About EAPs

Getting Help with an EAP

There are many resources available to dam owners to help them 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 (EMD). The EMD will know how and where to gather much of the information needed, 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. The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has a search box on its website to find the name and contact information for city and county EMDs..

Another good starting point is the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Water Resources Center in Rolla, where the state dam safety regulatory team is headquartered and provides several tools to help with EAPs. DNR created a template for Missouri dam owners to use in creating their EAP. It is similar to the Natural Resources Conservation Service form and DNR has posted it online at http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/damsft/EAP.htm. Recently DNR began a program to develop HHP dam inundation maps, which dam owners can integrate into their EAPs. Dam owners may wish to contact the DNR's chief engineer for the dam safety staff:

Contact:
Robert A. Clay, P.E. ()
MO Department of Natural Resources
Water Resources Program
111 Fairgrounds Road
Rolla, MO 65401
Phone: 573/368-2177
Fax: 573/368-2193

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 USDA NRCS also provides help with EAPs for dams that included NRCS 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 and must have a copy of the plan on file.