A state environmental official told a state Senate panel Tuesday that Texas needs to substantially increase its dam safety program's staffing and budget to ensure that the state's most hazardous dams get inspected regularly.

John Sadlier, deputy director of compliance and enforcement for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources that it would take 24 full-time employees and $3 million in the state's next two-year budget to inspect each of the state's 1,655 high- and significant-hazard dams once every five years.

The TCEQ Dam Safety Program has eight full-time employees. It gets $350,000 a year in general revenue from the state and $240,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Tuesday's hearing in Dallas came only days after a State Auditor's Office report said the program, as currently designed, cannot "ensure the safe construction, maintenance, repair and removal of dams" in Texas.

But committee chairman Kip Averitt, R-Waco, said last summer's Minnesota bridge collapse has prompted lawmakers to review Texas' infrastructure needs.

"We don't want something like that to happen here," he said. "So I expect it'll be a high priority for the Legislature."

Although dam safety has not been a major budget priority before, Mr. Averitt said he believes it is possible to find the $3 million.

"I never rule anything out," Mr. Averitt said. "That's not much, in the scope of our budget. I think folks expect the state to make sure these things are taken care of, one way or another."

Some of the money could come from fees. They could be levied on inspections and indirectly on the benefits that dams create, such as water, electricity and recreation, but the details need to be worked out.

Mr. Sadlier noted that the additional money would go to inspect dams, not to fix them.

"It's not a remediation fund," he said.

In Texas, dam owners are responsible for upkeep. Unlike 17 other states, Texas does not have a grant or loan program for repairs.