August 2020 \u2013 The\u00a0Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic\u00a0has released a new guide, \u201cLegal Issues in Dam Removal: A Guide for Massachusetts Dam Owners\u201d, which provides information on some common legal questions for dam owners in Massachusetts and their attorneys.<\/p>\n
Many dams in Massachusetts were built decades or even centuries ago, and more than half of them are privately owned.\u00a0 Private owners are considering removing their dams for a number of reasons \u2013 for example, the dams may no longer serve their original purposes and have outlasted their designed lifespans; the dams may have fallen into disrepair and present a safety hazard to downstream residents and a liability risk to owners; and\/or continuing maintenance and repairs on the dams is becoming increasingly expensive.\u00a0 In addition, a dam\u2019s continued existence as a blockage on a waterway can have harmful ecological effects, such as impeding migratory fish passage, elevating water temperatures and reducing dissolved oxygen levels, and generating emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.\u00a0 Thus, there is a strong case for removing many of these dams in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The Clinic\u2019s guide covers some of the legal issues and questions related to dam removal, such as the liability risk a dam owner faces for harms caused by dam failure; whether a dam owner has the legal right to remove the dam; whether a dam owner has a legal responsibility to mitigate harms to existing uses of the river that would be affected by the dam removal; who owns the land exposed in the former impoundment once the dam is removed; what responsibility the dam owner bears for contaminated sediment in the impoundment behind a dam; and how liability is allocated among engineers, contractors, and the dam owner for a dam removal project.\u00a0 Please note that this guide does not address the actual regulatory approval process for removing a dam.<\/p>\n
This guide was authored by Clinic students Mathieu Erramuzpe, JD\u201919 and Li Wang, JD\u201919; Clinic Fellow Lynne Dzubow, and Deputy Director Shaun Goho.<\/p>\n