Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Section 49-11-120(4) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(4)
'Dam' means an artificial barrier with appurtenant
works, including, but not limited to, dams, levees, dikes, or
floodwalls for the impoundment or diversion of waters or other
fluids where failure may cause danger to life or property.
However, this does not include a dam:
(a)
less than twenty-five feet in height from the natural bed
of the stream or watercourse measured at the downstream toe of
the dam, or less than twenty-five feet from the lowest elevation
of the outside limit of the dam, if it is not across a stream
channel or watercourse, to the maximum water storage elevation
and has an impounding capacity at maximum water storage
elevation of less than fifty-acre feet unless a situation exists
where the hazard potential as determined by the department is
such that dam failure or improper reservoir operation may cause
loss of human life or serious damage to homes, industrial and
commercial facilities, public utilities, main and secondary
highways, or railroads;
(b)
owned or operated by a department or an agency of the
federal government;
(c)
owned or licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Corps of
Engineers, or other responsible federal licensing agencies
considered appropriate by the department;
(d)
upon which the Department of
Transportation or county or municipal governments have accepted
maintenance responsibility for a road or highway where that road
or highway is the only danger to life or property with respect
to failure of the dam."
SECTION 2. Section 49-11-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 49-11-150.
(A) The owner of a dam or
reservoir constructed in this State solely is responsible for
maintaining the dam or reservoir in a safe condition throughout
the life of the structure. The owner of a dam or reservoir shall
inform the department in writing within thirty days after title
to the dam or reservoir legally has been transferred from his
ownership. The notice must include the name, and
address home or business address, phone number, and
email address, if any, of the new owner.
(B) In
addition to the requirements of subsection (A), an owner of a
dam or reservoir not exempt from the provisions of this article
also must provide the department annually no later than July
first of each year with current contact information regarding
the owner, including name, home or business address, phone
number, and email address, if any, together with a completed dam
owner checklist on a form provided by the department.
(C) The
owner of a dam or reservoir whose failure likely would
cause loss of life or substantial property damage, a dam or
reservoir classified as a high or significant hazard
under existing regulations, annually no
later than July first of each year shall provide the
department a current emergency action plan in the format the
department by regulation requires, including updated contact
information for emergency management officials, such as police,
fire, EMS, or utility departments or personnel, and for
downstream residents and business owners located in the
inundation zone for that dam or reservoir. However, nothing in
the emergency action plan or any other provision of law or
regulation shall require or impose a responsibility on the owner
of a dam or reservoir classified as a high or significant hazard
to notify any downstream residents or business owners located in
the inundation zone for that dam or reservoir if the dam or
reservoir owner has reason to believe that it is near failure or
has failed. The owner must notify emergency officials and the
department's Dams and Reservoirs Safety program of the dam or
reservoir's failure or potential failure. It is the
responsibility of the emergency management officials identified
in the emergency action plan to inform any downstream residents
or business owners located in the inundation zone of this fact
and to cause them to be evacuated if it is considered
necessary."
SECTION 3. Section 49-11-170 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately numbered subsection to read:
"( ) The department shall not require any changes to the dam or its appurtenant works due to reclassification of a dam unless failure would likely cause loss of life, or the department, through inspection, identifies repairs that must be made."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.