INNOVATION July-August 2014

p ract i ce ma t ter s

APEGBC Dam Safety Guidelines Updated to Include Mining Dams The APEGBC Professional Practice Guidelines – Legislated Dam Safety Reviews in BC , first published and posted on the

the appropriate knowledge, skillsets and experience to be held by APEGBC members working in this field. They also aim to address consistency in the reporting prepared by APEGBC members. Though the guidelines are not intended to serve as a prescriptive technical document, they do provide focus on the issues to be considered when undertaking a dam safety review. The guidelines assist in project organization and determination of responsibilities, and provide general principles governing dam safety analysis, quality assurance/quality control and report presentation. For more information, contact Peter Mitchell, P.Eng., APEGBC Director, Professional Practice, Standards & Development, at mitchell@apeg.bc.ca or at 604.412.4853.

safety reviews for mining dams. The changes made to the guidelines include: • Revisions to appropriately reference dam safety reviews for mining dams; • A new Appendix C – Mining Dams Considerations in Dam Safety Reviews; • The new assurance statement Appendix D2 for dam safety reviews of mining dams, in addition to the assurance statement for dam safety reviews for dams regulated under the BC Dam Safety Regulations . The guidelines define the professional services, standard of care and specific tasks to be provided by APEGBC members conducting this type of work; provide descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the various participants/stakeholders involved in a dam safety review; and set out expectations for

APEGBC website in July 2013, have recently been reviewed and revised. These guidelines were developed to establish the standard of practice to be followed when carrying out dam safety reviews in BC for water reservoir dams in response to BC’s Dam Safety Regulation 44/2000. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations provided funding, technical and administrative support for the development of these guidelines. In May 2013, the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines contracted with APEGBC to revise the existing guidelines. This Ministry provided funding and technical and admin- istrative support so the guidelines could also address professional practice for dam

Practice Guidelines Keep APEGBC Professionals Current and the Public Safe APEGBC has been at the forefront in Canada in the development of proactive regulatory tools and has developed many practice guidelines covering a range of professional activities. These guidelines inform members of how they can fulfil their professional obligations, includ- ing the duty to protect the safety, health and welfare of the public and the environment. They also establish the standard of practice for the delivery of professional services for certain types of engineering and geoscience activities. Recently, APEGBC has worked with the Ministry of Forests, Lands

and Natural Resource Operations to address the creation of two practice guidelines, including riparian area assessments and, in col- laboration with the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) through the Joint Practice Board, watershed and hydrological as- sessment. The riparian area assessment guidelines now have partial funding through the Ministry. Working with the College of Applied Biologists, ABCFP and the BC Institute of Agrologists, a proposal has been prepared to put the remaining funding in place. In fact, both the Forest Practices Board (FPB), an independent

watchdog that serves the public interest for sound forest practices, and the Ministry have stated the value of APEGBC profes- sional practice guidelines. This is a significant vote of confidence in and recognition of the important role these guidelines play in protecting the public’s interest. With support from the provincial gov- ernment and leading subject matter experts, APEGBC has already developed guidelines related to a number of issues of public and professional concern, including landslides (Guidelines for Legislated Landslide Assessments for Proposed Residential Development in British Columbia), dams (Professional Practice Guidelines – Legislated Dam Safety Reviews in BC) and floods (Professional Practice Guidelines – Legislated Flood Assessments in a Changing Climate in BC). These guidelines, as well as many others with a focus on particular practice areas, can be found on the APEGBC website at apeg. bc.ca/professional-practice-guidelines, and members have a professional responsibility to familiarize themselves with their content, as failure to do so can compromise public safety.

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