Dam Owner Responsibilities

Getting Help with an EAP

There are many resources available to dam owners to help pull together the extensive information required for a thorough EAP.

The best way for a dam owner to begin is by drawing on the expertise of state and county officials who will be part of the EAP team. Locally, this is the city or county Emergency Management Director or Coordinator (EMD). While the Kentucky Dam Safety and Floodplain Compliance Section engineers can provide much technical data about the dam based on its licensing and inspections, the EMD will know how and where to gather much of the emergency contact information needed.

The EMD will know other professionals who can be called upon for help, and precisely which details are most important to gather first. Priorities can be established, and a reasonable timetable for completion of the EAP can be developed. The county courthouse or city hall will have the name and contact information for the EMD. Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) is a division of the state's Department of Military Affairs and has posted a directory of county websites and social media that can be used to reach an EMD. The Kentucky Emergency Management Association (KEMA) can also help provide the name and contact information for a local EMD.

Another good starting point is the Kentucky Dam Safety and Floodplain Compliance Section office in Frankfort, where the state dam safety regulatory team is headquartered and provides several tools to help with EAPs.

Brian Shane Cook
Kentucky Dept. of Environmental Protection
Division of Water
200 Fair Oaks Lane, Fourth Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601
Tel: 502-564-3410
Fax: 502-564-0111
Email: shane.cook@ky.gov
Website: http://water.ky.gov/damsafety/Pages/default.aspx

After-Hours Emergency Number Kentucky Emergency Management: 800-255-2587

At the national level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) provide educational materials for dam owners. The ASDSO provides several documents helpful to dam owners in understanding and working on EAPs. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service also provides help with EAPs for dams that included NRCS (or its predecessor Soil Conservation Service) funds or involvement.

When it comes time to sit down and create the EAP, there often will be no better partner than the county or city Emergency Management Director. EMDs are the key local contact in the event of an emergency, have immediate access to emergency response personnel and resources, and they must have a copy of the EAP on file.