Dam removal – insights from the American context

Abstract

The implementation of the policy of restoring the ecological connectivity of watercourses is nowadays conflictual in France, with numerous oppositions from mill owners, hydro-electricity companies and local residents. In particular, they denounce a dogmatic application of regulations (European water Framework Directive, the French law on water and aquatic environments, The French Grenelle environmental initiative). At the same time, the United States are often held up as a model in terms of dam removal, even though little is known about the concrete implementation of these operations. The article therefore proposes to detail the modalities of dam removal projects in the USA in order to participate in discussions that will help to calm the situation in France. Several elements are highlighted: the absence of binding regulations, whether at federal or state level, a necessarily multi-partner funding of projects based on a call for projects logic and a consideration of asset issues. These differences with the French context are studied through the analysis of a dam removal on the Musconetcong River (New Jersey). The conclusion underlines the collective dimension of the projects in the USA, offering a lower potential for conflict and reviews the contributions to the French context of this analysis.