Alabama Dam Safety Requirements
Alabama was the last state in the country without a dam safety programme. SB 378 of the 2026 regular session created one, amending Code of Alabama 1975 §§ 33-7-71 to 33-7-74 to place the Alabama Dam Safety Program under the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. It takes effect 1 October 2026.
The enrolled definition of a covered dam excludes “Privately owned dams, regardless of the hazard designation, unless the owner has voluntarily elected to participate in the program” (§ 33-7-71).
Every operative duty in the act — inspection, emergency action planning, approval before construction — attaches to a “participating owner”. So the programme covers whoever opts in.
147 of Alabama's 228 high-hazard dams (64%) are privately owned, and will be outside the programme unless their owners volunteer.
What the act does
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Administration | AEMA administers the Alabama Dam Safety Program, replacing the duties previously sitting with local emergency management agencies. |
| Coverage | Privately owned dams are excluded regardless of hazard designation unless the owner voluntarily elects to participate. |
| Inspection | A participating owner shall cause the dam to be inspected at least once every four years by an engineer, who certifies completion to the local emergency management agency. |
| Emergency action plans | Participating owners of high and significant hazard dams shall develop and file an EAP with the local emergency management agency, prepared by an engineer in consultation with the local EMA Director. |
| Construction | Participating owners must obtain agency approval before constructing, modifying or removing a dam, and notify the local EMA in writing. |
| Rules and fees | AEMA is authorised to adopt rules and fees to administer the programme. None have been adopted yet. |
| Implementation plan | AEMA must submit an Alabama Dam Safety Program Implementation Plan — designed to comply with the National Dam Safety Program under 33 U.S.C. § 467f — plus a statement of operational and financial needs, to the Governor and Legislature. |
| Inventory | AEMA shall coordinate with USACE to ensure all relevant Alabama dams are included in the National Inventory of Dams and Low-Head Dams. |
| Effective | 1 October 2026 |
What the voluntary structure means, quantified
Coverage of the new programme reported at the time focused on the duties it creates. The enrolled definition is what determines how far those duties reach, and the national inventory lets that be measured rather than estimated.
| Owner type | High-hazard dams | Share | In the programme by default? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private | 147 | 64% | No — opt-in only |
| Local government | 30 | 13% | Yes |
| Public utility | 22 | 10% | Yes |
| Federal | 18 | 8% | Federally regulated |
| State | 8 | 4% | Yes |
The act's emergency action plan duty covers participating owners of high and significant hazard dams. Alabama has 228 high and 443 significant hazard dams — 671 in total. Of those, 542 (81%) are privately owned.
The starting position
Alabama begins its programme with less information about its own dams than any other state, for the straightforward reason that until now no agency collected it. Of 228 high-hazard dams, 203 carry no condition rating at all in the national inventory — not a poor rating, no rating. And 178 have no emergency action plan on record, which at 78.1% is the highest rate of any state in the country.
That is the context for the implementation plan due to the Governor and Legislature: the agency has to build an inspection and planning regime for a population of structures whose condition is largely unknown, while the majority of the high-hazard ones sit outside its default reach.
Alabama by the numbers
| Measure | Count |
|---|---|
| Total dams | 2,266 |
| High hazard | 228 |
| Significant hazard | 443 |
| High hazard, no EAP recorded | 178 (78.1%) |
| High hazard, no condition rating | 203 |
| High hazard rated Unsatisfactory | 1 |
Counties with the most dams
| County | Dams | High hazard | Poor/Unsat. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hale | 239 | 1 | 0 |
| Dallas | 131 | 5 | 0 |
| Montgomery | 100 | 4 | 0 |
| Greene | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| Jefferson | 86 | 20 | 0 |
| Perry | 84 | 0 | 0 |
| Shelby | 83 | 23 | 0 |
| Tuscaloosa | 80 | 26 | 0 |
| Lee | 62 | 7 | 0 |
| Sumter | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| Marengo | 51 | 1 | 0 |
| Bullock | 50 | 0 | 0 |
If you own a dam in Alabama
Participation is the threshold decision, and it is the owner's. Opting in brings the four-year engineer inspection, the emergency action plan duty for a high or significant hazard structure, and approval before construction or modification. Staying out leaves those obligations unimposed by the state — which does not make the dam safer, and does not change an owner's exposure at common law if it fails.
Nothing in the act changes what good practice requires. The consequence analysis that determines whether a dam would kill someone downstream is the same calculation in Alabama as in any other state; what differs is who is obliged to do it.
Data source. Inventory figures computed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams national extract, stamped 2026-8-28. Statutory provisions read from the enrolled text of SB 378, 2026 Regular Session, as published by the Alabama Legislature.
Scope. Read from the enrolled text of SB 378 (2026 Regular Session) and current as of 2026-08-28. Not an engineering opinion about any specific structure and not legal advice. AEMA has not yet adopted rules, so the operational detail of the programme is not settled; confirm against the current text of Code of Alabama 1975 §§ 33-7-71 to 33-7-74 and contact the Alabama Emergency Management Agency for a determination that binds.