Matthew Pruchnik, PE. Tennessee Valley Authority TVA Dam Safety History & Dam Safety Program
Table of Contents Introduction History Program Established Guidelines Considered Guidelines Selected Appendix TVA Contacts 2
Introduction Dam Safety Governance Vision: To provide leadership for all dam safety activities at TVA by building an agency-wide program that meets or exceeds industry best practices. Dam Safety Governance Mission: To provide Leadership and Oversight for all Dam Safety activities at TVA. Establish and maintain management and engineering standards that meet or exceed best practices for the industry. Provide oversight through review and assessment of TVA-wide dam safety activities. Make wise use of TVA resources by defining and systematically reducing the risk at TVA dams, impoundments and other dam-related facilities. 3
TVA Dam Safety History 1933 TVA Act & Wilson Dam 1976 Teton Dam Failure 1979 Federal Guidelines (Appendix A) 1980 1 st TVA DSO 1982 Formal Dam Safety Program (Regulating Dams) 2008 Kingston Ash Spill 2010 Dam Safety Governance TVA Dam Safety Program TVA-SPP- 27.0 4
Dam Safety Governance Program Established Verify that dams and impoundments are designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. Establish and maintain a complete inventory of all TVA dams and impoundments. Review new designs and major modifications to dams and impoundments. Perform independent assessments of asset owner activities to measure compliance. Prepare an Annual Report to TVA s CEO, Executive Council, and Board of Directors. Prepare biennial report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Maintain an Independent Review Board to provide technical expertise and guidance. 5
Dam Safety Program Requirements Guidelines Considered Acceptance Criteria selected should be at a high level to allow flexibility for application across TVA Regardless of the criteria selected, TVA must document exceptions and justifications Exceptions may be specific to a dam or programmatic in scope Exceptions must be based on sound engineering judgment DSG reviewed two existing Agency Guidance documents and considered: Level of detail Flexibility to use alternate methods based on sound engineering judgment Clarity of mandatory versus optional guidelines 6
Dam Safety Program Requirements Guidelines Selected DSG selected the FERC Guidelines FERC Guidelines: Summarized in 14 chapters Provide technical staff with procedures and criteria for engineering review and analysis of dams Recognize site-specific nature of dam design and encourage the exercise of sound engineering judgment References include USACE technical guidance as well as other industry standards 7
Dam Safety Program Requirements Guidelines Selected IRB has reviewed SPP 27.0 and made suggestions for improving the TVA guidance that specifies existing criteria (issued by another agency). For example, Include criteria for topics not covered by FERC or FEMA Specify exceptions to selected criteria which are not applicable to TVA An Example of the Similarities with the FERC process include: TVA hired an Independent Review Board instead of (FERC) Board of Consultants An Example of the Exceptions to the FERC process includes: TVA require STI s for low hazard dams while FERC does not. 8
Dam Safety Program Requirements TVA-SPP-27.0 TVA-SPP-27.008 Governance Procedures Provide the framework to assess TVA s compliance with the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. Procedures will be formally reviewed at least every two years and updated as needed to comply with Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. The TVA Dam Safety Program is based, as appropriate under the circumstances, on the substantive provisions of the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects, and other State and Federal dam-safety provisions. The functional areas of the procedures include: 27.0 Dam Safety Program 27.001 Design and Evaluation 27.002 Construction and Major Modifications 27.003 Operations, Maintenance, and Repair 27.004 Inspections 27.005 Instrumentation and Monitoring 27.006 Emergency Preparedness 27.007 DSG and Oversight 27.008 Dam Safety Risk Management (Draft) 9
TVA-SPP-27.0 through 27.008 Defines minimum requirements for TVA Dam Safety Program. Dam Safety Program Implementation Dam Safety Officer (DSO) DSO is appointed by and reports dam safety issues to the CEO or his/her designee. The DSO is responsible for the overall management, administration, governance, and oversight of TVA Dam Safety Governance (DSG). Dam Safety Governance Responsible for supporting the DSO in efforts to ensure the safety and minimize the risk of failure of TVA dams by issuing and periodically reviewing Dam Safety Program procedures (TVA-SPP-27.0 through TVA-SPP-27.008) and by periodically assessing and reporting SBU compliance with the procedures. SBU (Asset Owner) Dam Safety Programs Responsible for implementing a dam safety program which complies with Dam Safety Program procedures (TVA-SPP-27.0 through TVA-SPP-27.008). 10
APPENDIX 11
APPENDIX A General Dam Safety Background - Federal Name FEMA Rev. Date TVA Credits Guidelines Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety Earthquake Analyses and Design of Dams Emergency Action Planning for Dam Owners Selecting and Accommodating Inflow Design Floods for Dams Hazard Potential Classification Systems for Dams Glossary of Terms for Dam Safety 93 1979 Buchanan, Newton, Reinhold, Abraham, Coulson, Vigander, Spearman, Stone, Smalling, Buttrey, Brewer, & Shelton 65 2003 Abraham, Spearman, Major, McLean, & Wagner 64 1998 Janet Herrin 94 1998 Sam Shipman 333 1998 None 148 2003 James Price & Sam Shipman <www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/safety/guidelines.asp> 12
APPENDIX B Industry Involvement Dam Safety Industry Board, Workgroup or Organization DSG Involvement American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) Center for Energy Advancement through Technology Innovation (CEATI) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Environmental Protection Agency Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS) Joint Federal Risk Management Workgroup Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) National Dam Safety Review Board (NDSRB) Other Electric Utilities Project Management Institute (PMI) State Environmental Protection Agencies International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) United States Society on Dams (USSD) 13
Contact Information For Questions on TVA Dam Safety Program: Dolly Novak, P.E. (Available July 15, 2014) email: dnovak@tva.gov Phone: 423 751 4053 Matthew Pruchnik, P.E. (Interim until July 15, 2014) email: mapruchnik@tva.gov Phone: 423 751 2472 14