A. All dams are under the jurisdiction of the director of water resources. Dams of the state, or any political subdivisions thereof, or dams of public utilities, and all dams within the state are included within the jurisdiction conferred by this section. It is unlawful to construct, reconstruct, repair, operate, maintain, enlarge, remove or alter any dam except upon approval of the director.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-1202

  • Dam: means any artificial barrier, including appurtenant works for the impounding or diversion of water, twenty-five feet or more in height or the storage capacity of which will be more than fifty acre-feet but does not include:

    (a) Any barrier that is or will be less than six feet in height, regardless of storage capacity. See Arizona Laws 45-1201

  • Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Owner: includes any person or entity that owns, controls, operates, maintains, manages or proposes to construct or modify a dam. See Arizona Laws 45-1201
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Release-contained barrier: means any artificial barrier and appurtenant works that comply with both of the following:

    (a) Has a storage capacity that in the event of failure would be contained within property that the release-contained barrier owner owns, controls, operates, maintains or manages. See Arizona Laws 45-1201

  • Storage capacity: means the maximum volume of water that can be impounded by the reservoir when there is no discharge of water. See Arizona Laws 45-1201

B. The records pertaining to dam supervision are public documents.

C. The director shall adopt and revise rules and issue general orders to effectuate this article.

D. To qualify for an exemption for a release-contained barrier, the owner of an existing or proposed release-contained barrier shall submit to the director a notice of exemption. The director shall accept or reject a notice of exemption within thirty days after receipt of both of the following:

1. A statement signed by the owner that:

(a) The storage capacity of the release-contained barrier would be contained within property that the release-contained barrier owner owns, operates, controls, maintains or manages and that is not open to the public.

(b) The release-contained barrier owner will maintain downstream containment structures or sites with sufficient containment throughout the useful life of the release-contained barrier.

2. A topographic site plan that shows:

(a) The property lines and ownership status of the land.

(b) Any areas of the property that are open to the public.

(c) The locations and storage capacities of the release-contained barrier and the downstream containment structures or sites.

E. The director may conduct site inspections to verify the release-contained barrier exemption.

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