When used in this Chapter, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have the following meaning:

            (1) “Dam” is any artificial barrier, including appurtenant works, which does or will impound or divert water or any other liquid substance and which has or will have a dam height of twenty-five feet or more or has or will have a maximum liquid storage capacity of fifty acre-feet or more. This definition does not include any dam or barrier that is not or will not be in excess of six feet in height, regardless of storage capacity, or which has or will have a storage capacity of maximum water storage capacity not in excess of fifteen acre-feet, regardless of height.

            (2) “Dam height” means the difference in elevation of the bed of the watercourse measured at the downstream toe of the barrier or from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the barrier, if it is not across a stream channel or watercourse, to the lowest point on the crest of the dam excluding any spillways or controlled openings.

            (3) “Modification” means enlargements or changes that may affect the safety of the dam, including but not limited to adding significant amounts of material to, or removing material from, the cross-section of a dam; changing the dimensions or elevations of spillways; correcting damages associated with significant seepage through or under the dam; building a roadway or placing utilities on or in any part of the dam or altering the operational features of a dam excluding activities associated with routine maintenance.

            Added by Acts 1981, No. 733, §1, eff. July 23, 1981; Acts 2022, No. 687, §1, eff. June 18, 2022.