Report: State needs to spend tens of millions to improve dams

BOSTON --Inspectors must move swiftly to complete an inventory of the nearly 3,000 dams in Massachusetts and the state must be prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars to improve dam safety, according to a legislative report released Tuesday.

The report by the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee found a lack of emergency plans at the vast majority of so-called "high hazard" dams -- dams that could cause significant property damage or death if they fail.

The report also found the structural condition of nearly half of the dams in Massachusetts has yet to be assessed.

"These dams have suffered from decades of neglect," said committee chairman Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.

The report's findings mirror the results of an investigation last year by The Associated Press, which examined dams throughout southern New England. The AP report found that thousands of residents live and work downstream from centuries-old dams in need of repair, and fixing them could take years and millions of dollars.

The AP review of documents in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as interviews with state officials and dam owners, shows many dams are not inspected as often as they should be, and some go years without recommended repairs.

The Senate report comes as flood waters continued to tax dams in the eastern part of the state. In Methuen, hundreds of residents downstream of the Spicket River Dam, shored up by thousands of sandbags, left their homes fearing it would give way.

"We have not done a good enough job in Massachusetts inspecting our dams in the long run," said Sen. Steve Baddour, D-Methuen, at a news conference overlooking the Spicket Dam. Despite the worst fears of local officials, the granite-block dam continued to hold even as water poured over it at a rate of 14,000 gallons a second.

The Spicket River Dam is owned by Olson Electric Development Co. in Methuen. Because it is an energy producing dam it falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The agency inspects it about four times a year and has found the dam to be structurally sound, officials said Tuesday.

The last time FERC forwarded one of its inspection reports on the dam to the state was in 2003, according to Joe O'Keefe chief of staff of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The report found the dam to be in fair to good condition, he said.

The dam was first constructed in 1860 and is considered a "significant-risk" dam meaning it poses a significant risk to property if it failed, according to state records.

The report recommended a series of steps, including inspecting all high and significant-hazard dams; increasing fines for violations of state dam safety regulations at high or significant-hazard dams from $500 per day up to $25,000 per violation; and hiring more dam safety inspectors.

The report also called for increased spending, including $10.3 million for improvements to state-owned dams and the creation of a $20 million dam safety fund to provide low-interest loans to private and municipal dam owners to repair or remove dams.

The report faulted Gov. Mitt Romney for failing to draft new dam regulations and for asking for only half of the $1 million requested by the state Office of Dam Safety in his proposed budget for the new fiscal year.

Romney said the state has taken steps to inspect and improve dams. He also pointed out none of the dams have given way despite the torrential rains.

"Any criticism is a wet baloney sandwich at this point," he said at an afternoon press conference. "The Legislature will have to decide if they want to appropriate more money for more inspectors or more reconstruction."

The report was prompted after floodwaters last October pummeled the 173-year-old Whittenton Pond Dam in Taunton, threatening the downtown area and closing businesses, highways and schools. Workers ultimately replaced the structure by pouring tons of boulders and rocks at the foot of the dam.

In response, Romney ordered an emergency inspection of 186 of the state's most critical dams. That review discovered eight in need of immediate attention.