November 2022 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 29

29 November 2022

Location: Cliftons, 60 Margaret Street, Sydney

Time: 9:30am - 1:00pm

Attendees:

Mr Paul O’Connor (Chair), Ms Julie Garland McLellan (Deputy Chair), Mr Shane McGrath, Mr Rob O’Neill (online), Mr Ian Landon-Jones, Mr Peter Boyd

Invitees:

Ms Margaret Hynes (Acting CEO), Mr Jason Porter, Mr Muhammed Akber (on-line), Ms Jacqui Page (Secretariat).

For item 2.3 only: Ms Amanda Chadwick (Executive Director Performance-DPE Water Group), Ms Erin Cini (Director Town Water Risk Reduction Program-DPE Water Group)

Apologies: Nil

Declarations of interest: No conflicts of interest were identified for this meeting.

Mr Shane McGrath provided an update of current or recent interests in relation to his business, SGM Consulting (Aust) Pty Ltd. The information is to be included in the Conflict Register as information.

Members requested a notation be included at the bottom of the Conflict Register indicating if members are potentially affected by a prospective flood event from a declared dam.

Item	Discussion and actions
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only Members introduced themselves given it was the first meeting of the newly constituted board. The Chair summarised his induction and stakeholder engagement program since his 1 November 2022 appointment. 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome 1.3 Apologies and absences Mr Chris Salkovic - apology 1.4 Declarations of interest: No conflicts of interest were identified for this meeting. Mr Shane McGrath provided an update of current or recent interests in relation to his business, SGM Consulting (Aust) Pty Ltd. The information is to be included in the Conflict Register as information. Members requested a notation be included at the bottom of the Conflict Register indicating if members are potentially affected by a prospective flood event from a declared dam. 1.5 Previous minutes and actions Minutes and actions accepted with no amendments.
2	Matters for Decision 2.1. Stakeholder Engagement Strategy Refresh Paper was taken as read. Following a recommendation by members at the September 2022 meeting, management presented the table of contents and purpose of the Stakeholder Engagement Strategy. A discussion was undertaken into possible inclusions within the revised strategy. Management to consider the suggestions when refreshing the strategy. Members agreed to the proposed approach for the revised stakeholder engagement strategy. Members also noted the next steps and timeline. Action: 20222911-01: Management to present draft revised stakeholder engagement strategy at the March 2023 meeting. Matters for Discussion 2.2. Warragamba dam – safety program Paper taken as read. The Chair has been briefed on the Warragamba dam safety program. The Chair provided an overview of the site visit, he, the Deputy Chair and A/CEO Dams Safety NSW (DSNSW) had with WaterNSW’s CEO, Mr Andrew George at Warragamba on Monday 28 November 2022. Following a discussion on the proposed timeline plan for remediation works at Warragamba Dam, members recommended the CEO DSNSW continue to liaise with the CEO WNSW on the timeframes for remediating its dam safety risk profile. Action: 20222911-02: DSNSW to coordinate with Chair of WaterNSW Board regarding offer to brief its board in early 2023. Action: 20222911-03: DSNSW to thank Chair and CEO WaterNSW for facilitating the site visit to Warragamba on 28 November 2022. 2.3 Strategic risk deep dive - DSNSW does not have the capacity/capability to achieve outcomes (Part 2) Paper taken as read. Management presented the continuation of the strategic risk initially reviewed at the October 2022 meeting. The risk addressed budget and accountability resources and factors contributing to the capacity and capability risks. Members noted the low staffing level in the Operations team, notably auditors, is being addressed through recruitment. The Operations team is focused on targeted audits for 2023 and has engaged a consultant to assist with the audit program pending the recruitment and training of permanent staff. Time to capability was estimated to be within four to six months. 2.4 Dams Safety issues arising out of ANCOLD 2022 Paper taken as read. Management identified three priority issues for both dam owners and the agency’s regulatory approach arising from the 2023 ANCOLD conference. Competency of dams safety engineers Climate change and impact on maximum precipitation estimates Queensland floods class action – criticality of drafting operation rules. Members noted the papers on climate change impacts and Queensland floods class action. Matters for Noting 2.5 Wyangala dam update Paper taken as read. Heavy rainfall in November 2022 resulted in a controlled release of flood waters from the Wyangala dam. The flood waters affected many towns downstream. There has been significant state and national media coverage of this event. WaterNSW, the dam owner did not report this event as an incident, as Wyangala dam was operating as expected. It was noted management will liaise with WaterNSW regarding the outcomes and insights from the Wyangala Dam releases during November 2022. Action: 20222911-04: Management to present paper ‘DSNSW’s role in regulating how dam owners carry out flood releases for gated dams’ at March 2023 meeting. 2.6 Town Waters Risk Reduction Program (TWRRP) – dam safety element Presentation from Ms Amanda Chadwick and Ms Erin Cini from the DPE Water Group on the TWRRP. Amanda and Erin presented a brief overview of programs in the TWRRP. They advised the dam safety pilot program, to uplift dam safety capability in three regional councils, has been concluded. They also advised the success of the pilot program has led to a funding request for Phase 2 of the program. Action: 20222911-05: Management to provide members with TWRRP presentation and evaluation report from pilot program.
3	Governance Matters for Discussion 3.1. Board effectiveness review Paper taken as read. The DSNSW Board Charter identifies the need for an annual review and assessment of the Board. Annual board evaluations are commonplace for most governing bodies, with specific board evaluation recommendations forming a key component in most corporate governance standards, reviews or reports. Members agreed to the approach identified, noting that previous Chair Ms Ross Carter, previous Deputy Chair Ms Alex Fisher and management would be invited to contribute. Action: 20222911-06: Chair and Deputy Chair to assist management in developing the scope and selecting a vendor. Action: 20222911-07: The Chair to present findings from 2022 Board effectiveness review at the March 2023 meeting. 3.2. 2023 meeting calendar Paper taken as read. Members agreed to six face-to-face meetings in 2023 (including three meetings in regional NSW) and attendance at ANCOLD. It was also agreed additional out of session (virtual meetings) would be scheduled as required. Action: 20222911-08: Management to send out 2023 meeting invitations to members.
4	Operations Matters for Decision 4.1 Policy position on minimum life lost estimate for declared dams Paper taken as read. After discussion, members agreed the wording in Clause 4(1)(b)(ii) of the Dams Safety Regulation 2019 “endanger the life of a person” refers to a PAR of 1 or more, or a PLL of 0.1 or more. With appropriate priority, DSNSW staff will: review 21 existing Low / Very Low consequence category dams for current severity of damage or loss and PAR/PLL information progressively seek approval from Board of DSNSW to revoke some or all these declarations of dams following a review. 4.2 Dams to be declared/de-declared Paper taken as read. Members approved the declaring of: Amalfi Park Detention Basin Narrabri Brine Water Dam Members approved in principle the de-declaring of: Delegate Retarding Basin Edmondson Park Jardine Drive Basin 12 Maules Creek MWD2 Maules Creek RWD2 subject to management providing clarification post meeting on the changes to Delegate Retarding Basin and Edmondson Park Jardine Drive Basin 12. Action: 20222911-09: Management to send clarification email to members regarding Delegate Retarding Basin and Edmondson Park Jardine Drive Basin 12. 4.3 Update of declared dams to be publish in the NSW Government Gazette Paper taken as read. Approved, subject to clarification and approval of dams put forward for declaration and de-declaration. Members delegate to the Chair the signing of an Order to declare and de-declare dams, under s.5 of the Dams Safety Act, 2015. Once signed, the s.5 Order will be placed in the Gazette. Action: 20222911-10: Management to send Order to Chair for signing. Management team to place s.5 Order in the Gazette. Matters for Noting 4.4 CEO Report Paper taken as read. Members acknowledged the outstanding results in the 2022 People Matters Employee Survey (PMES). They also acknowledged the commencement on the development in the surveillance of concrete dams online course.
5	General Business The Chair commended support from members and the management team in providing guidance and information to assist in the transition to the new role. Action: 20222911-11: Members requested an update on the declared dam owners who have who have missed reporting deadlines for s15 notices and the Annual Dams Safety Standards Report. Action: 20222911-12: Members requested that dams above the safety threshold be presented six monthly.
6	Meeting Finalisation 6.1 Review actions 6.2. Meeting evaluation – Julie Garland McLellan (Dep Chair) 6.3. Next meeting – 31 January 2023 Meeting closed at 1.12pm.