November 2023 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 36

21 November 2023

Location: 4PSQ, 12 Darcy Street, Parramatta

Time: 2pm- 5.15pm

Attendees:

Members

Mr Paul O’Connor (Chair), Ms Julie Garland McLellan (Deputy Chair), Mr Shane McGrath, Mr Ian Landon-Jones, Mr Chris Salkovic (CEO)

Invitees:

Ms Margaret Hynes, Ms Alison Collaros, Mr Jason Porter, Mr Peter Boyd, Ms Claire Hendley (Secretariat)

Item	Discussion and actions
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only The Chair advised the status of the appointment process for a new member; upcoming machinery of government changes affecting the Department’s water portfolio; and the close out of the CEO performance review for FY2022-23. Appointed members discussed options for clarifying the agency’s regulatory posture and approach to the safety threshold and application of the ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ standard in the NSW dams’ safety legislation. The CEO joined the session and all members reviewed and agreed in-principle to a revised CEO performance framework for FY2023-24 and preferred key result areas, metrics and targets. 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome Appointed members acknowledged meeting on the land of the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Dharug and paid respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. 1.3 Apologies and absences Mr Peter Boyd, Mr Jason Porter 1.4 Conflicts of Interest and disclosures Nil 1.5 Previous minutes and actions Minutes and actions were accepted with a few minor amendments. Action: 20232111- 01: Secretariat to make recommended changes to the minutes and update actions. 1.6 Agenda priorities Nil
2	Strategy/Stakeholder engagement Matters for noting 2.1 Stakeholder engagement update The tabled paper was taken as read. The stakeholder engagement update was noted by the appointed members. Action: 20232111-02: Management to advise the appointed members when the 2022-2023 Annual Report is tabled in Parliament. 2.2 Alignment with recommendations from the World Bank The tabled paper was taken as read. The appointed members noted the information contained in the board paper and discussed the analysis of DSNSW’s alignment with the key elements and provisions recommended by the World Bank for an effective dams safety regulatory regime. Action: 20232111-03: CEO to provide a more detailed analysis of each individual element of the recommendations from the World Bank, e.g., Record keeping – what they should be and what owners should keep. Action: 20232111-04: Management to identify the presence of any federally owned dams within DSNSW’s territorial area and the regulatory regime that is applied to them. 2.3 ANCOLD debrief The tabled paper was taken as read. The appointed members acknowledged the papers presented by DSNSW staff and the paper presented by Mr Shane McGrath at the pre-conference workshop exploring the role of risk assessments, safety reviews and safety cases. The members noted the breadth and relevance of the topics and supported future attendance at ANCOLD and similar thought leadership events. Members also congratulated Mr McGrath on his receipt of the ANCOLD Contribution Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to ANCOLD through his longstanding representation on the ICOLD Technical Committee on Dam Safety and for the implementation and dedication to running the ANCOLD dam safety liabilities and corporate governance courses. Action: 20232111- 05: Mr Ian Landon Jones to provide a recommended list of papers from the ANCOLD conference relevant to DSNSW for specific review by management. Action: 20232111- 06: CEO to further build on presented summary of other state regulator resources and include their regulatory approaches.
3	Governance Matters for decision 3.1 Safety Threshold operational definition and SFAIRP declaration The tabled paper was taken as read. The appointed members acknowledged the ongoing efforts to formulate an operational definition and SFAIRP declaration. However, approval was withheld, given the consensus that finalising guidance material on SFAIRP is imperative before reaching an agreement. Action: 20232111- 07: The CEO will distribute a draft and seek members input into the scope, purpose, and structure of SFAIRP guidance ahead of its development. Action: 20232111- 08: Management to conduct a review of published documents for reference to the safety threshold to ensure a consistent regulatory posture is presented. Matters for noting 3.2 Regulatory approach for dams with spillways, spillway gates and fuse plug spillways The tabled paper was taken as read. Appointed members noted the regulatory approach presented in the paper and recommended the term ‘controlled spillways’ be used in preference to ‘spillways’. Action: 20232111- 09: Management, in consultation with the Department of Planning and Environment, to develop a policy position on regulatory accountability for operations of dam safety features such as controlled releases from spillways and fuse plugs.
4	Operations Matters for decision 4.1 Gazetting The tabled paper was taken as read. The Chair requested, and was given, assurance that quality controls had been applied to the preparation of the list. The appointed members noted the increased level of detail on the changes, approved the proposed changes to the gazette list of declared dams and agreed that the Chair sign the s5 Oder for Declared Dams reflecting the proposed changes. Action: 20232111- 10: Management to send the s5 Order to the Chair for signing together with an outline of quality assurance process. Matters for noting 4.2 CEO Report The tabled paper was taken as read. Appointed members noted the CEO’s report. 4.3 Key performance indicators – quarterly update The tabled paper was taken as read. Appointed members discussed the data on risk reports and noted the KPI update. 4.4 Mining near declared dams The tabled paper was taken as read. The paper provided appointed members with an overview of how DSNSW ensures the impacts of mining on declared dams are effectively managed. Appointed members commented its content would be useful to include in a new board member induction pack. Action: 20232111- 11: CEO to include information in the next CEO report on number of mining applications of a contentious nature have been approved or not approved.
5	General business 5.1 Forward plan of Board meetings The tabled paper was taken as read. The appointed members discussed the 2024 board meeting dates and approved the meeting schedule. Action: 20232111-12: Management to distribute final 2024 board meeting dates
6	Meeting finalisation 6.1 Meeting evaluation – Mr Ian Landon-Jones Mr Ian Landon-Jones provided an evaluation of the meeting. Action: 20230610-13: CEO to send thank you letters to the declared dam owners who facilitated site visits on 5 and 6 October 2023. 6.2 Next meeting The next meeting is scheduled for 13-14 February 2024 in regional NSW. The meeting closed at 5.15 pm.

21 November 2023

Strategy/Stakeholder engagement