Independent External Peer Review of the Risk Policies and Methodologies for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FINAL REPORT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A panel was assembled to provide an independent external peer review (IEPR) of dam safety risk policies
and methodologies for three Federal agencies: the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); US
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation); and Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) (the Agencies). The Panel was selected to include professionals with a broad range
of experience, perspectives, and expertise. It included academics and private sector consultants from the
United States, the Netherlands, and Australia. Expertise included civil engineering, dam and levee
engineering, dam and levee risk analysis, risk analysis practice in other industries, dam ownership, and
dam safety regulation.

The Panel’s objective was to evaluate the Agencies use of risk in their management and regulation of
dams. The Panel was also to provide recommendations to improve the risk policies and methodologies of
each agency. The Panel focused its evaluation on the following “Charge” questions:

1. Given each agency’s missions, are there any governance, critical policies, or methodologies
   missing from the agencies?
2. Is the overall direction of each of the three agencies appropriate?
3. Is there anything the Panel would like the agencies to consider?

The charge instructions also encouraged the Panel to include observations beyond the scope of the charge
questions to bring important issues to the attention of decision makers, and to identify any lessons learned
in both the risk informed decision making (RIDM) process and / or design and construction.

The IEPR was undertaken in response to legislative direction from the United States Congress, at least in
part stimulated by the 2017 Oroville Dam, California spillway incident. The Panel did not solely focus on
the Agencies’ practices, but also considered how those practices influence or could influence broader dam
safety practices in the United States.

The review included the following tasks:

1. An initial kickoff meeting with the panel and agency representatives.
2. An initial review of key documents provided by each agency.
3. A briefing from the Agencies to the Panel.
4. Additional review and research into each agency’s risk policies, methods, and practices.
5. Panel evaluations and discussions.
6. Preparation of a draft report.
7. A briefing of the Panel’s draft findings and recommendations to the Agencies.
8. Responding to agency comments and updating the draft report.
9. Publishing this final report.

Click here to read full report.