So You Have a Dam EAP......Now What??? Tips and Best Practices on EAP Enhancements for Dam Owners
Creation and adoption of Emergency Action Plans have increased significantly across the United States (especially for high hazard dams) over the past two decades, driven partly by regulatory requirements by state dam safety agencies and in some cases, proactive actions by responsible dam owners. However, there is often not enough attention paid to what happens after an EAP is developed – in terms of follow up on EAP updates, enhancements made to the EAP to address evacuation needs of the communities downstream (mobility challenged and underserved populations in particular), and enhanced communication and coordination with local emergency management agencies, who can be key partners and stakeholders with the dam owner. This presentation will includes some results of research performed on current best practices and trends in emergency action planning and emergency management, combined with our own experience and observations in EAP enhancements from across the U.S. through conducting numerous EAP exercises and drills. Our own lessons learned and the results of the research will be presented, with a focus on EAP enhancements that can be made that are not really cost prohibitive but can result in a more usable plan, greater coordination and cooperation with local emergency management agencies, more clarity in emergency and/or mitigation response methods and techniques, and a better-informed dam owner with regards to risk mitigation strategies.Author Bio
Jon Keeling has over 29 years of experience and is a senior dam safety engineer (focus on hydrology/hydraulics) for Stantec Consulting Services in their Lexington, Kentucky office. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Kentucky. Jon currently manages projects across the United States ranging from risk assessments for dams, dam safety evaluations and dam/levee investigations, dam breach modeling, and floodplain mapping. Jon has been involved in dam safety projects in Virginia since 2016, is a licensed professional engineer in multiple states, and has been a Certified Floodplain Manager since 2004.
