H 778

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2026
No. 114. An act relating to dam safety.
                                     (H.778)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 20 V.S.A. § 10 is amended to read:
§ 10. REQUEST TO GOVERNOR BY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES
   The all-hazards event provisions of this chapter shall not be brought into
action unless the municipal director of emergency management, a member of
the legislative body of the municipality, the city or town manager, or the mayor
of a city that is within the area affected by an all-hazards event shall declare an
emergency and request the Governor to find that a state of emergency exists
and the Governor so finds, or unless the Governor declares a state of
emergency under section 9 of this title. This section shall not be construed to
prevent the Governor or the Director of Emergency Management without
municipal approval from requiring the evacuation of an area subject to
inundation from a dam failure when there is a dam failure or an imminent risk
of failure.
Sec. 2. STATE OF VERMONT EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANNING
          PILOT PROJECT; REPORT
   (a)(1) The Division of Emergency Management, in coordination with the
Department of Environmental Conservation, shall conduct a pilot project under
which the Division shall develop a set of emergency operations plans (EOPs)
for two State-owned dams that have been classified as high-hazard potential.
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One of the dams shall have a population at risk of 1,000 or more persons and
the other shall have a population at risk of 100 or more but fewer than 1,000
persons.
         (2) The set of EOPs for each dam shall include actions for each
municipality in the inundation zone of the dam.
   (b)(1) In preparing the EOPs required under subsection (a) of this section
and in order to ensure the sufficiency of the EOPs to protect public lives and
property, the Division shall coordinate with and collect input from the Whole
Community that would be affected if the dam were to fail. The Division also
shall coordinate with any owner or operator of a hydroelectric generation
facility located at a State-owned dam. As used in this section, “Whole
Community” shall have the same meaning as provided in the Federal
Emergency Management Administration guidance on A Whole Community
Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for
Action FDOC 104-008-1, December 2011.
         (2) The Division of Emergency Management may hire a contractor,
including a regional planning commission, to complete the requirements of this
section, including one or both of the EOPs required under subsection (a) of this
section.
   (c) Each EOP required to be completed under subsection (a) of this section
shall:
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      (1) be coordinated with each dam’s emergency action plan and shall
utilize each dam’s emergency action plan inundation maps;
      (2) identify planned evacuations and evacuation routes based on
possible inundation scenarios, including how to evacuate vulnerable
populations such as medically vulnerable individuals who need access to
electricity or specialized medical equipment;
      (3) identify where individuals shall evacuate to, such as a shelter, higher
ground, or reunification location;
      (4) engage managers and administrators of facilities that house
vulnerable populations within the Whole Community in the plan development;
      (5) plan for the use of mutual aid and State resources, and coordinate
such use between municipalities downstream of the dam;
      (6) address how to implement the use of pre-event communication and
early warning systems to alert persons in the inundation areas, including the
use of the VT-Alert system; and
      (7) include any additional provisions deemed useful by the Division in
developing the EOP or for inclusion in the EOP.
   (d) On or before July 1, 2028, the Division of Emergency Management
shall submit to the House Committee on Environment and the Senate
Committee on Natural Resources and Energy the results of the pilot project
required under subsection (a) of this section, including:
      (1) copies of the EOPs for the two dams;
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      (2) a summary of the process of developing the EOPs, including
whether the Division completed the EOPs with Division staff, contracted with
regional planning commissions, or hired other contractors to complete the
EOPs;
      (3) a summary of who in the area of potential inundation for each dam
that the Division or the Division contractor coordinated with in the
development of the EOP;
      (4) the cost of the EOPs completed under the pilot project;
      (5) a summary of early warning and communications systems
municipalities may use to communicate recommendations or requests for
evacuation, including the best use of the State’s VT-Alert system; and
      (6) a scope, timeline, and budget for the Division to develop an EOP
template or templates and a training on EOP development for municipalities.
   (e) As part of the report required under subsection (d) of this section, the
Division of Emergency Management shall, based on the results of the pilot
project EOPs:
      (1) recommend how EOPs should be completed for municipalities
downstream of all State or federal dams in Vermont that are high-hazard
potential dams and that have a population at risk of 100 or more persons,
including:
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           (A) whether and how to prioritize completion of the EOPs for
municipalities downstream of all high-hazard dams with a population at risk of
100 or more persons;
           (B) whether the Division of Emergency Management can complete
or contract for completion of the EOPs for municipalities downstream of all
State or federal dams with a population at risk of 100 or more persons by 2035;
           (C) whether the Division of Emergency Management can complete
an EOP for municipalities downstream of a federal dam or whether the
Division may only assist those local entities authorized to complete an EOP
under federal law; and
           (D) what it would cost for the Division of Emergency Management
to complete the EOPs for municipalities downstream of dams with a
population at risk of 100 or more persons or what it would cost for the
Division to contract with a qualified consultant to complete the EOPs;
       (2) recommend how EOPs should be completed for municipalities
downstream of high-hazard dams with a population at risk of fewer than 100
persons;
       (3) recommend organizations that may assist municipalities in accessing
potential funding sources and assist in the completion or compliance with an
EOP;
       (4) recommend how to best educate municipalities and emergency
service providers about the need for and importance of EOPs for dams;
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      (5) recommend whether and how an EOP should identify structures that
persons would reasonably be expected to occupy and how to geotag these
structures for purposes of inclusion in the VT-Alert system; and
      (6) recommend how often exercises should be conducted to validate the
EOPs required under subsection (a) of this section and ultimately for all EOPs
prepared for dams in the State.
Sec. 3. APPROPRIATIONS
   (a) In addition to other funds appropriated to the Department of Public
Safety for the Division of Emergency Management in fiscal year 2027,
$250,000.00 is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department for
completion by the Division of Emergency Management of the emergency
operations plan pilot project required under Sec. 2 of this act.
   (b) In addition to other funds appropriated to the Department of
Environmental Conservation in fiscal year 2027, $125,000.00 is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Conservation for
the Department’s assistance in completing the emergency operations plan pilot
project required under Sec. 2 of this act.
Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on passage.
Date Governor signed bill: May 27, 2026
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