Below is a message sent to Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) members in Virginia about proposed legislation that would greatly increase the potential for disastrous dam failures in that state. The bill has progressed very quickly and has already been passed unanimously by the Senate. Please help us persuade Virginia’s legislators and governor that this is a bad idea by getting the word out to your contacts in Virginia, posting information on your website, speaking out on the blog mentioned below, etc. The bill is posted at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+sum+sb276 and more information is available through the home page of our website, www.damsafety.org. Thank you for any help you can provide.
Sincerely,
Sarah McCubbin-Cain
ASDSO
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Virginia ASDSO Members,
As you may have heard from news accounts and hopefully read about in last week’s ASDSO E-News, the Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill that strips the state of authority to order dam owners to correct deficiencies in dams if those dams have approved EAPs and until the state designates state funding for upgrades, a step legislators are not likely to take in this economy. SB 276, sponsored by Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, was unanimously approved by the Senate last week and it now moves on to the House of Delegates. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which includes the state division of dam safety, opposes the bill and ASDSO, ASCE and ACEC are working to oppose it.
More information will be coming soon on ways that ASDSO members can assist in opposing this bill, but for now, ASDSO’s Legislative Committee is asking Virginia members to go to the discussion on this bill at…
http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2010/sb276/
…and vote “no” on whether this bill should become law and enter the discussion to tell readers why this is a bad idea.
Thank you for your help on this important matter.
Mark Ogden
ASDSO Legislative Committee
ASDSO website: http://www.damsafety.org
