Water Management (Safety of Dams) Regulations 2003
I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Water Management Act 1999 .
17 November 2003RICHARD BUTLER
Governor
By His Excellency's Command,
BRYAN GREEN
Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment
PART 1 - Preliminary
These regulations may be cited as the Water Management (Safety of Dams) Regulations 2003 .
These regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette.
(1) In these regulations –Act means the Water Management Act 1999 ;ANCOLD means the Australian National Committee on Large Dams Inc.;ANCOLD guidelines means guidelines issued by ANCOLD;Class A means of a level of competence referred to in regulation 6(2) ;Class B means of a level of competence referred to in regulation 6(3) ;Class C means a level of competence referred to in regulation 6(4) ;dam has the same meaning as in section 165B of the Act;engineer means a person eligible for membership of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, as a chartered professional engineer;expert team means a team of persons having the expertise, knowledge and experience referred to in regulation 6(5) ;hazard category means a hazard category referred to in the Guidelines on Assessment of the Consequences of Dam Failure, published in May 2000 by ANCOLD, as amended from time to time;top of the dam means the uppermost part of the dam excluding any settlement camber or structures such as parapets and guard-rails that are not part of the main water retaining structure;WAE report means a work-as-executed report within the meaning of regulation 10 .(2) For the purposes of these regulations, the height of a dam is the greater of the following:(a) the height from the natural bed of the stream at the downstream edge of the dam wall to the top of the dam;(b) the height from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the dam to the top of the dam.
PART 2 - Design, construction, maintenance, &c., of dams
4. Standards for design, &c., of dams
A person must not carry out any work for the purpose of, or in connection with, the design, construction, surveillance or decommissioning of a dam unless the person meets the required competency standards specified in these regulations and carries out the activity –(a) in accordance with these regulations; and(b) in accordance with the most appropriate industry practice; and(c) where appropriate, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the ANCOLD guidelines; and(d) generally in accordance with Information Sheet DSC 15 issued by the Dams Safety Committee constituted by the Dams Safety Act 1978 of New South Wales.
(1) A dam of not more than 5 metres in height and with a hazard category of Very Low may be constructed by any person.(2) Except as provided by subregulation (1) , a person who constructs a dam must have relevant experience in the construction of dams of a height, type and hazard category similar to the dam being constructed.
(1) In this regulation,relevant dam means the dam being assessed under Part 8 or 8A of the Act.(2) A person has Class A competence if he or she is an engineer with relevant experience in the investigation, design, construction and day-to-day safety management of dams of a height, type and hazard category similar to the relevant dam.(3) A person has Class B competence if he or she is an engineer with relevant experience in dam technology appropriate to the relevant dam.(4) A person has Class C competence if he or she is a professional technical specialist with –(a) relevant tertiary qualifications; and(b) relevant specialist experience in the investigation, design, construction or day-to-day safety management of dams of a height, type and hazard category similar to the relevant dam.(5) A team of persons is an expert team if –(a) at least one of the persons has Class B competence; and(b) the persons collectively have professional expertise in the following areas in so far as they relate to the relevant dam and activity:(i) engineering surveying;(ii) hydrology;(iii) hydraulics;(iv) engineering geology;(v) soil and rock mechanics;(vi) evaluation of properties of materials;(vii) dam design;(viii) structural design;(ix) mechanical design;(x) construction practices;(xi) instrumentation;(xii) any other area the Minister or Assessment Committee considers relevant; and(c) the persons collectively have a knowledge and understanding of the causes and modes of dam failure.
7. Required competency standards
(1) If an activity is –the activity may be undertaken only by a person authorised under this regulation.(a) required to be undertaken –(i) as a condition of a permit under section 157 of the Act; or(ii) as a term or condition imposed under section 165F(2) of the Act; or(iii) by a notice under section 165H or 165N of the Act; or(iv) by a direction under section 165L of the Act; or(b) authorised under section 165J or 165M of the Act –(2) Subject to regulation 8 , where an activity listed in Column 1 of the following table is required to be undertaken in respect of a dam which is of a hazard category specified in the table and which is not more than 10 metres high, unless otherwise specified in the table, that activity is to be undertaken by –(a) any person, if so specified; or(b) the owner of the dam, if so specified; or(c) a person or persons having the level of competence specified in the table in respect of that activity; or(d) an expert team, if so specified.
Activity
ANCOLD Hazard Category
Very Low
Low
Signifi-cant
High C
High B
High A
Extr-eme
1. Super-vision of construction
Owner
Class A
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
2. (a) Pre-construction investiga-tion, design and report, other than spillway design
Owner
Owner
Class A and Class C
Class A and Class C
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
2. (b) Spillway design
Owner
Class A
Class A and Class C
Class A and Class C
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
3. Design plans and specifica-tions
Any person
Any person
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
4. WAE report
Any person
(a) Class A, if the dam is more than 7 metres high; or
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
(b) Owner, if the dam is not more than 7 metres high.
5. Compre-hensive or intermedi-ate surveillance inspections and reports
Any person
Owner
Class B
Class B
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
6. Safety reviews
Any person
Class B
Class B and Class C
Class B and Class C
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
7. Design and supervision of decommis-sioning
Any person
(a) Class B, if the dam is more than 7 metres high; or
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
(b) Owner, if the dam is not more than 7 metres high.
Activity
ANCOLD Hazard Category
Very Low
Low
Signi-ficant
High C
High B
High A
Extr-eme
1. Super-vision of construction
Class A
Class A
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
2. Pre-construction investiga-tion, design and report
Class A
Class A and Class C
Class A and Class C
Class A and Class C
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
3. Design plans and specifica-tions
Class A
Class A
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
4. WAE report
Class A
Class A
Class A
Class A
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
5. Compre-hensive or intermedi-ate surveillance inspections and reports
Any person
Class B
Class B
Class B
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
6. Safety reviews
Any person
Class B and Class C
Class B and Class C
Class B and Class C
Expert team
Expert team
Expert team
7. Design and supervision of decommis-sioning
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
Class B
(4) In respect of a dam more than 25 metres high –(a) the activities numbered 1 to 6, inclusive, specified in the table in subregulation (2) are to be undertaken only by a person acting as a member of an expert team; and(b) the design and supervision of the decommissioning of the dam is to be undertaken only by a person with Class B competence.
8. Assessment Committee may require higher level of competence
Where the Minister or Assessment Committee is of the opinion that the construction or decommissioning of a dam may result in material environmental harm, serious environmental harm or environmental nuisance, the Minister or Assessment Committee may require a higher level of competence in respect of an activity than that specified in regulation 7 .
(1) For the purposes of sections 157, 165F, 165H, 165L and 165N of the Act, a permit, notice or direction may require that any activity authorised by the permit, notice or direction be undertaken in accordance with the following documents as amended from time to time to the extent that they are relevant:(a) ANCOLD Guidelines on Assessment of the Consequences of Dam Failure (May 2000);(b) ANCOLD Guidelines on Selection of Acceptable Flood Capacity for Dams (March 2000);(c) ANCOLD Guidelines on Tailings Dam Design, Construction and Operation (1999);(d) ANCOLD Guidelines on Design of Dams for Earthquake (1998);(e) ANCOLD Guidelines on Dam Safety Management (2003);(f) any other ANCOLD guidelines the Minister or Assessment Committee considers relevant;(g) Information Sheet DSC 15 issued by the Dams Safety Committee constituted by the Dams Safety Act 1978 of New South Wales.(2) A copy of each document specified in subregulation (1) may be inspected at the offices of the Water Management Branch at –(a) 134 Macquarie Street, Hobart; and(b) the Government Offices, Prospect, Launceston; and(c) the Government Offices, Stony Rise, Devonport.
PART 3 - Miscellaneous
For the purposes of these regulations, "work-as-executed report" means a report –(a) prepared by a person having the level of competence required by regulation 7(2) or (3) ; and(b) containing details of –(i) actual site conditions and features encountered during construction of the dam; and(ii) construction procedures used; and(iii) details, including drawings, of the dam as constructed.
11. Mine tailings storage facilities
Where the construction of a mine tailings storage facility –the owner of the facility must ensure that appropriate supervision by a person with Class A competence is provided.(a) is by means of an ongoing operation (known as "continual lift"); and(b) uses tailings as the primary embankment material –
12. Operation and maintenance manuals
For the purposes of section 165K(2)(b) of the Act, an operation and maintenance manual is to comply substantially with section 4.3 of the Guidelines on Dam Safety Management published in 2003 by ANCOLD, as amended from time to time.
13. Fees, allowances and compensation
(1) The fee payable to the Crown by the owner of a dam or proposed dam for assessing design, construction, maintenance, surveillance or decommissioning reports in respect of one or more dams is –but not exceeding a total of 250 fee units.(a) 25 fee units for the first dam; and(b) 20 fee units for each 0.5 hours spent in assessing the report –(2) The following amounts are payable to persons attending or giving evidence at an inquiry or examination referred to in Part 8A of the Act:
(a) for meals, travelling and accommodation
the same rate and on the same terms as prescribed from time to time for the equivalent allowance in the General Conditions of Service Award made under the Industrial Relations Act 1984 in respect of persons who are State Service officers or State Service employees;
(b) for loss of salary, wages or income resulting from a person's attendance at the inquiry or examination, if the person is not an expert witness (for each hour, or part of an hour)
the actual loss incurred, up to a maximum of 2.5% of the seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings of a full-time adult employee in Tasmania as published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the December quarter for the previous year;
(c) for loss of salary, wages or income resulting from a person's attendance at the inquiry or examination, if the person is an expert witness
such amount as the inquirer considers just and reasonable in the circumstances.
(3) Compensation is not payable to a person who does not incur an actual loss of salary, wages or income as a result of attending court.
Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.
Notified in the Gazette on 26 November 2003
These regulations are administered in the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the regulation)
These regulations –(a) prescribe the relevant competency standards required in relation to the design, construction, maintenance, surveillance or decommissioning of certain dams; and(b) adopt certain ANCOLD and other guidelines; and(c) prescribe certain fees, allowances and compensation payable under the Water Management Act 1999 ; and(d) make provision in respect of other miscellaneous matters relating to dams.