NHDES announces $35 million for high hazard dam rehabilitation and/or removal

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) announces $35 million of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding has been approved by the Fiscal Committee of the General Court and the Governor and Executive Council for necessary repairs to State-owned dams and to fund the creation of a Dam Rehabilitation/Removal Grant Program for municipally owned high hazard dams.

The NHDES Dam Bureau has identified 11 State-owned dams to which ARPA funding will be allocated. The dams have known deficiencies that the funding will allow the Dam Bureau to address. Some of these dams have rehabilitation designs nearly complete, and ARPA funds will be spent to complete construction of the design. The funding will be spent on others to complete design and prepare plans and specifications to reconstruct the dams and remediate known deficiencies. This will account for $30 million of the ARPA allocation.

The remaining $5 million will fund the new Dam Rehabilitation/Removal Grant Program for municipally owned high hazard dams, which will encourage the rehabilitation or removal of municipally owned high hazard dams that are considered to be in Poor or Unsatisfactory condition. The goal of the new grant program is to make the dams compliant with current state dam safety standards or remove them and eliminate the risk to life and property that they pose. Rehabilitation/removing such dams will reduce or eliminate risk to lives and property within potentially inundated areas downstream of those dams.  

Eligible applicants include New Hampshire municipalities and municipal subdivisions that own one or more high hazard dams rated in Poor or Unsatisfactory condition. Total anticipated funding available for this grant program is approximately $5 million.

Applicants may request a maximum of $1 million per dam project. A portion of the grant award may be used to fund non-construction related activities, including engineering and design, permitting, bidding/construction contract services, and project management and reporting. This grant does not require a match commitment.

For instructions and evaluation criteria, visit the grant program webpage. A webinar will be held at 11:30 AM on June 22, 2022. Register by clicking on the registration link. After the webinar, the online application will be activated; application deadline will be no later than 4:00 PM ET on Friday, July 29, 2022.

For more information, please contact Steve N. Doyon, P.E., Chief Dam Safety Engineer, of the NHDES’ Dam Bureau at (603) 271-1966 or steve.n.doyon@des.nh.gov.