More dam inspections would be costly

To the editor:

On Feb. 13, Gov. Matt Blunt asked the legislature to give the Department of Natural Resources greater regulatory authority over Missouri dams in response to the collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir in December. The proposed legislation would increase the number of state-regulated dams to approximately 5,000 from 640.

Taum Sauk reservoir is a federally inspected dam. It is the only dam in Missouri on top of a mountain. We cannot place this dam in the same category as other Missouri dams. We should not use the Taum Sauk disaster to justify revamping laws and regulations.

In 1979 Missouri enacted the dam safety law that allowed state inspections of dams 35 feet and above. This was brought about by mine-waste dam failures along the Big River that caused fish kills and lead contamination. The state had inspectors in the budget that inspected these dams, and it didn't cost the landowners.

To save money in the 2003 budget, Gov. Bob Holden cut the state dam inspectors. This left it up to the dam owners to pay anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 to have their dams inspected. Another hardship was to find engineers willing to sign off on the dams because of the liability involved. My district had the most regulated dams in the state. I fought in 2004 to get the money back for two dam inspectors.

To increase dam inspections to 5,000 would create either a tremendous expense to the state or to the private dam owners.

State Rep. BELINDA HARRIS, District 110, Hillsboro, Mo.