凯利·豪斯/布里奇密歇根网：周四，密歇根州参议院投票决定全面修订该州宽松的水坝安全法规。这项期待已久的改革措施目前仅差一票即可提交至州长格蕾琴·惠特默手中。
KELLY HOUSE/Bridge Michigan The Michigan Senate on Thursday voted to overhaul Michigan’s lax dam safety laws, moving long-awaited reforms one vote away from reaching Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
目前，由皇家奥克市民主党籍参议员马洛里·麦克莫罗与米德兰市共和党籍众议员比尔·G·舒特共同发起的两项配套法案，均已获得参众两院的批准。这两项法案旨在提高防洪标准、加强水坝检查力度，并要求水坝所有者证明其具备维护设施的能力。
Both legislative chambers have now approved versions of two companion bills sponsored by Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and Rep. Bill G. Schuette, R-Midland, to strengthen flood control standards, increase inspections and require owners to prove they can maintain the structures.
由于周四参议院投票时对其中一项法案——众议院第5485号法案——的文本内容做了修改，该法案必须重新送回众议院获得认可后，才能呈交惠特默签署。
Because Thursday’s Senate vote included substitute language for one of those bills – House Bill 5485 – it must return to the House for concurrence before reaching Whitmer’s desk.
舒特表示，他预计众议院会迅速批准该修正案，因为众议院上周刚刚通过了麦克莫罗提出的参议院第947号法案。
Schuette said he expects quick approval in the House, which last week passed McMorrow’s Senate Bill 947 .
此次投票标志着密歇根州水坝安全标准改革工作取得突破性进展。该州现行的水坝安全标准在全美范围内均属最薄弱之列。
The votes represent a breakthrough in a long-stalled effort to strengthen Michigan’s dam safety standards, which are among the nation’s weakest.
早在密歇根中部地区发生水坝溃决事故并造成逾2亿美元损失后，相关改革提案便已提出。然而直至今年春季，新一轮洪水再度引发多起水坝溃决或濒临溃决事件，改革工作才得以加速推进。
Reforms were first proposed after dam failures in mid-Michigan caused more than $200 million in damages. They languished until this spring, when flooding caused another round of costly dam failures and near-failures.
“虽然我们无法挽回2020年发生在本地区的灾难性后果，但我们理应努力寻求更好的应对之道，”舒特周四在接受布里奇密歇根网采访时说道。
“While we can’t undo what happened across our region in 2020, we can and should prioritize a better way forward,” Schuette told Bridge Michigan on Thursday.
他称这项立法“对全州那些居住在高危水坝周边、生计与家园均面临威胁的民众而言是一项重大胜利”。密歇根州境内分布着全美最古老的一批水坝，其平均使用年限已达80年左右。
He called the legislation “a huge win for communities and families across our state who have homes and livelihoods near high-hazard dams.”Michigan is home to some of the nation’s oldest dams, averaging about 80 years old.
今年6月，布里奇密歇根网的一项调查显示：全州有超过10万名居民居住在高危或重大风险等级水坝可能引发的洪水路径上。一旦这些水坝发生溃决，将造成大量人员伤亡与严重财产损失。
A Bridge Michigan investigation in June found more than 100,000 state residents live in the path of a potential flood from a high or significant-hazard dam, which could kill people or inflict widespread damage if they fail.
目前，许多此类水坝的维护状况堪忧甚至不合格，还有数百座水坝根本达不到国家规定的防洪标准。
Many of those dams are in poor or unsatisfactory condition, while hundreds do not meet the national standard for flood control.
在全美大部分地区，高风险水坝必须能够承受所谓“可能发生的最大洪水量”，也就是周边地区可能出现的最严重洪水情况。而密歇根州的标准却不到这一要求的一半。
Across much of the nation, high-hazard dams must be capable of passing 100% of the so-called probable maximum flood, or the worst-case-scenario flood in the surrounding area. Michigan’s standards are less than half as stringent.
“如果无所作为……其他水坝也会发生溃决。只是时间问题罢了，”来自丹佛的水坝安全专家约翰·弗朗斯当时对Bridge媒体说道。
“With inaction … other dams will fail. It’s just a matter of when,” Denver-based dam safety expert John France told Bridge at the time.
周四的投票是近几个月来密歇根州为加固水坝所采取的一系列举措中的最新行动。今年7月，州立法者拨款数百万美元用于修复存在隐患的水坝，并扩充密歇根州环境、五大湖及能源部水坝安全部门的人员编制。
Thursday’s votes are the latest in a flurry of activity to shore up Michigan dams in recent months. Lawmakers in July allocated millions toward shoring up problem dams and boosting staffing in the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy dam safety unit.
这笔资金的部分用途正是为了消除人们的顾虑：即提高水坝安全标准可能会引发成本高昂的基础设施改造，而各社区无力承担这些费用。
The funding, in part, was meant to alleviate concerns that higher dam safety standards would trigger costly infrastructure upgrades that communities couldn’t afford.
全州范围内，密歇根州的2600座水坝总计需要10亿美元用于维修与升级。
Statewide, Michigan’s 2,600 dams need a collective $1 billion in repairs and updates .
本文最初由Bridge Michigan发布，现通过美联社合作渠道转载。
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.