Staten Island dams among those needing better oversight, says comptroller

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A top New York oversight official said Friday that more needs to be done to ensure the state’s dams stay safe, including several on Staten Island.

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) should exercise greater oversight and enforcement against dam owners found to be out of compliance with state dam regulations.

“Dam failures are rare in New York, and we want to keep it that way,” DiNapoli said. “[DEC] can take steps to improve its oversight of dams that pose the greatest risks and potential of failure by ensuring owners comply with safety standards and regulations, including having up-to-date engineering assessments, emergency plans and proof they are operated and maintained in a safe condition at all times.”

DiNapoli did not point to any imminent concerns about dams in the state, but his office did reference several Staten Island dams as possible points of concern.

DEC maintains a three-tiered hazard classification system for the more-than 6,500 dams in the state based on the estimated consequences of a dam’s failure. Hazard classifications are A, B and C with C being the most hazardous.

Only one Staten Island dam, the Silver Lake Reservoir Dam, has the highest hazard classification, and three others — the Martlings Pond Dam, the Brooks Pond Dam, and Clove Lake 2 Dam — have B classifications. All three of the B class dams are at Clove Lakes Park.

The hazard classifications are not assessments of the dams' conditions, but are estimations of the potential damage a failure of each dam would do to its surrounding area. Potential for loss of human life, property damage and environmental damage impact a given dam’s hazard classification.

A spokesperson for the city Department of Environmental Protection said the city invests millions of dollar in its dams and that they’re inspected regularly.

DiNapoli’s auditors looked at 843 dams from January 2020 through October 2024, and found that some dam owners were not complying with certain state regulations.

The comptroller’s report did not specify which dams or dam owners were of the greatest concern, but issued a series of recommendations on how DEC could improve its oversight,

DEC submitted an official response to DiNapoli’s office in which the agency wrote that it “generally agrees” with his office’s findings, and a department spokesperson said it’s working to improve compliance.

“Ensuring dam safety is a top priority for DEC, and the state’s dam safety unit has a proven track record of effectively overseeing dams and flood control infrastructure and protecting our communities and infrastructure from potential harm,” the spokesperson said. “Throughout New York, DEC’s expert dam safety inspectors conduct safety inspections of dams, technical reviews of proposed dam construction or modification, monitoring to ensure compliance with dam safety criteria, and emergency preparedness”