By Stephen Smoot
A little noticed item in a bill that was passed in the prior legislative session has sparked reaction from local officials. House Bill 5364, similar to Senate Bill 894, serves as a housecleaning type of bill with the objective of “reforms to numerous unnecessary, expired, overly-large, or outdated boards and commissions; shifting several tasks, duties, responsibilities, or funds of these outdated or unnecessary boards and commissions to other agencies or entities.”
The purpose lay in making state government both more cost-effective and efficient at the same time. Yet the portion that has local officials concerned is that which removes authority and responsibility from local conservation districts in terms of small watershed flood control dams. Ownership and control will revert to the West Virginia Conservation Agency “subject solely to the Department of Environmental Protection.”
Gary Howell, (R-Mineral) and Chair of the Economic Development Committee in the West Virginia House of Delegates, explained the reasoning.
He stated that “most of these dams were built in the 1950s through the 1970s and Mineral County has more of them than most counties. They’re all aging at the same time and now we’re dealing with renewed and stricter federal requirements on safety, inspection, and upgrades.”
The National Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture saw the need for flood control infrastructure emerge before World War II, in part because of the clear-cutting of timber from almost everywhere in the Appalachian region. Without the natural vegetation in place, floods were both more frequent and more severe.
Across West Virginia and like many other states, NRCS constructed dams on small tributary streams of larger rivers to capture and contain excess stormwater, preventing, or at least mitigating flood damage. “I remember the Flood of 85 (that wiped out many communities in the South Branch of the Potomac watershed) Those dams absolutely helped keep that from becoming much worse.”
Howell’s own delegate district features one of the most dangerous potential problems. In Keyser, a city of about 6,000, “a good example,” he says, “is dam Site 1. A city neighborhood was “built in the spillway and the plunge pool was removed. That happened because it was an easement instead of a no-build right of way, and now it’s a more costly and complicated fix.”
With the dam holding back a small lake uphill from a large neighborhood, hundreds could be affected if the dam failed.
While Howell sees that “it helps from a funding standpoint,” he issued concerns that “we need to make sure the local conservation districts stay involved. They know these sites better than anyone.”
Federal funding has been inconsistent. Some years passed without federal funding for maintenance at all. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, as well as Representatives David McKinley and Alex Mooney, fought diligently, for years to finally secure a federal appropriation to help with repairs and routine maintenance.
Bob Buchanan, director of the Little Kanawha Conservation District, stated that their concern lies in “losing the direct contact” with local officials and experts about needs served until now by local districts. He shared that West Virginia has over 170 small watershed flood control dams, most in a critical stage of needing maintenance.
“They have outlived their life expectancy,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan suggests that part of the impetus for the move came from an issue in the Northern Panhandle Conservation District. American Consolidated Natural Resources proposed in 2024 to dig three longwall mines underneath three dams, each of whose failure could create significant property damage and also threaten life.
ACNR owns the mineral rights and the conservation district the surface rights. Just as in Keyser, the land for the dam came through an easement which does not allow for the regulation of underground work in this situation.
Two years after the proposal, mining operations did damage Upper Grave Creek Dams Number Seven and Number Nine. Nearby Cameron Elementary School has started to institute flood evacuation drills as a result.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Buchanan, citing the legacy of Hugh Hammond Bennett, original director of what now is NRCS. An NRCS biographical article shares that Hammond’s vision lay in “leadership from local conservation districts” with “support from state conservation agencies.” The legislation opposed by Buchanan stands that vision on its head.
Roger Dahmer is currently a Pendleton County Commissioner and formerly worked with USDA Rural Development. He agrees with Buchanan and Howell that the local perspective is vital, saying “any time you take things out of local hands and into those of the state or the federal government, it just won’t work. The locals know more.”
Dahmer echoed the Hammond ideal articulated by Buchanan, asking “why don’t they just help to fund the District? Locals know what’s needed and what’s not more than State government.”
Buchanan explained how the LKCD has worked to balance the needs of conservation with the opportunity for economic development. While some dams hold relatively little water in reserve, a number of these structures have created significant tourism draws. These include Tracy Lake in Ritchie County, Woodrum Lake in Jackson County, and Dam Site 14 at the headwaters of New Creek in Grant County.
He explained how, working with experts, the conservation district enacted upgrades to one dam and lake that created a fishing destination. Local input and direction helped to craft a habitat and now Buchanan can report “there are giant fish in there.” Another project helped to create a reliable water source for the towns of Harrisville and Cairo.
Another concern of Buchanan is that the State will pass the policy to create efficiency, but overspend on hiring and contracting through not having a sound idea of available assets on the ground or creative means to find solutions.
“It’s not just dams,” said Buchanan. He stated that “I predict we’ll see a bill that will end the local conservation districts.” The fear is that removing responsibilities from the districts, such as dam maintenance, serves as a first step to consolidating all functions at the state level. For Buchanan, who has studied Hammond extensively, that is more than just a policy decision. He sees it as a betrayal of a vision.
Pendleton County emergency services coordinator Rick Gillespie served as a West Virginia State Trooper in that county during the Flood of 85. There, floodwaters erased countless farms and homes and cut off land access to the county seat of Franklin for a time. He stated “we need to hear more and learn about what the intent of the bill might be have been.”
“In theory, with the State having deeper pockets,” said Gillespie, “if dam safety is taken seriously, this could be a good thing. Some of these dams have been designated as ‘high hazard dams’ and will require what I assume to be millions of dollars of improvements in future years.”
WBOY in Clarksburg reported that a national organization took federal data and ranked states from number one having the most significant problems to 50 having the least. West Virginia ranked 15th with 419 high-hazard dams. About three-fourths of these do not fall into the small watershed flood control dam category.
None were seen as an immediate threat, but about seven percent are in “poor condition” and almost 30 percent are “not inspected. Poor condition does not indicate a possibility of immediate failure, but that work is needed.
