The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Owner’s Dam Safety Program

ADVERTISEMENT The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Owner’s Dam Safety Program

FERC headquarters in Washington, DC.

Established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2012, the Owner’s Dam Safety Program (ODSP) requires owners of certain dams and hydroelectric projects to submit detailed reports affirming that they comply with dam safety best practices. The ODSP program and the state of practice of dam safety in general have been refined by several recent rulemakings and technical advances. In this interview, David Capka, the director of the Division of Dam Safety and Inspections in FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, tells us more.

Hydro Leader: Please tell us about the history of FERC’s ODSP program. When was it established, and how has it changed over the years?

David Capka: The ODSP initiative began in 2012. At that time, the commission recognized that inadequate ODSPs had been cited as a contributing factor in several major dam failures and incidents, including the Taum Sauk failure.

Under this initiative, FERC requires owners of high- and significant-hazard-potential projects to submit an ODSP. To assist dam owners’ compliance with this new requirement, FERC provided guidance and initiatives in various documents, including by providing information on ferc.gov and in annual letters to licensees.

In 2017, it had been nearly 5 years since many owners’ ODSPs had been filed, and an external audit of their programs was due. FERC posted guidance on its website for auditors and peer reviewers to conduct these 5-year audits. These peer reviews have been useful for both the dam owners and for FERC in identifying what aspects of the ODSP were working and which aspects needed improvement.

Hydro Leader: What are the main elements of an ODSP?

David Capka: The ODSP is the formal, main directive on how dam safety is to function at a project. The main elements of an ODSP are as follows: 1. Dam safety policy, objectives, and expectations: This section provides a summary of the policies defined in the program; its objectives; and the expectations of the owner

for its employees, consultants, and the others involved in assuring dam safety. 2. Responsibilities for dam safety: This section outlines the responsibilities for each level and organizational group, including the CEO and the board of directors. This section should also identify a chief dam safety engineer for the owner’s organization. 3. Dam safety training program: This section includes a discussion of the dam safety training provided to staff at all levels of the organization, including management, operations, maintenance, engineering consultants, and contractors, as appropriate. 4. Communications, coordination, reporting, and reports: This section discusses internal and external communication requirements and protocols, including those established for the chief dam safety engineer to report to senior levels of management. 5. Recordkeeping and databases: This section establishes procedures to assure the retention of critical and other relevant documents and data related to the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the dam. 6. Succession planning: This section affirms that the project maintains a qualified chief dam safety engineer and qualified staff to ensure that dam safety is a critical element of a successful dam safety program. 7. Improvement: This section affirms that the dam safety program is periodically reviewed to ensure that it reflects the current staffing and organizational structure of the owner and incorporates the lessons learned from the ongoing implementation of the program, information gathered from dam safety inspections and from operations, changes in the state of practice in dam safety, knowledge gained from training and the study of case histories of incidents and failures, and findings from audits of the dam safety program. 8. Audits and assessments: This section outlines both internal and periodic external audits and assessments of the ODSP.

Hydro Leader: What is FERC’s role in supporting dam owners in their ODSPs?

David Capka: FERC’s role is to provide guidance and oversight of all dam owners’ ODSPs. As part of their annual inspections of licensed facilities, FERC staff determine whether the minimum elements of an acceptable ODSP are in place, including • the clear designation of responsibility, oversight and authority • authority over all organizational elements involved in dam safety decisions and budgeting • access to sufficient technical resources and expertise • proactive and informed owner inspection and engineering evaluation programs • adequate onsite presence or remote monitoring capabilities FERC also reviews the 5-year audit and requires the dam owner to develop a plan and schedule for implementing the auditor’s recommendations.

Hydro Leader: How did the December 2021 final rule change FERC’s existing requirements for ODSPs? What was the rationale behind that change?

David Capka: The final rule updated FERC regulations to consolidate and codify the original 2012 requirement for an ODSP with the information that had subsequently been made available on the FERC website. The rule also established three general requirements for ODSPs, including the designation of either a chief dam safety engineer or a chief dam safety coordinator. It also provided an outline of the minimum contents of an ODSP. The rule codified the requirements for an annual review and update by the dam owner and for independent external audits or peer reviews every 5 years.

Hydro Leader: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently came out with a document entitled Dam Safety Warning Signs Best Practices. Will FERC require or encourage its licensees to follow the FEMA document as part of their ODSPs?

David Capka: FERC will note FEMA’s signage guidelines in its updated public safety guidelines, which are now under development. However, FERC will not require licensees to exclusively follow FEMA’s signage guidelines. FERC licensees will continue to have the option of following either FEMA’s signage guidelines or FERC’s 2001 signage guidelines.

Hydro Leader: What are the main trends that are influencing dam safety guidance today?

David Capka: There are several major dam safety trends at work today. FERC released new dam safety regulations, which became effective on April 11, 2022. There have been changes in practice and knowledge as a result of lessons learned from dam safety incidents and failures, such as those at Oroville, Taum Sauk, Folsom, and Edenville Dams. There has been improvement in approaches, tools, and methodologies focused on decisionmaking, such as potential failure modes analysis and risk analysis. Finally, there have been refinements and clarifications to past guidance on topics such as probable maximum floods and emergency action plans. H

David Capka is the director of the Division of Dam Safety and Inspections in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects. For more about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, visit ferc.gov.