Department of Environmental Conservation

Selected Aspects of the Dam Safety Program

The Department of Environmental Conservation oversees dam safety in New York State. The Department assigns a hazard classification to dams according to the potential impact on human life and property in the event the dams were to fail. At the time of our audit, the Department had identified 133 high- and intermediate-hazard dams with a high-priority deficiency that required further engineering study or remedial work. We examined the actions taken by the Department to address these deficiencies. We found that many of the deficiencies had existed for years with little remedial action by the dam owners and little or no enforcement action by the Department. For example, the Department had not inspected some of the dams as frequently as required by its inspection guidelines. We recommended actions that could be taken to improve the timeliness of corrective action on deficient dams.

For a complete copy of Report 2006-S-61 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the 24 dams examined in the audit, click here.
For a copy of the 133 dams examined in the audit, click here.