Senator Reed joined with Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Director Janet L. Coit, and engineers and dam safety officials to highlight the need to repair “high hazard” dams across the state at the Almy Dam in Johnston. High hazard potential dams are dams where failure is probable to cause loss of human life and endanger population centers and ecosystems, especially in periods of extreme weather and flooding. In an effort to protect the public by preventing dam failures and improving dam safety in communities across the country, the U.S. Senate recently passed key elements of Senator Reed’s High Hazard Potential Small Dam Safety Act. This bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), would authorize $445 million in federal grant assistance for the rehabilitation and repair of non-federal high hazard potential dams nationwide. If Reed’s bill becomes law and is fully funded, Rhode Island would be eligible for up to $700,000 per year to help inspect, repair, and rehabilitate high hazard dams.
