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Emergency management, local leaders press for robust stakeholder work in proposed dam‑safety pilot
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Summary
Vermont Emergency Management and municipal representatives supported H778, a pilot to develop emergency operation plans and templates for high‑hazard dams, but emphasized the project's complexity, the need for sufficient funding, and explicit coordination with towns, EMS and rescue teams.
The Natural Resources & Energy Committee heard detailed testimony in favor of H778, a pilot project to develop emergency operation plans (EOPs) and regional templates for high‑hazard dams.
Eric Warren, director of Vermont Emergency Management, told the panel that VEM supports the pilot but stressed its scope: one pilot dam could involve outreach and coordination with "50 or more entities" (schools, hospitals, towns, dispatchers and emergency services). He said the pilot should evaluate costs, staffing and contractor use, and recommended regional coordinators and contractor support to craft usable templates and replicate them for other dams.
"To be successful, the funding needs to remain with the proposed bill because it would be impractical . . . to take us off giving our current," Warren said, emphasizing that creating and implementing EOPs and building municipal relationships requires time and resources.
John Copeland, director of the Foundation for Resilient Montpelier, described Montpelier’s 2023 downtown inundation and a problematic emergency message about Wrightsville that led residents to evacuate at night. He argued the pilot should focus heavily on stakeholder engagement, municipal participation and communication protocols in addition to producing templates.
Responders also testified. Drew Hazleton, an EMS provider and chair of Vermont’s EMS advisory committee, urged the committee to explicitly include EMS coordination for evacuation and sheltering of medically vulnerable residents, noting ambulance reliance and shelter limitations during major flood responses.
Committee members and witnesses discussed alerting: VEM can call landlines or push area alerts and has tools to draw a geocoded circle and notify phones in an area, but the agency lacks a full 24/7 watch desk for instant statewide push alerts; towns and trained local administrators would be part of a rapid notification strategy.
Committee staff asked witnesses to provide suggested language to refine the bill’s treatment of templates, operational implementation and coordination with local EMS and dispatch so the pilot produces usable, replicable procedures rather than standalone documents. The committee took no final vote on the bill during this session.
