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Sunday, July 16, 2006
Cracks in the system
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AUGUSTA — Seventy-three dams around Maine are in violation of a law that requires up-to-date emergency plans in case they are threatened by floods, according to a newspaper investigation. In fact, the owners of 23 of those dams have never complied with the 17-year-old state law. Yet no one has ever been fined. The lack of compliance and enforcement are the chief findings of an investigation into Maine's dam-safety program by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Maine has 1,015 dams, and more than 100 of them lie upstream of homes, businesses, roads or other structures that could be flooded or washed away if a dam failed. State law requires the owners of dams whose failure would threaten life or property to write emergency action plans and to update them every two years. The plans are supposed to include a list of people to call and a map of areas to be evacuated. Evacuation and emergency plans are rarely needed. But dams can, and periodically do, fail. "A dam is like a loaded gun, if you think about it," said Tony Fletcher, Maine's dam inspector. After the May floods that threatened three dams along the Maine-New Hampshire border, the newspaper examined what precautions are being taken in case a dam fails. Compliance and safety planning have improved in recent years, but interviews with emergency management officials and dam owners, and a review of scores of public records revealed several reasons for concern: n Of 102 Maine dams required to file emergency plans, 73 are out of compliance, either because the plans have expired or never been filed. n Some of these noncompliant dams are owned by towns and other public agencies. n Maine spends much less money on dam safety than either New Hampshire or Vermont. n Incomplete or out-of-date records could compromise the state's response to a potentially destructive flood. n The Maine Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for dam safety, has only one inspector - Fletcher - and no enforcement division. "I think you have to approach dam safety as a regulatory program," said Dana Murch, who regulates the environmental impacts of dams for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. "I think MEMA's problem is it's not a regulatory agency. It doesn't think that way." "It's there to be a helping agency," Murch said. "That's fine if everyone does what they need to do. If they don't, you really have to adopt a more hard-nosed attitude." There are signs that at least some of the concerns may soon be addressed. First, MEMA recently consulted the Maine Attorney General's Office about stepping up enforcement. "It appears we've taken it as far as we can by asking politely, and now we need to contemplate stronger action," said Charlie Jacobs, the agency's interim director. Second, Gov. John Baldacci asked for a review of the state's dam-safety efforts after touring dams threatened in May by the rising Salmon Falls River. Officials hope to finish that review by September. Baldacci said in an interview that he would support spending more money on dam safety if that's what MEMA recommends. And, after being informed of the newspaper's findings, a Baldacci cabinet member, Gen. John Libby, said he anticipates that more resources will be directed toward the dam-safety program. The governor said that the recent scare in southernmost Maine should serve as a warning about the importance of dam safety. "We were very lucky," he said. "But we don't want to get that close again." OWNER RESISTANCE Many of Maine's dams have outlived their economic usefulness. But they can still be found all over the state, from isolated lakes in northern Maine to industrial rivers through residential areas. Maine dams range from small, primitive structures to the larger, more modern power-generating dams found in many mill towns. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees 174 hydroelectric dams in Maine. The rest of the structures - 841 dams - fall under MEMA's jurisdiction. Despite the breadth of its responsibility, the Augusta-based agency has never had more than one full-time employee devoted to dam safety. Fletcher, an engineer by training, is responsible for evaluating 841 dams from Kittery to Limestone. It's his responsibility to consider the possibility, however remote, that a dam will fail. Maine law requires all dams to be evaluated every six years. Dams are rated low-hazard, significant-hazard or high-hazard, based on the likelihood that a breach would endanger people or cause property damage. The rating system is not based on a dam's physical condition or the likelihood that it will fail. Once a dam is classified as significant-hazard or high-hazard, its owner has six months to file an emergency action plan. The plans are kept near the emergency command post inside MEMA's headquarters in Augusta. During the early hours of a disaster, they offer a road map for emergency management officials. Fletcher said that, during his nearly eight years as the state's dam inspector, he's met resistance from owners who don't see any need for the plans. "They think it's another bureaucratic step," he said. "And it's not." In July 2000, no emergency action plan was on hand when more than four inches of rain in Somerset County caused the Owens Marsh Dam in Concord Township to give way. An 8-foot wall of water rushed toward Route 16, washing a car off the road. The 32-year-old driver managed to escape through the car's window and grab trees to get to safety. Before the Owens Marsh Dam failed, state emergency officials weren't even aware of the dam's existence, and nobody knows whether an emergency plan would have made a difference. But having a plan can enable the evacuation of areas downstream from a dam before it breaches. Some of the emergency plans currently on file with the state are costly, computer-generated reports. But, in phone calls and letters to dam owners, MEMA has made clear that the plans don't need to be elaborate. One plan on file in Augusta is a mere two pages. Nevertheless, the agency's files show that many of its requests have been disregarded - with no consequences. Consider the example of the Malletts Mill Dam, a 170-year-old earthen structure on Mattakeunk Stream in the Penobscot County town of Lee. Lloyd Mallett, the dam's owner, argued in 2002 that his dam did not pose a significant downstream hazard. He requested a state inspection. After a follow-up inspection in July 2004, Fletcher determined the dam was properly classified as a significant hazard and expressed concern that a road and a lumber yard could be washed out if the dam failed. Letters in 2004 and 2005 again notified Mallett of his legal obligation, but he still did not file a plan. "We don't allow anyone to build below the dam because there's always a chance of getting a flood," Mallett said recently when reached for comment by telephone. He hung up without discussing the state's concerns. WHO'S RESPONSIBLE? The dam owners who have failed to file emergency plans include several towns, as well as agencies of the state and federal government. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, for example, owns a small dam on Hunnewell Lake in Aroostook County. In May 2003, the department told MEMA that it didn't believe this dam posed enough of a downstream hazard to require an emergency action plan. MEMA agreed to review the dam's significant-hazard classification and the dam inspector later visited Hunnewell Lake Dam. The inspector did not recommend a change in classification, according to MEMA, and the dispute remained unresolved this month. There's a similar stalemate involving the Patte Brook Dam in Maine's section of the White Mountain National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service, which owns the 47-year-old dam, was notified of its obligation under Maine law in December 2001. Four and a half years later, the Forest Service is arguing that it should be exempted because it also owns the road that would be endangered if the dam fails. The state's dam inspector disagrees. "We're still in negotiations with the state," Jay Sylvester of the Forest Service said recently. In some communities that own dams, it's unclear who's responsible for dam safety. Officials in the northern Maine town of Blaine were notified in 2001 that they needed to write an emergency plan for the Robinson Dam. That still hasn't happened, according to state records. Last month, the town's road commissioner, Eldon Crouse, referred a reporter to Town Manager Chappy Clark. Clark referred questions back to Crouse. In other communities, officials acknowledged that writing an emergency plan has simply not been a top priority. The town of Fort Fairfield owns the Libby Brook Dam, the only dam designated as high-hazard that has never had an emergency action plan, according to state records. Fifteen other high-hazard dams are among those with expired plans. Tony Levesque, who serves as Fort Fairfield's code enforcement officer, said the town does have a general plan for responding to disasters and that writing a more specific dam emergency plan is on his to-do list. "We've just been dealing with other more urgent planning needs," Levesque said. The state's dam inspector acknowledged that the chance of the Libby Brook Dam failing is extremely low. But if it did fail, he predicted, a building in the water's projected path could be damaged. "It would probably take life if it were to fail," Fletcher said. Wesserunsett Dam sits at the outlet of a 1,440-acre lake in the Somerset County town of Madison. As water flowed through the dam on a recent evening, it didn't look too menacing. However, if this dam fails during a 100-year storm, at least two low-lying homes downstream are expected to flood. Following a state inspection in January 2005, Wesserunsett Dam was reclassified from low- to significant-hazard. While the dam inspector concluded that no lives were at risk, an emergency plan was still listed as a high priority. Eighteen months later, the town of Madison, which owns the dam, has yet to file an emergency plan. "There's still some work to be done," said Town Manager Norman Dean. Dorette Hoskins occupies a one-story house that could be flooded if the dam were to fail. It's troubling to hear that the town has not written an emergency plan, she said. Another dam that's sparked concern is located on Wadleigh Pond in Lyman, in York County. Flood water has spilled over the small dam each of the last two years. A May 2005 inspection found extensive erosion. So far the dam has held. Several downstream bridges are expected to be submerged if the Wadleigh Pond Dam fails. The Wadleigh Pond Association, which owns the dam, has not filed an emergency action plan with the state. Ann Bishop, who's listed as the state's contact with the association, did not return two calls seeking comment. "Everybody keeps saying the dam isn't going to go, and that's something nobody knows but God," said Roland Nadeau, who lives beside the dam but out of the way of a potential flood. "Hopefully it won't, because there's a lot of water up here." ENFORCEMENT LACKING Dam safety has never gotten much financial support in Maine. Three decades ago, the state's part-time dam inspector was still paid $5 per day - the same amount allocated when the job was created in 1875. Today, the state spends about $110,000 each year on dam safety. That's a small sum when compared with Vermont, which has about half as many dams but spends more than twice as much money, or New Hampshire, home to more than three times as many dams as Maine and a budget that's six times larger. Despite Maine's financial limitations, officials said they are making progress. Back in 1998, compliance with the law requiring emergency plans was just 5 percent, according to MEMA spokeswoman Lynette Miller. "We've substantially increased compliance over the last several years," added Jacobs, the agency's interim director. Now, according to records and interviews, about 75 percent of state-regulated dam owners have filed plans, though many have expired, while slightly more than 25 percent have up-to-date plans on file. Gen. John Libby, commissioner of the state's Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management and a MEMA director under former Gov. Angus King, said that the agency has made significant progress over the last decade. Back in 1995, the Legislature hadn't even provided funding for a dam inspector, he said. "I would tell you we have come a long way since I walked through the doors of the King administration," Libby said. "But I would always tell you we have a long ways to go." Murch, of the Maine DEP, offered a less charitable assessment, pointing out that only a small fraction of the state's dam owners are required to file emergency action plans. "MEMA's been in the dam-safety business for better than 10 years now. It seems like that is plenty of time to get 100 emergency action plans written up," he said. One obstacle appears to be gaps and outdated information in MEMA's records. A MEMA database listed 40 dams as never having filed emergency plans. A closer look, however, revealed that 17 of the dams should not be included on that list. MEMA's written records showed two dams on the list had, in fact, filed their plans, for example. In other cases, the hazard classification for specific dams were outdated. And, in three instances, the review found that officials in Augusta didn't know about emergency action plans that had already been filed with county EMAs. After being presented with some of those findings, Libby said he expects the current review of Maine's dam-safety program will result in an effort to improve record-keeping. "I think our issues are less with dam inspectors and more with the administrative effort with keeping the database accurate," Libby said. "There's where I see the real shortfall." Officials also say it's time to toughen enforcement. Maine law allows a fine of $100 to $5,000 for each day that a dam owner is out of compliance. But MEMA does not have an enforcement division, and officials there say they have taken the approach that honey works better than vinegar. Consequently, unresponsive dam owners haven't had much cause to worry. That may change now that MEMA officials are working with the Attorney General's Office. Baldacci said last month that he supports aggressive enforcement efforts. To the state's dam inspector, that would be a welcome change. "There's not really much response to a letter that goes out," Fletcher said. Staff Writer Kevin Wack can be contacted at 282-8226 or at:
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