The state Department of Land and Natural Resources made an embarrassing concession after the fatal Kaloko dam breach on Kaua'i in 2006.

Not only was there no record that Kaloko was ever inspected by the state, but the department's short-handed dam safety staff focused at the time on tsunami mapping and flood control and had not conducted inspections of any of the state's 136 dams and reservoirs in the year before Kaloko failed.

In the weeks that followed the fatal breach, the department, state Civil Defense and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did visual inspections of all state dams, and most dams were inspected again after the October 2006 earthquakes off the Big Island.

Last year, the state Legislature passed a bill, signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle, that gives department inspectors expanded rights to enter property to examine dams and imposes stronger penalties on property owners or dam operators who violate dam safety laws.

Laura H. Thielen, the department's director, declined through a spokeswoman yesterday to answer questions about the status of the state's dam safety program. The department spokeswoman referred questions to state Attorney General Mark Bennett.

State Adjutant General Robert G.F. Lee, who was involved in the inspections after Kaloko, said those inspections provided baseline data that helped inspectors better assess dams after the earthquakes and during the past two years. State law requires that dams be inspected once every five years.

"I think they're a lot better than the conditions we found the dams in after the Kaloko disaster," Lee said.

THE INVESTIGATION

The state's response has been guided by the lessons of Kaloko and by a January 2007 report by engineer and attorney Robert Godbey, who was appointed by the state to conduct an independent civil investigation of the breach that killed seven people.

The department had attempted to contact landowner Jimmy Pflueger, a retired auto dealer, several times to schedule a visual inspection of Kaloko but was unsuccessful. Pflueger was indicted by a Kaua'i grand jury yesterday on seven counts of manslaughter and one count of reckless endangering stemming from the Kaloko failure.

Godbey, in his report, recommended that the state increase funding for regular inspections, conduct periodic reviews of dam hazard classifications, establish stronger enforcement penalties, and create a special fund to help the department pay for dam monitoring.

The report said that Kaloko was mistakenly categorized as a low-hazard dam by the Army Corps of Engineers after the National Dam Inspection Act of 1972 and never properly reclassified.

State lawmakers agreed last year to authorize department inspectors to enter public or private property without notice to investigate dams. In cases of emergency, the department can take immediate measures — at the expense of dam owners — to protect life and property.

The law created a special fund and required the department to submit annual reports to the Legislature on the status of dam safety.

Dam owners and operators are required to have a certificate of approval to impound water, and an operation and maintenance plan that includes a monitoring program. Owners of both high-hazard and significant-hazard dams are also required to have emergency action plans.

Civil fines for violating the law had been $500 a day. Lawmakers increased the administrative penalties for violating the law to up to $25,000 a day. Lawmakers also created a third-degree felony with criminal fines of up to $25,000 a day for a first conviction, and up to $50,000 a day for subsequent convictions.

BUDGET CONSTRAINTS

State Rep. Hermina Morita, D-14th (Hanalei, Anahola, Kapa'a), said lawmakers want to do more to improve dam safety but have been constrained by a lack of state money.

"I think the state is moving as methodically as it can with the amount of resources that we have, given the budget situation," she said.

"We're struggling because of everyone's financial situation, but it's something that you can't neglect because it involves safety."

State Sen. Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), said he wants feedback from the department about the challenges of implementing the law and about what more is necessary to ensure that dams are inspected and safe.

"For us, I think we need data, and we're relying on them to provide that data," he said.