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House committee advances bill to mark run‑of‑the‑river dams after fatality prompts changes
Summary
The House Game and Fisheries Committee reported House Bill 961 as amended, requiring clearer signage, annual public lists and maps of run‑of‑the‑river dams and shorter compliance timelines; sponsor cited a local fatality and committee adopted an amendment strengthening timelines and public reporting.
The House Game and Fisheries Committee voted to report House Bill 961, a measure that would require clearer marking of run‑of‑the‑river (low‑head) dams, create timelines for owner compliance, and make lists and maps of those dams publicly available.
Sponsor Rep. Sue Mihalik said the legislation was driven by a fatal dam incident in 2022 and by a need to better coordinate the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on safety signage. “Sometimes the simple act of warning that there is a danger ahead…is all it takes,” Mihalik said, describing the bill’s intent to warn recreational users before hazardous structures.
Griffin, who read the bill summary for the committee, said the measure would amend Title 30 to clarify marking responsibilities and require DEP to publish and share a compiled list of run‑of‑the‑river dams with the Fish and Boat Commission. The committee adopted amendment A02142, which Griffin summarized as a change that “decreases compliance timelines for owners of run of the river dams to install and maintain safety signage” and requires that a map and list be posted on both agencies’ websites.
Mihalik cited local examples of danger, noting that the Dock Street Dam has “claimed the lives of 30 people to date,” and said the bill expands definitions to cover partially submerged or partly across‑the‑waterway structures. Committee staff said the bill has been developed over three years with input from both agencies, and proponents said penalties and reduced timelines in the amendment will encourage compliance without new appropriations.
Rep. Rapunstein asked whether the bill provided new resources for agency work; staff replied the bill’s principal effect is to improve coordination and add enforcement tools, and that the Fish and Boat Commission helped draft the amendment. Rep. Steele and other members voiced support for the changes, describing them as an urgently needed safety step.
The committee reported the bill as amended by voice vote with no negative votes recorded; the committee chair said the measure will move to the House floor for further consideration.
