April 2020 Board meeting minutes

Acknowledgement to country and welcome - Ross Carter, Chair DSNSW

The Chair acknowledged the traditional owners and welcomed all in attendance.

Conflicts of Interest - Ross Carter, Chair, DSNSW

No conflicts of interest were submitted

Minutes and actions from previous meeting - Peter Skehan, Secretariat, DSNSW

Minutes and actions from the previous meeting were accepted.

CEO Update - Chris Salkovic, CEO DSNSW

CEO presented his update which included:

• The CEO provided his monthly update which included:
• Further recruitment to commence July due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• Update on meeting with the Minister of Water’s new Chief of Staff.
• General COVID advice sent to all dam owners.
• Update on discussions with the former Chairs of the Dams Safety Committee (DSC) regarding the ‘close out’ of DSC functions.
• New starter in Operations Team.
• A comparison of resourcing at the various water regulators in Australia. Members agreed that a regulatory comparison between regulators to become a standing agenda item.
• The development of a RACI Matrix to show strategy and plan responsibilities for DSNSW.

Members raised concerns that DSNSW wasn’t recruiting until July and didn’t see that the COVID situation restricted this process. CEO advised that there were a number of constraints preventing recruitment occurring sooner including uncertainty around future funding and recruitment / onboarding effectiveness during a ‘lockdown’. The Members indicated that where possible recruitment should proceed asap.

Members agreed that the CEO and Chair should meet with former Chair of DSC to discuss opportunities for former DSC members to contribute and close out issues.

Members requested that a deep dive into an external risk be included as an agenda item for the next meeting.

Guideline Development Process confirmation - Peter Boyd, Governance Assurance Manager, DSNSW

Peter Boyd presented the Guideline Development Process.

Members requested the inclusion of an approval stage, prior to publication.

Members proposed the creation of a members’ (and former DSC members) expertise/interest list and to enable targeted strategic advice for guideline review.

Peter Boyd presented the draft Guideline Development Plan. The plan identifies the guidelines still to be developed. Future guidelines include:

• Incident Management System
• Dams Safety Management System
• Competence
• Dams – Annual Standards Report

Members agreed that the former DSC Guidelines were a valuable resource for stakeholders during the development phase of new guidelines. Members expressed the need for a risk assessment for each new guideline.

Mining near declared dam guideline - Peter Boyd Governance & Assurance Manager, DSNSW

Peter Boyd presented the Mining Near Declared Dams Guideline and a summary of its development.

The guideline has been reviewed by key stakeholders and is ready for publication.

Peter presented the 'Feedback Disposition Template for the Guideline'. Displaying what DSNSW has done with the stakeholder feedback from the Mining Near Declared Dams Guideline.

Members expressed their preference to review the entire guideline before approval to avoid potential risk.

The Chair added that a summary brief should be submitted alongside the draft guideline for approval.

Carrington repeal order - Asim Chohan Operations Manager, DSNSW

Asim Chohan sought approval to revoke the declaration of the Carrington In-pit Tailings Storage Facility.

Asim Chohan presented the 'Declared Dams Amendment Order 2020' for review by the Members.

Members sought confirmation that there was no ‘in pit’ risk to workers or the general public in the area surrounding the now ‘in pit’ structure.

Approved by Members on the proviso that assurance from Asim Chohan that there was no worker and general public exposure to risk.

Major Occurrence Response Strategy - Peter Boyd Governance and Assurance Manager, DSNSW

Peter Boyd presented the Major Occurrence Response Strategy.

Peter defined the Major Occurrence Response Strategy as a response to an emergency that is an immediate threat to public health and safety.

The Strategy considers the COVID-19 Pandemic and will be amended once the pandemic has abated.

The primary role of the NSW State Emergency Services (NSW SES) in a major occurrence response was discussed. Where there is a potential loss of life (PLL) the SES is the principal response and combat agency.

Key issues highlighted by the Members were:

• The need to be clear on how response activities are undertaken
• The need to direct any DSNSW communications during a major occurrence response via the combat agency (SES) through the use of a liaison officer
• The bounds of authority during a major occurrence response
• The need for clear guidance triggers to guide immediate action
• Undertaking regular exercises of the Strategy and Plan.

Interim Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Communications Plan - Margaret Hynes Capability Manager, DSNSW  and Kristina Resanceff Communications Officer, DSNSW

Margaret Hynes introduced Kristina Resanceff the new Communications Officer and presented the Interim Stakeholder Engagement Strategy.

Kristina Resanceff presented the Transition Communications Plan; making specific note of the tools that will be implemented to support the Stakeholder Engagement Strategy.

Members expressed the need to present the Interim Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Plans with more externally focused language; particularly with respect to DSNSW’s key aspirational measures.

Members outlined that the focus of DSNSW is to assist dam owners in meeting their duty of care to the community as well as their legal and common law obligations; specifically, the notion of asset risk.

Overview of operational activity - Asim Chohan Operations Manager, DSNSW

Asim Chohan presented an overview of operational activities up to 1 November 2021 including:

• Service Delivery Key Performance Indicators of DSNSW
• Operational procedure development
• Audit details that will be captured in the Operational Strategic Plan
• Internal review procedures.
• Operational activity summary.

Members agreed that a schedule be developed to assist dam owners reach their regulatory requirements by 1 November 2021.

The CEO presented Transition Risk; presenting a comparison between the key activities of the DSC and how they will be addressed in the new regime. Taking risk and the current COVID-19 Pandemic into account.

The late submission of key documentation, such as Emergency Management Plans, was identified as a potential risk.

20/21 – Work Program and Budget

Members endorsed the budget for FY20/21 and made the following notes:

• The estimate is based on current knowledge of COVID impacts and expected dam owner support needed from the agency
• Dams Safety NSW is currently operating within a ‘high-risk’ transition phase supporting new ways of working for dam owners to meet new statutory requirements
• Increase in staffing should occur as soon as practicable
• The estimate takes into account ERC’s funding decision of May 2019 covering both FY19/20 and FY20/21 to establish the new Dams Safety NSW agency.

General business

General business elements included:

• Frequency of meetings remain to monthly.
• Diligent Board Portal Software implementation.
• A status update on Dendrobium Mine.

Next meeting: 26/05/2020. Remote