LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 7064 NOTE PREPARED: Feb 2, 2022
BILL NUMBER: SB 269 BILL AMENDED: Jan 31, 2022
SUBJECT: Regulation of Dams.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Donato BILL STATUS: As Passed Senate
FIRST SPONSOR: Rep. Manning
FUNDS AFFECTED: GENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
XDEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill provides that the laws regulating dams apply only to a structure that
meets two or more of the following conditions:
(1) Exceeds 20 feet in height.
(2) Has a drainage area above the dam of more than one square mile.
(3) Impounds a volume of more than 100 acre-feet of water.
The bill requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish a classification system for dams
based on:
(1) the height of the structure and the volume of water impounded by the structure; and
(2) the force of the water and the likely consequences resulting from the uncontrolled release of its
contents due to a failure or misoperation of the structure.
The bill changes the standard to determine potential consequences for a failure from "may cause" to "likely
to cause". The bill requires the DNR to provide the property owner notice at least five days before
performing an inspection. It requires a property owner who intends to sell the property that contains a high,
significant, or low hazard dam to provide a document to the intended buyer with the classification of the dam.
The bill requires the DNR to have jurisdiction over a dam to raise the dam's classification to high hazard
upon receiving a request from a downstream owner. It requires the property owner of a high hazard dam to
prepare an emergency action plan and provide a copy to the DNR and the local fire department.
It provides that changes to the law do not affect past inspections.
Effective Date: July 1, 2022.
SB 269 1 Explanation of State Expenditures: The bill would likely decrease the number of dam inspections
performed by the DNR, which would decrease state expenditures [See Explanation of State Revenues for
more information.] The DNR reports that the costs of completing dam inspections is 5 to 10 times higher than
the revenue generated from the dam inspection fee, so any decrease in state revenue would be accompanied
by a larger decrease in state expenditures. The bill increases DNR workload minimally, as it requires the
DNR to provide a property owner notice at least five days before performing an inspection and to publish
on their web site the most recent emergency action plans submitted by owners of high hazard dams.
Explanation of State Revenues: The bill may potentially lower the number of dams regulated by the DNR,
as it requires a dam to meet two or more conditions (instead of one or more) to be considered a dam under
the DNR’s jurisdiction. It is unknown how many dams would no longer be under the DNR’s jurisdiction.
Under current law, the DNR regulates 1,388 dams (278 high hazard; 321 significant hazard; and 789 low
hazard). The DNR does not inspect high hazard structures. These inspections are to be done by professionally
licensed engineers every 2 years, and the owner must submit a report on the inspection to the DNR. The DNR
is to inspect significant hazard dams every 3 years and charge $200 per inspection. The DNR is to inspect
low hazard structures every 5 years and charge $100 per inspection.
The bill requires dam classification to be based on the dam’s height and volume of water impounded in
addition to the force of the water in the case of a dam failure. It also changes the standard to determine
potential consequences for a dam failure from "may cause" to "likely to cause" which could reclassify some
structures down, such that a structure that was a high hazard structure would now become a significant
hazard structure (and would be inspected by the DNR rather than by an outside engineer), or a significant
hazard structure may become a low hazard structure (still inspected by the DNR, but the inspection fee is less
and is done less often). The extent that these reclassifications would happen is unknown.
The bill also requires the DNR to have jurisdiction over a dam to raise the dam's classification to high
capacity (in response to a written request from a downstream owner).
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Workload could minimally increase for fire departments to receive
emergency action plans submitted by owners of high hazard dams.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Natural Resources.
Local Agencies Affected: Fire departments.
Information Sources: https://www.in.gov/dnr/water/dams-and-levees/
Department of Natural Resources.
Fiscal Analyst: Heather Puletz, 317-234-9484.
SB 269 2