Battered dams spur vote to restore roads, improve safety

State legislators took steps Wednesday to restore roads that run across dams broken or destabilized during an historic flood more than 15 months ago.

Since the October 2015 storm, the owners of many broken dams have not repaired the earthen structures that provide the foundations for a number of busy roads in the Columbia area and elsewhere. As a result, the state Department of Transportation has chosen not to restore the roads, noting that they sit atop dams the agency does not own.

But a bill approved by the House agriculture committee is designed to break that impasse. It gives dam owners two months to say whether they will rebuild or repair the dams blasted by the 2015 flood — or whether they will abandon the structures.

When the crumbled dams are either fixed or abandoned by private property owners, the DOT can then make necessary road repairs, lawmakers said. The agency, for instance, could build bridges across creeks where dams once stood.

“A lot of these roads are primary roads and some of the folks are having to drive a good way out of their way to go places,’’ state Rep. Stephen Moss, R-Cherokee, said.

Wednesday’s unanimous decision was one of two the agriculture committee made on bills that were filed as a result of the 2015 storm. The committee also agreed to tighten the state’s dam safety law after nearly a year of study.

That bill is a scaled back version of more dramatic dam safety improvements proposed in earlier legislation. Previous bills drew fire from rural landowners and farmers who said new regulations could cost them thousands of dollars to maintain dams in remote areas.

Still, lawmakers said the bill is an upgrade over the current law. Under the plan the committee approved on a 16-0 vote, dam owners for the first time must annually inspect the structures for signs of problems and submit their findings to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

In addition, the bill requires owners of significant and high-hazard dams to provide an emergency plan every year explaining how they would respond in case a dam broke.

And the legislation adds authority for DHEC to oversee safety at small dams that, if they broke, would damage property downstream. DHEC already can do that if small dams pose a threat to kill people should the structures break.

After the meeting, House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said the bill is a compromise and he’s pleased with the results. Lucas sponsored the dam safety bill after many said South Carolina law needed stronger protections for people downstream of dangerous dams.

“It’s an excellent first step,’’ Lucas said. “South Carolina is a state protective of property rights but also understands the need for safety. That’s why we introduced the bill and that’s the reason it took so long to get through the process.’’

Both bills are expected to go to the full House for votes next week.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Battered dams spur vote to restore roads, improve safety."