Section 10.07 - Inspection Schedule(1) Upon the failure of an owner to file a dam inspection report within the time prescribed, the Commissioner or his or her designee, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 253, § 47 may enter upon the property on which the Department's jurisdictional dam(s) and appurtenant works lie at any time to conduct any kind of dam safety evaluation(s) and/or action(s) as required, and/or to obtain the requisite information. In addition to the assessed fines described in 302 CMR 10.15, the cost to the Commonwealth of conducting the inspection and producing the inspection report(s) plus interest shall be assessed against the owner in this case.(2) Dam owners shall periodically inspect all dams in accordance with the following schedule. These time periods are the maximum time between inspections; more frequent inspections may be performed at the discretion of the Commissioner. PHASE I FORMAL INSPECTION FREQUENCY
Hazard Potential | Inspection Frequency |
Low | Ten Years |
Significant | Five Years |
High | Two Years |
ADDITIONAL INSPECTION FREQUENCY
(a) High and Significant Hazard potential dams whose condition have been determined to be poor or unsafe by inspection must be inspected and reported at least every three months by a registered professional engineer employed by the owner until the dam safety repairs are completed and the dam is found to be in satisfactory condition, unless otherwise ordered by the Commissioner. Such inspections shall be termed Follow-up Inspections and shall be submitted to the Office of Dam Safety.(b) Any dam determined to be in poor or unsafe condition may be required to be monitored during anticipated rain/runoff events as ordered by the Commissioner.(c) All inspections, monitoring data and updates on the condition of the dam shall be provided by a registered professional engineer to the Office of Dam Safety and local emergency management officials until the dam is brought into compliance with dam safety requirements.(3) Inspections scheduled according to the time period set forth in 302 CMR 10.07(2) may be modified, at the discretion of the Commissioner, in special cases where it is desirable to observe a dam under particular conditions (i.e. wet season, dry season, foliage, etc.).(4) For any regulated dam, the Commissioner may require scheduled inspections on a more frequent basis if particular conditions exist which require more frequent monitoring.(5) When the Commissioner reschedules the inspection of a particular dam for any reason cited in 302 CMR 10.07, the date of that inspection may become the starting date from which the date of the next regularly scheduled periodic inspection will be computed.(6) The owner shall employ the services of a registered professional engineer experienced in the design, construction and inspection of dams, to inspect the owner's dam according to the inspection schedules determined by the Commissioner and on forms prescribed by the Commissioner.(7) The owner shall furnish a copy of each completed inspection report in a format determined by the Commissioner within 30 days of the date of the inspection to the Commissioner.(8) The inspection report shall be sealed by a registered professional engineer, as described in 302 CMR 10.00.(9) The owner must submit a statement of his or her intent to implement such recommendations of the registered professional engineer, if required.(10) Upon review and approval of submitted inspection report, the Commissioner will determine compliance and appropriate procedure(s) in accordance with 302 CMR 10.08.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1332, eff. 2/10/2017.