Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A.
An application package to construct, reconstruct, repair, enlarge, or alter a
low hazard potential dam shall include the following prepared by or under the
supervision of an engineer as defined in R12-15-1202(11):
1. A completed application filed in duplicate
on forms provided by the Director.
2. An initial application fee based on the
total estimated project cost, computed in accordance with A.R.S. § 45-1204
and
R12-15-104(A)(7).
3. A detailed estimate of project costs.
Project costs are all costs associated with construction of the dam and
appurtenant works, including preliminary investigations and surveys,
engineering design, supervision of construction, and any other engineering
costs.
4. The seal and signature of
the responsible engineer in accordance with A.A.C. R4-30-304.
5. A statement by the responsible engineer
that classifies the dam as low hazard in accordance with R12-15-1206(B). The
responsible engineer shall submit a map of the area that would be inundated by
failure or improper operation of the dam. The responsible engineer shall
demonstrate that failure or improper operation of the dam would be unlikely to
result in:
a. Loss of human life. The
demonstration may be based on an emergency action plan for persons who may be
in the area of inundation;
b.
Significant incremental adverse consequences; or
c. Significant intangible losses, as defined
in
R12-15-1202(21)
and identified and evaluated by a public natural resource management or
protection agency.
6.
Two complete sets of construction drawings as prescribed by
R12-15-1215(1).
7. Two complete sets of construction
specifications as prescribed by
R12-15-1215(2).
8. An engineering design report that includes
information needed to evaluate all aspects of the design of the dam and
appurtenances, including references with page numbers to support any
assumptions used in the design, as prescribed in
R12-15-1215(3).
9. A description of the use for the impounded
or diverted water, proof of a right to appropriate, and a permit to store water
as prescribed in A.R.S. §§
45-152
and
45-161.
10. A construction quality assurance plan
clearly describing all aspects of construction supervision.
11. A long-term budget plan and evidence of
financing, prepared using customary accounting principles, that demonstrate
that the applicant has the financial capability to construct, operate, and
maintain the dam in a safe manner. If the applicant does not have evidence that
can be verified by an independent audit of the financial capability to
construct, operate, and maintain the dam in a safe manner, the Director may
require a performance bond for the entire cost of the proposed construction
work.
B. An application
package for the breach or removal of a low hazard potential dam shall include
the following:
1. A completed application
filed in duplicate on forms provided by the Director that contains the
following information:
a. The name and address
of the owner of the dam or the agent of the owner.
b. A description of the proposed
removal.
c. The proposed time for
beginning and completing the removal.
2. An initial application fee based on the
total estimated project cost and computed in accordance with A.R.S. §
45-1204 and
R12-15-104(A)(7).
3. A statement by the responsible engineer
demonstrating both of the following:
a. That
the dam will be excavated to the level of natural ground at the maximum
section; and
b. That the breach or
breaches will be of sufficient width to pass the greater of:
i. The 100 year flood at a depth of less than
5 feet, or
ii. The 100 year flood
at a normal flood depth of not more than 2 feet at a distance of 2,000 feet
downstream of the dam,
iii.
Subsection (B)(3)(b) shall not be construed to require more than a total
removal of the dam regardless of flood magnitude.
c. That the sides of the breach will be
excavated to a slope ratio that is stable and not steeper than 1 horizontal to
1 vertical.
4. A
detailed estimate of project costs. Project costs are all costs associated with
the removal of the dam and appurtenant works, including preliminary
investigations and surveys, engineering design, supervision of removal, and any
other engineering costs.
C. An applicant intending to reduce a low
hazard potential dam to nonjurisdictional size shall submit a written notice to
the Director at least no less than 60 days before the date that construction
begins.
D. Within 45 days after
receipt of a complete application package as prescribed by subsection (A) or
(B), the Director shall either:
1. Determine
that the dam falls within the low hazard potential classification, or
2. Issue a written notice that the dam does
not fall within the low hazard potential classification.
E. The Director's determination that the
proposed dam does not fall within the low hazard classification is an
appealable agency action and subject to administrative and judicial review
under A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10.
F. Upon completion of construction, the owner
shall notify the Department in writing. The owner shall not use the dam or
reservoir before issuance of a license unless the Director issues written
approval.
G. Within 90 days after
completing construction, reconstruction, repair, enlargement, or alteration of
a low hazard potential dam, the owner shall file the following:
1. An affidavit showing the actual cost of
construction, reconstruction, repair, enlargement, or alteration of the dam.
The owner shall submit a detailed accounting of the costs, including all
engineering costs.
2. An additional
fee or refund request computed in accordance with A.R.S. §
45-1209
and
R12-15-104(A)(7),
based on the actual cost of construction, reconstruction, repair, enlargement,
or alteration.
3. A brief
completion report summarizing the salient features of the project, including a
description of the causes for any changes or deviations from the approved
application package prepared by the engineer who supervised the construction,
in accordance with A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 1. The engineer shall indicate:
a. That the dam has been designed and
constructed in compliance with basic principles of dam construction currently
being practiced in the industry;
b.
That the dam as constructed has structural integrity and flood routing capacity
consistent with its hazard potential classification; and
c. That the as constructed drawings and the
report accurately represent the construction of the dam.
4. As constructed drawings prepared and
sealed by the engineer who supervised the construction. The owner and the
engineer shall maintain a record of the drawings.
H. Upon receiving the Director's written
approval, the owner may operate the dam and appurtenant works. Within 30 days
after receipt of the information in subsection (G), the Director shall issue to
the owner either a license or a notice that the dam and appurtenant works shall
not be operated because the dam and appurtenant works do not qualify as low
hazard or were not built according to the submitted design. The license shall
include conditions of operation, including:
1.
The safe storage level of the reservoir,
2. A requirement that the dam be operated and
maintained so that it does not constitute a danger to human life and
property,
3. A requirement that the
conditions resulting in the low hazard classification be maintained throughout
the life of the dam, and
4. A
requirement that the owner demonstrate in writing the low hazard classification
in the manner prescribed by subsection (A)(5) every five years.
I. Within 90 days after completing
removal of a low hazard potential dam, the owner shall file the following. The
Director shall remove the dam from jurisdiction upon approval of the submittal.
1. An affidavit showing the actual cost of
removal of the dam. The owner shall submit a detailed accounting of the costs,
including all engineering costs.
2.
An additional fee or refund request computed in accordance with A.R.S. §
45-1204 and
R12-15-104(A)(7),
based on the actual cost of removal.
3. A brief completion report, including a
description of the causes for any changes or deviations from the approved
application package prepared by the engineer who supervised the construction,
in accordance with A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 1. The engineer shall certify that
the as removed drawings and the report accurately represent the actual removal
of the dam.
4. As-removed drawings
prepared and sealed by the engineer who supervised the removal. The owner and
the engineer shall maintain a record of the drawings.
J. An owner shall immediately commence
repairs necessary to safeguard human life and property and prevent failure and
improper operation of a low hazard potential dam. The owner shall notify the
Department as soon as reasonably possible and in all cases within 10 days of
commencing the required repairs.
