Alabama legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Alabama SB378: Dam Safety Program; Emergency Management Agency required to administer, agency approval of participating dam construction, modification, or removal required
Status: Signed into law, April 15, 2026
What the bill says
An Act, Relating to dam safety, to amend Sections 33-7-71, 33-7-72, 33-7-73, and 33-7-74, Code of Alabama 1975, to require the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to administer the Alabama Dam Safety Program; to require participating dam and reservoir owners to receive approval from the agency before constructing, modifying, or removing dams and reservoirs; to authorize the agency to adopt rules and fees to administer the program; and to require the agency to submit a program implementation plan and operational and financial needs of the program to the Governor and Legislature.
From the enrolled text:
An Act, Relating to dam safety, to amend Sections 33-7-71, 33-7-72, 33-7-73, and 33-7-74, Code of Alabama 1975, to require the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to administer the Alabama Dam Safety Program; to require participating dam and reservoir owners to receive approval from the agency before constructing, modifying, or removing dams and reservoirs; to authorize the agency to adopt rules and fees to administer the program; and to require the agency to submit a program implementation plan and operational and financial needs of the program to the Governor and Legislature. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1. Sections 33-7-71, 33-7-72, 33-7-73, and 33-7-74, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows: "§33-7-71 For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) ABANDON or ABANDONMENT. To render a dam non-impounding by dewatering and filling the reservoir created by the dam with solid materials, by diverting the natural drainway around the site, or by removing a portion of the dam to allow drainage to occur the same, or nearly the same, as before the construction of the dam. (2) ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES. Negative impacts that may occur upstream, downstream, or at locations remote from the dam. The primary concerns are loss of human life, disruption Page dam. The primary concerns are loss of …