Does My Dam Need an Emergency Action Plan in Virginia?
The obligation, who it falls on, and the recurring duty that follows it — from Va. Code §§ 10.1-604 et seq. and Virginia Impounding Structure Regulations, 4VAC50-20.
High hazard impounding structures must maintain a Board-approved emergency action plan under § 10.1-605, and must exercise it annually.
Virginia goes further than most states on transparency: the plan must be posted online (by the owner, or by arrangement with the agency), certifications provided to the Department, and the plan made available to the public within five business days of a request.
The annual exercise is a real obligation
Filing is not the duty; exercising is. Virginia requires an annual exercise of the plan, which means the notification chain gets tested rather than assumed. For an owner, that is a materially heavier commitment than an annual paper update, and it is the provision most often dropped from secondary summaries.
Public availability changes how you write the plan
Because a Virginia EAP must be available to the public on request within five business days, it is drafted knowing it will be read by people other than emergency managers. That is close to the opposite of North Carolina's posture, where G.S. 143-215.31(a1) exempts sensitive public security information from disclosure. Two neighbouring states, opposite defaults — worth knowing before you copy a plan template across the line.
Hazard classification drives it
Classification criteria are in 4VAC50-20-40, and Virginia is unusually specific about roadways: a major roadway is an interstate, primary highway, high-volume urban street or similar facility carrying more than 400 vehicles AADT. Below that it is a secondary roadway, which points to significant rather than high hazard. Most state schemes leave "important highway" undefined; Virginia gives you a number to check. Full classification criteria →
Virginia in the national picture
Virginia has 452 high-hazard dams, of which 37 (8.2%) have no emergency action plan recorded in the National Inventory of Dams. Rankings, method and the downloadable dataset are on the national EAP gap page.
Scope. General information about Virginia dam safety regulation, read from primary sources and current as of 2026-08-28. Not an engineering opinion about any specific structure and not legal advice. Requirements change when the legislature amends the Dam Safety Act or the rules are revised — confirm against the current text of Va. Code §§ 10.1-604 et seq. and Virginia Impounding Structure Regulations, 4VAC50-20, and contact the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board for a determination that binds.