Revise Dam Safety Requirements.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 614

Short Title: Revise Dam Safety Requirements. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Lazzara, Sawyer, and Johnson (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S614-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CLARIFY TH E EMERGENCY ACTION P LAN REQUIREMENTS FOR 2
CERTAIN DAMS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 143-215.31(a1) reads as rewritten: 5
"(a1) The owner of a dam classified by the Department as a high-hazard dam or an 6
intermediate-hazard dam shall develop an Emergency Action Plan for the dam as provided in this 7
subsection: 8
(1) The owner of the dam shall submit a proposed Emergency Action Plan for the 9
dam within 90 days after the dam is classified a s a high -hazard dam or an 10
intermediate-hazard dam to the Department and the Department of Public 11
Safety for their review and approval. The Department and the Department of 12
Public Safety shall approve the Emergency Action Plan if they determine that 13
it complies with the requirements of this subsection and will protect public 14
health, safety, and welfare; the environment; and natural resources. 15
(2) The Emergency Action Plan shall include, at a minimum, all of the following: 16
a. A description of potential emerge ncy conditions that could occur at 17
the dam, including security risks. 18
b. A description of actions to be taken in response to an emergency 19
condition at the dam. 20
c. Emergency notification procedures to aid in warning and evacuations 21
during an emergency condition at the dam. 22
d. A downstream inundation map depicting areas affected by a dam 23
failure and sudden release of the impoundment. A downstream 24
inundation map prepared pursuant to this section does not require 25
preparation by a licensed professional engineer or a person under the 26
responsible charge of a licensed professional engineer unless the dam 27
is associated with a coal combustion residuals surface impoundment, 28
as defined by G.S. 130A-309.201.The requirement to prepare a 29
downstream inundation map as part of an Emergency Action Plan does 30
not apply to a dam that is less than 15 feet in heig ht or that has an 31
impoundment capacity of less than 50 acre -feet, unless the 32
Commission finds the Department has demonstrated that site-specific 33
factors warrant the inclus ion of a downstream inundation map in the 34
Emergency Action Plan. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 614-First Edition
(2a) A downstream inundation map prepared as part of an Emergency Action Plan 1
under subdivision (2) of this section does not require preparation by a licensed 2
professional engineer or a person under the responsible charge of a licensed 3
professional engineer unless the dam is associated with a coal combustion 4
residuals surface impoundment, as defined by G.S. 130A-309.201. 5
(3) The owner of the dam shall update the Emergency Action Plan annually and 6
shall submit it to the Department and the Department of Public Safety for their 7
review and approval within one year of the prior approval. 8
(4) The Department shall provide a co py of the Emergency Action Plan to the 9
regional offices of the Department that might respond to an emergency 10
condition at the dam. 11
(5) The Department of Public Safety shall provide a copy of the Emergency 12
Action Plan to all local emergency management agenc ies that might respond 13
to an emergency condition at the dam. 14
(6) Information included in an Emergency Action Plan that constitutes sensitive 15
public security information, as provided in G.S. 132-1.7, shall be maintained 16
as confidential information and shall not be subject to disclosure under the 17
Public Records Act. For purposes of this section, "sensitive public security 18
information" shall include Critical Energy Infrastructure Information 19
protected from disclosure under rules adopted by the Federal Energy 20
Regulatory Commission in 18 C.F.R. § 388.112." 21
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to Emergency 22
Action Plans required to be submitted or updated on or after that date. 23