08/06/08 Deadline approaching to report unpermitted dams

Washington Ag August 6, 2008 Owners of small reservoirs built without permits have until September 1st to report their dams to the Department of Ecology for periodic safety inspections. To protect people and property downstream, Ecology's Dam Safety Office has been scanning aerial photos across the state to locate unpermitted reservoirs of two acres or more that hold at least 10 acre-feet of water. Over 500 have been found. The small reservoirs are often used in farming for frost control, irrigation water storage or dairy waste lagoons. Dam Safety Supervisor Doug Johnson says dam owners who report by the September 1st deadline won't face fines. Johnson: "We will work with them. They still have to get an engineer and fix any deficiencies that might be found on the dam, but they wouldn't face any fines or penalties or things like that." Owners who fail to correct deficiencies and obtain all needed state permits could face fines of up to five-thousand dollars a day. Ecology can also order dangerous dams to be drained and removed. Yakima County leads the top five in the state with 48 potentially hazardous unpermitted dams, followed by Whatcom and Grant with 22, Skagit with 15 and Spokane County with 14. I'm Bob Hoff.