The Associated Press

PIERRE - Despite a warning by an environmental group that dozens of dams in South Dakota could become killers if they fail, the state official in charge of inspecting those dams said none are unsafe.

"Not in my mind," said Tim Schaal, an engineer in the state Environment and Natural Resources Department.

Schaal, the state dam inspector, is a member of the national Association of State Dam Safety Officials. ASDSO is holding its annual conference this week in Austin, Texas. Schaal, who is in attendance, chairs the Awards Committee of ASDSO.

Issuing a statement in advance of the conference, American Rivers, a group dedicated to river preservation, said "an alarming number of dams in the Mount Rushmore State pose a threat to human life and many of them are structurally unsafe."

The group, which said dams in many states are not safe, is pressing Congress to pass a measure to give states $200 million to repair or remove dams with serious problems.

"Dams across the country are living on borrowed time, and many of our communities are at risk," said American Rivers' President Rebecca Wodder.

"This past summer in Minnesota, we all got a horrific wake-up call on the state of our nation's infrastructure," she added. "We cannot afford to press the snooze button. We must get out of bed and get to work."

About 2,300 dams in South Dakota are subject to state regulation, Schaal said. "Most of our dams are low-hazard dams," he said.

Schaal said 47 state-regulated dams are classified as high hazard, and 11 from that group are further classified as structurally deficient or unsafe.

But he said that does not mean the dams are dangerous or people are at risk.

"It's more that they need maintenance or repair work and not necessarily that I consider them unsafe," Schaal said.

"There are several steps between needing maintenance and what would be structurally deficient and after that unsafe."

None of the 11 dams are actually unsafe, he stressed.

"The classification of the dam doesn't reflect on the condition of the dam," Schaal said.

He agrees with American Rivers, however, that it would be good if funding becomes available to ensure the integrity of dams that need work.

"We could use some money to repair these dams," Schaal said. The natural resources engineer said he inspects state-owned dams and those classified as high hazards every three years and reports any deficiencies.