(Schenectady, N.Y.): -- Congressman Michael R. McNulty (D-Green Island) testified Thursday at a public hearing on dam safety in New York State, convened by the New York State Assembly Standing Committees on Environmental Conservation and Governmental Operations at Schenectady County Community College. McNulty’s complete testimony, as prepared for delivery, appears below:

Owned by the City of New York and maintained by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, the Gilboa Dam is 78 years old and has been in poor and deteriorating condition for several years. While DEP consultants claim that the dam continues to be safe under normal conditions, there are concerns about weakness in the bedrock beneath the dam that could lead to a catastrophic failure under extraordinary flood conditions.

In 1997, the DEP claimed that renovation of the Gilboa Dam was their number one priority. Nearly a decade has passed, and full rehabilitation of the dam is still not scheduled to begin until 2008. The lack of attention given to the dam – and the lack of concern for the safety of my constituents and residents of other upstate communities – shown by the City of the New York is indefensible and unacceptable.

With the horror and devastation brought about by Hurricane Katrina still fresh in our minds, where thousands of homes were destroyed and hundreds of human lives lost due to the failure of the levee system, the current threat of flooding in the Schoharie Valley is particularly unnerving for my constituents. Not only would a structural failure of the Gilboa Dam have disastrous results for those who reside in the low-lying areas along the Schoharie Creek, but the path of the resulting flood and its attendant destruction would also extend through Schoharie and into Montgomery and Schenectady Counties.

The coordination and cooperation among Local, State and Federal officials in recent months has been reassuring. It is their intervention that has caused the starting date for the long-term rehabilitation to be moved up from 2010 to 2008.

I first became involved when I received a phone call from former Assemblywoman and New York Secretary of State, Gail S. Shaffer. I subsequently received a letter from the mayors of the Villages of Schoharie, Middleburgh, and Esperance, seeking my assistance in involving the Army Corps of Engineers in assessing the stability of the Dam and plotting the course of action required for repairs. I am grateful that the Corps has agreed to assist us.

I have also met with Chairman Earl Van Wormer and Gilboa Supervisor Anthony VanGlad of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors. I am thankful for their outstanding leadership on this issue.

I met with DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd and her staff on January 10^th of this year to express my disappointment with the lack of progress made in the last decade on rehabilitation of the dam, and to try to convey to her the sense of uncertainty and distress that my constituents have endured as a result of her agency’s neglect.

Looking forward, we also discussed DEP's updated plans for the dam’s rehabilitation, both in the short term and long term.

I also sent a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which included my concerns about the physical state of the Gilboa Dam and DEP's unacceptable record of negligence regarding its maintenance.

In the short term, the dam must be stabilized immediately. A notch will be installed to help prevent the water from reaching dangerous levels and steel anchors will be installed to prevent the dam from sliding forward on its base. It is essential that the timetable for these short-term repairs be met.

In the longer term, as I explained during my meeting with Commissioner Lloyd and in my letter to Mayor Bloomberg, it is my very strong feeling that the City should replace the current outdated dam structure with a modern 21^st century dam, which in my opinion should include floodgates.

Mr. Chairman, Madam Chairwoman, and Committee Members, one only needs to visit the Gilboa Dam and view it's enormity to understand that a failure would be catastrophic, and that the lives of thousands of our fellow New Yorkers would be in jeopardy.

The number one priority of government at all levels is to provide for the safety of our citizens. Rather than provide a sense of security and assurance, DEP's record of apathy and neglect at the Gilboa Dam has introduced the stress of emergency evacuation planning and submersion timelines into the lives of thousands of residents who live in the path of a potential flood. Let us not kid ourselves about who is responsible here. Responsibility lies with the City of New York and every day that goes by puts people's lives at risk. In my letter to Mayor Bloomberg, I invited him to see the Dam for himself so that he may understand the nature of the threat to our citizens. To date there has been no response. Recent history has shown us that when you gamble with Mother Nature, you lose. Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York need to realize that it is time to stop gambling with Mother Nature. FIX THE DAM NOW!

You may be assured that I will continue to work with you and our partners at all levels of government to return stability and safety to the structure of the Gilboa Dam, and to return normalcy and certainty to the lives of our constituents.

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