Published: May 30, 2008 12:00 am      

Dam regs could cripple owners

New dam regulations under consideration by the DEC are designed to improve public safety.

But for some dam owners, such as The Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery in Otego, the regulations could prove to be too expensive and lead to unintended consequences, said Mother Raphaela of the monastery.

A 200-year-old earthen dam on monastery property holds back a shallow, 4-acre pond.

But the state Department of Environmental Conservation has rated the dam as a Class C, or high risk, which puts the monastery's 17-foot-high dam in the same class as the 120-foot-high, New York City-owned Gilboa Dam, which holds back the 1,145-acre Schoharie Reservoir.

Under proposed state regulations, the monastery would be responsible for the repair, replacement or demolition of the structure to state specifications, as well as regular inspections.

Although dam owners have always been responsible for their dams under the law, the draft regulations add several new layers of oversight, especially for Class B, or medium risk, and Class C dams.

Class A, or low risk, dams are identified as those on small farm ponds. These are generally exempt from the stricter draft requirements.

There are more than 5,000 dams in the state. A dam's classification depends on the threat presented to downstream communities and infrastructure in the event of a dam failure and is not related to the condition of the dam, according to the DEC.

The draft regulations impose greater requirements for dams that present the greatest threat downstream if they were to fail.

Mother Raphaela said some land downstream could be flooded if their dam were to fall, but she said she can't see how the small pond's dam can be placed in the same category as much larger dams.

"We've had two sets of engineers come look at this and say, Why is this in the same category as the Hoover Dam?'" Mother Raphaela said.

The draft DEC regulations were created in the wake of the failure of the Hadlock Pond Dam in Washington County on July 2, 2005. A report commissioned by the DEC found internal erosion of the earthen dam on the 222-acre lake caused the failure, which destroyed five homes and damaged several others. No lives were lost.

DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren said Wednesday the regulations are not finalized.

"We're in the process of reviewing and evaluating the public comments that we received," Wren said.

The public comment period ended May 17. Public hearings were held in Poughkeepsie on April 15; Rochester on April 18; and Albany on May 2.

"It is too soon to say exactly when the regulations may be finalized _ we received a lot of comments that need to be fully reviewed and responded to, as well as any changes they may result in before we finalize," Wren said.

Raphaela and other members of the monastery participated in the May 2 public hearing, which attracted officials from local governments, as well as private dam owners, including small-lake associations.

The monastery's dam, known to the DEC as Otsdawa Dam No. 131A-4869, dates to at least 1801 and impounds water from the east branch of the Otsdawa Creek. The dam, which has erosion problems, served as a saw mill and possibly a grist mill before being used to generate electricity to small group of homes around the pond on Bert Washburn Road, Mother Raphaela said.

Today, the pond serves as a place of active and passive recreation, as well as a water source for local firefighters.

The DEC has warned the Myrrhbearers that it has the authority to demolish the dam and bill the monastery if the dam isn't repaired and maintained, Mother Raphaela said.

This scenario, when applied to other small-dam owners who can't afford to comply with the new regulations, could lead to lost wetlands across the state, she said.

That's ironic, said Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano, because the DEC helped build some of these dams decades ago to preserve wetlands. Maiurano also attended the May 2 hearing.

But he said his biggest concern is what the costs of complying with the regulations will be to city taxpayers. The regulations are essentially an unfunded mandate, he said.

The DEC estimates the cost of dam safety inspections for a Class C dam under the new regulations would be between $4,000 to $80,000 every two years. Every 10 years, there would an engineering assessment that would cost $8,000 to $50,000, the DEC estimates.

This does not include normal maintenance and operational costs for a dam.

Norwich has two dams for its water supply system.

"There's no funding for any of this," Maiurano said. "It would break the city of Norwich."

For the Myrrhbearers, a nonprofit religious group not eligible for state aid, the situation is even worse, he said.

"It would completely wipe them out," Maiurano said.

The state is right to be concerned about the condition of some dams in the state, he said.

But imposing the same restrictions across the board to all Class B and Class C dam owners could prove to be a burden for dam owners, Maiurano said.

The potential for a collapse of the Norwich dams is miniscule, he said.

"It's like me winning the lottery," Maiurano said.

The New York Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, a lobbying group for local government, is also calling for the DEC to re-evaluate the draft regulations in order to prevent financial burdens to cities and villages.

NYCOM Executive Director Peter Baynes gave testimony to the DEC last week.

NYCOM is also concerned that if property owners abandon dams, local governments will be forced to step in and take them over, thereby assuming the requirements of the draft regulations.

The city of Oneonta has three dams, Mayor John Nader said, but it is unclear what the impact of the proposed regulations would be on the city.