Effective 28 Aug 1979

236.440. Owner to notify council, when — council to issue safety permit — registration of existing dams, when — violations. — 1. The owner shall notify the council upon completion of construction, alteration, enlargement, or reduction of the dam or reservoir. This notification shall bear the seal and signature of an experienced professional engineer and shall be accompanied by an application for a safety permit. The owner of any dam or reservoir subject to the provisions of sections 236.400 to 236.500 shall obtain a safety permit following completion of construction.

2. Upon receipt of complete and proper application for a safety permit, including notification of completion by the owner and certification by an experienced professional engineer that the new construction, alteration, enlargement or reduction has been completed in accordance with the provisions of the construction permit and sections 236.400 to 236.500, the council shall upon receipt of the application issue a safety permit. The council upon advice of the chief engineer may deny the application if it determines that violations of the construction permit or sections 236.400 to 236.500 exist. If revisions have been made which vary substantially from the provisions of the construction permit, it must be shown that the revisions do not endanger public safety, life or property. The safety permit for dams constructed pursuant to a construction permit issued under sections 236.400 to 236.500, may contain conditions the council upon advice of the chief engineer determines are necessary for the protection of public safety, life and property and a schedule and timetable for the dam and reservoir to achieve compliance with the construction permit and provisions of sections 236.400 to 236.500, standards, rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, but such conditions shall not be more stringent or restrictive than those contained in the construction permit.

3. Owners of dams and reservoirs in existence on September 28, 1979, shall obtain registration permits for dams of fifty to seventy feet in height within four years, and for dams up to fifty feet in height within six years of September 28, 1979, or as otherwise required by the provisions of sections 236.400 to 236.500 and rules and regulations adopted hereunder. A registration permit shall be issued by the council upon the advice of the chief engineer for dams and reservoirs only after it is determined that the dam meets the standards of sections 236.400 to 236.500 and rules and regulations hereunder, and any recommendations made by the inspecting engineer pursuant thereto.

4. Upon complete and proper application for a registration permit, on forms provided by the department of natural resources, by the owner of a dam in existence upon September 28, 1979, including a certification by an experienced professional engineer or an engineering division of a state or federal agency regularly engaged in dam construction for soil or water conservation, irrigation, or relating to wildlife conservation, that the dam has been inspected in accordance with sections 236.400 to 236.500, standards, rules and regulations and guidelines promulgated hereunder, and that the owner has complied with the inspecting engineer's or agency's recommendations necessary to correct observed defects of the dam or reservoir, the council shall, upon receipt of the application, issue a registration permit. The council upon hearing the recommendations of the chief engineer may deny the application if it determines that the owner has not complied with the inspecting engineer's or agency's recommendations.

5. For dams for which construction was completed prior to the effective date of the construction permit requirements hereunder, the registration permit may contain conditions the council upon hearing recommendations of the chief engineer determines to be necessary to bring the dam and reservoir into compliance with sections 236.400 to 236.500 and standards, rules and regulations promulgated hereunder.

6. If a dam or reservoir has been removed by the owner, the council shall issue a final approval upon notification by the owner and receipt of certification by an experienced professional engineer that the removal has been carried out in accordance with the provisions of the construction permit issued for such removal. Failure to obtain final approval shall be a violation of sections 236.400 to 236.500.

7. The council shall issue safety permits for dams or their construction, alterations, enlargements, reductions or removals designed by, and their construction or other listed actions monitored by, a state or federal agency engaged in dam construction for soil and water conservation, irrigation or relating to wildlife conservation provided the owners obtain from such agency and file with the chief engineer a statement upon completion of the construction or other listed actions and at not greater than five year intervals, and with every application for renewal of a safety permit, that the dam conforms to the plans on file with the chief engineer and is in a safe, properly maintained condition.

8. The owner shall apply for renewal of a safety or registration permit not less than sixty days prior to expiration of the previously issued permit. The chief engineer shall determine if the dam and reservoir are essentially as described in the latest permit issued for that dam and reservoir, whether they satisfy the requirements of sections 236.400 to 236.500 and any rules, regulations, standards and guidelines adopted pursuant to sections 236.400 to 236.500 and whether any inspection conducted in connection with the permit renewal reveals any defect in the dam or reservoir which would threaten public safety, life or property. Unless the chief engineer determines that the dam and reservoir are not properly maintained, do not satisfy the requirements of the permit, act or rules, regulations, standards and guidelines promulgated hereunder, or that defects revealed by the inspection are not corrected, the council upon hearing the recommendations of the chief engineer shall issue or renew the safety or registration permit upon forty-five days of the receipt of a complete and proper application. The council may require the owner to furnish a certification, as a part of an application to renew a permit hereunder, by an experienced professional engineer or a qualified engineering division of a state or federal agency regularly engaged in dam construction for water conservation, irrigation or relating to wildlife conservation that the dam is in a properly maintained condition and that any recommendation for correction of defects which violate sections 236.400 to 236.500, guidelines, rules, regulations and standards hereunder or which threaten public safety, life or property have been complied with and that the engineer detected no other such defects which have not been corrected.

9. If a barrier or water impoundment becomes a dam or reservoir through alteration or enlargement as defined herein, it shall be subject to the provisions of sections 236.400 to 236.500.

10. Failure to obtain and comply with a permit as required in this section is a violation of sections 236.400 to 236.500.

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(L. 1979 H.B. 603 § 9)