dam Safety Program at the Department of Environmental Conservation, testified that starting with two state-owned dams is a ‘‘wise starting point’’ because DEC ownership simplifies logistics and allows the team to develop a repeatable approach. He explained that dam owners produce emergency action plans (EAPs) describing inundation mapping and dam-specific responses, while municipal emergency operations plans (EOPs) provide downstream responders with coordinated evacuation routes, sheltering plans and communications protocols. ‘‘This is sort of the next step downstream,’’ Green said, describing how a single large inundation map can affect many separate municipalities and therefore requires regional coordination.

Key provisions discussed include: a 12–18 month pilot to produce sets of municipal EOPs coordinated with each dam’s EAP; authority language that explicitly confirms the governor and the state director of emergency management may order evacuations in the event of dam failure or imminent risk; and a requirement that the division of emergency management report back with copies of the pilot EOPs, a summary of the process used, cost estimates, and recommendations for prioritizing and funding EOP completion for other high-hazard dams (the bill directs a report by July 1, 2028, in the bill text presented).

Committee members asked about site selection (one pilot dam with a population at risk of 1,000+ and one between 100–999), whether to select only DEC-owned dams or include other owners, and how to ensure municipal capacity to implement plans. Green and other witnesses said owner participation is necessary for inundation maps and technical data but that DEC ownership would reduce coordination friction for a pilot. Witnesses also noted the program will need to account for municipal variation in emergency capacity and may recommend grant mechanisms or contractor support.

The committee also received a short budget briefing that included the pilot’s funding request, and several other panels and stakeholders later testified on related budget and workforce topics. The transcript records discussion and testimony but does not record a committee vote on H.778 during this session.

What happens next: committee members continued questions and scheduled follow-up hearings and budget work; no formal vote on H.778 was recorded in the transcript.