March 2022 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 23

29 March 2022

Location: Level 13, 60 Margaret Street, Sydney

Time: 1pm-5.30pm

Attendees: Ross Carter (chair), Alex Fisher (dep chair), Shane McGrath, Rob O’Neill, Julie Garland McLellan, Chris Salkovic, Margaret Hynes, Jacqui Page (Secretariat), Jason Porter, Peter Boyd, Akber Akber, Asim Chohan

Minutes: Jacqui Page

Apologies: Nil

Declarations of interest: Nil new interests declared

Item	Discussion and actions
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome 1.3 Previous minutes and actions Minutes accepted with minor amendments.
2	Strategy/Stakeholder Matters for Decision 2.1 Sharing dams safety information Chris Salkovic presented a further paper on sharing dams safety information. Discussion regarding further analysis on sharing dams safety information with the public, to expand opportunities for information sharing.Members acknowledged that the sharing of dams safety information was important in building community confidence and that we should look to leveraging off current information. They also agreed that the sharing of information should be incremental. Sharing of dams safety information to be discussed further at the strategic workshop on 30 March. Action 20222903-01: Management team to develop a staged approach communication plan on sharing all the information presented in today’s board paper. Matters for Discussion 2.2 Strategic risk deep dive – “Dams Safety NSW does not respond effectively to a major dam safety incident” Peter Boyd presented the strategic deep dive - Dams Safety NSW does not respond effectively to a major dam safety incident. Peter advised that Dams Safety NSW is well positioned to respond effectively and in addition to responding to recent rain events, has conducted several emergency exercises and improved engagement with SES over the last twelve months. Action 20222903-02: Management team to present to members, at next meeting, a summary of recent rain event activities and any learnings. Action 20222903-03: Management team to consider mapping dam owners geographically. Action 20222903-04: Management team to consider developing a checklist and proactively contacting declared dam owners prior to forecast heavy rain and flooding events. Action 20222903-05: Management team to keep all members regularly updated during management of events.
3	Governance N/A
4	Operations Matters for Decision 4.1 Dams above the safety threshold Jason Porter presented the dams above the threshold and provided an update on progress being taken by dam owners. Members noted that the Management team needs to be clear with the dates the improvement programs are due and what dam owners are accountable for. Action 20222903-06: Management team to ensure that the due dates for improvement programs from declared dam owners above the safety threshold are agreed on. Noted: Member Alex Fisher left meeting room during a discussion relating to a potential conflict of interest. 4.2 Dams to be declared/de-declared Jason presented the dams to be declared and de-declared. Members enquired as to whether a robust consequence category assessment process had been undertaken. Jason walked through the process of determination. Members noted that they had previously requested a fact sheet and that future papers include information on whether a robust consequence category assessment process had been undertaken. Decision: Members approved the de-declaration of: Mt Boppy Gold Mine TSF Sunrise Mine TSF Cell 2 Sunrise Mine Water Storage Dam Members approved the declaration of: Calmsley Hill City Farm Dam Matters for Noting 4.3 CEO Report Chris Salkovic presented the CEO report and highlighted the new escalated risk relating to resourcing. Chris advised that Asim Chohan was leaving Dams Safety NSW on 8 April 2022 and Akber Akber would be acting Operations Manager until the recruitment process is finalised. Members congratulated Asim on his new appointment and thanked him for the great work he’d done while at Dams Safety NSW. Action 20222903-07: Chair to meet with Chief Operating Officer and CEO Water to discuss escalated resource risk. 4.4 Key Performance Indicators and projects Chris Salkovic presented the key performance indicators and projects. Presentation noted by members. Action 20222903-08: CEO to progress the appointment of the Chief Risk Officer. 4.5 Detailed Operations update Detailed Operations - taken as read 4.6 Capability maturity update - Asim Capability maturity update - taken as read.
5	General Business Nil
6	Meeting Finalisation 6.1 Review actions taken 6.2 Meeting evaluation, by Julie McClellan 6.3 Next meeting – Next meeting to be held 3 May 2022 in Sydney.