Georgia Senate panel approves new dam regulations

[Judi Lynn]

Ben Nadler, Associated Press Updated 6:26 pm CST, Friday, February 7, 2020

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could soon loosen safety standards for dams that sit above newly built homes, under a proposal unanimously passed by a state Senate committee.

Senate Bill 319 would allow for homes and other inhabitable structures to be built in a dam’s inundation zone — the area that would be flooded if the dam fails — without causing the dam to be recategorized and required to meet higher safety standards. The structures would have to be built to withstand a breach of the dam and receive certification from an engineer approved by the state Environmental Protection Division’s Safe Dams Program.

The bill's sponsor, Republican State Sen. Frank Ginn of Danielsville, said it would protect dam owners from having to choose between taking on costly upgrades or removing a dam. The proposal, passed Tuesday by the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee, could soon go to the full state Senate for a vote.

Under current Georgia regulations, any dam with a home or other inhabitable structure in its inundation zone is considered a Category I dam, meaning its failure would result in probable loss of human life.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Georgia-Senate-panel-approves-new-dam-regulations-15039376.php