In 2006, AmerenUE established a robust dam safety program that has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The dam safety program is intended to ensure that Ameren’s employees, agents and consultants have a complete understanding and constant awareness of the need to fully comply with all necessary dam safety measures and requirements.
To accomplish this mission, AmerenUE created an organization of professionals who are independent of daily operators. The chief dam safety engineer leads this multi-disciplinary team of hydro engineers dedicated to hydro engineering and managing ongoing upgrades, conducting safety and other operational inspections and implementing safety improvements at hydro plants. This group is also implementing a site safety training effort.
The chief dam safety engineer is also responsible for communicating policies and expectations regarding dam safety and regulatory compliance and for monitoring compliance with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dam safety-related requirements. This includes the use of sound and prudent engineering practices and notification to the FERC about any condition affecting the safety of a project or any modification to the project.
The chief dam safety engineer is also charged with implementing quality management initiatives—from documenting dam inspections to establishing qualification standards for dam inspection personnel. He has the authority to conduct unannounced facility inspections and take corrective actions—up to and including shutdown—when dam safety is threatened.
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