2007 Dam Bureau Fee Changes

Some important changes have occurred to the costs associated with the permitting and ownership of dams. Specifically, as a result of the passage of House Bill 664 during the 2007 legislative session, the fees associated with dams have increased in two areas.

Permit Fees. The first is the fee associated with obtaining a permit to construct or reconstruct a dam. Prior to July 1, 2007, RSA 482:9 required a filing fee for all applications, followed by a classification fee based upon the hazard potential posed by the structure if it were to fail. These classification fees resulted in an additional fee for low, significant and high hazard dams. In the new fee structure, the application and filing fees have been replaced with a flat fee based on the hazard classification assigned to the proposed structure (or existing structure, in the case of an application associated with a reconstruction). The previous and new fees are shown in the table below:

The new application fees are consistent with the costs associated with the effort that DES expends to review and approve such applications. Administrative processing and tracking, technical review, field assessment and related follow-up require between six and ten staff days to complete.

Annual Registration Fees. The second area where fees have increased relates to the annual dam registration fee (ADRF). DES issues an annual bill for this fee to all low, significant and high hazard dam owners between October and December of each year. The ADRF program was first established in October 1989 to help fund the regulation of the state’s population of low, significant and high hazard dams. Currently, this inventory numbers about 840 structures.

The new fees, which are shown below, are based on the State’s costs to perform the regular inspections of these dams, which are needed to ensure their continued safe operation. Each inspection requires a detailed review of all pertinent design, repair and inspection information that exist in our files, as well as in-depth visual inspection of the structure and the potential areas that may be affected by a breach of the dam. Also included are an examination of the hydrology of the contributing watershed, an assessment of the hydraulic capabilities of the structure, the preparation of the technical report and the issuance of follow-up documents for action by the dam owner. Further, DES has adopted a more frequent inspection interval in line with the Model State Dam Safety Program established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the new inspection schedule, DES will increase its frequency of inspections for low, significant and high hazard dams from six, four and two years to five, two and one year, respectively.

Another provision of House Bill 664 changes the way that DES applies the ADRF to hydropower dams that are also regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Because the regulatory programs of DES and FERC differ slightly in the way that a dam’s hazard classification is assigned, a number of hydropower dams in New Hampshire have a different classification between the programs. Of the 102 FERC-regulated dams in New Hampshire, DES has assigned a lower classification than FERC on 17 dams, and a higher classification on 20 dams. At the urging of the Granite State Hydropower Association, a trade association representing the small independent hydroelectric industry in New Hampshire, the bill was amended to make the ADRF based on the classification assigned by FERC. For the dams that are involved, some will be billed at a lower rate and some will be billed at a higher rate. Also, some dam owners, whose dams have been classified by DES as non-menace and who have not had to pay an ADRF in the past, will now have to pay a fee based on FERC’s classification of the dam as a low hazard.

The ADRF fees, which will be imposed for calendar year 2008 and will be billed in October of 2007, are summarized below.

RSA 482 “Dams, Mills and Flowage” is the body of laws that define both the responsibilities of dam owners and the State’s role in regulating dams to ensure public safety. DES understands that the fee increases add to the financial obligations of dam owners. However, the ownership of a dam carries significant responsibility because of the risk the dam poses to those living, working, traveling or recreating downstream. The continued diligence of both owners and State regulators will help to preserve the benefits that dams provide and the safety of lives and property downstream. As has been done for the past several years, DES will continue to request the participation of dam owners in its inspections to ensure the continued safety of our state’s dams.

If you have any questions, please call us at (603) 271-3406 or write the Water Division, Dam Bureau, PO Box 95, Concord, NH 03302-0095.