Dam safety regulations are headed for a train wreck that will cost farmers dearly unless they act urgently.
This is according to a water policy expert, speaking as a deadline for new safety regulations looms.
The new regulations came into effect in May this year with compliance due in August – and there are still hundreds of farm dams to be registered and certified.
Irrigation New Zealand (INZ) has attempted to gain some concessions, but the responsibility for action now lies fairly and squarely with the dam owners, chief executive Vanessa Winning said.
Dams 4m in height and with capacities exceeding 20,000 cubic metres fall into the new regulation as classified dams.
At the core of these regulations lies a risk assessment framework that focuses on the potential impacts if dam infrastructure fails.
Central to the compliance process is the requirement to obtain a certified Potential Impact Classification (PIC) for each dam.
Farmers can only obtain this certification from a recognised dam safety engineer and the deadline is August 13.
While regulation has been 25 years in the making, Winning said the issue is the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) did not clarify the regulation until March this year, giving less than a year for farmers to comply.
“Prior to the 1990s there was no building code in place, now there’s about 2500 dams to track down with not enough time and not enough registered dam safety engineers.
“It is urgent, farmers need to do something now.
“There is good information on the INZ and MBIE websites. There is no excuse to not know what to do.”
Just 250, 10%, of impacted dams have so far been registered.
“We believe there’s about 2500 to be considered.
“We agree we need this register to check the safety of dams but we need more time and more resources to do it.”
While the registration of recognised dam engineers by Engineering NZ is progressing, the availability of these engineers currently varies from region to region, given their training only started in October 2023.
INZ has asked for more time, proposing that farmers get their dams registered now so the dams are identified and located, with implementation of the PIC certification pushed out 12 months.
“We need a pathway to get the outcome, we need pushback. It’s hard to comply right now when there’s not enough engineers.
“It will be a real positive with huge opportunity around water resources and flood mitigation, if we get this right,” Winning said.
Irrigation pioneer and water resources policy stalwart Terry Helier said the clear message to farmers is “you have got to act now”.
He said the mandated implementation of the dam safety regulations is headed for a disaster with potential to cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars.
“We don’t know how risky these dams are, or where they are so while the idea is sound, it’s how we have gone about it.
“Central and local governments, change of government, everybody is now sitting on a train wreck. It’s our problem, communication processes haven’t worked.
“We know what we have to do to get back on track. We need to formally rewrite regulations.”
Investigations have indicated only a handful of dam owners nationwide have registered their PIC, “which is a huge concern”.
“We just don’t have the time and the resources to meet the deadline.
Heiler’s message to farmers is “get started now” to avoid non-compliance issues.
“Each dam owner needs to complete a PIC themselves following the guidance given on the MBIE and INZ websites.
“They then need to access the contact details of the list of registered engineers and make a firm booking to have the PIC reviewed and approved and given obvious time issues keep a paper record of all actions and submit the PIC and related correspondence to the local regional council before August 13.”
Heiler said these actions will demonstrate a willingness to comply with the legislation given the current situation and reduce risk of penalties.
Depending on circumstances, farmers could be liable for non-compliance fines of $20,000.
The cost for a recognised engineer PIC certification for a low category dam varies between $3000 to $7000, while a medium hazard dam would be upwards of $10,000 and high impact dams $20,000.
“The problem is we have got ourselves into a log jam that could cost a lot of people a lot of money.
“The consequences being we are heading for a tsunami of lawyers, who are going to make a fortune.”
Meantime Heiler cautioned farmers to keep in touch with their regional councils.
“While an extension to the August deadline may be possible, it needs to be discussed with your regional council as the law is clear and while one council might give leniency rather than enforcement, others are saying the law is the law and fines for inaction are enforceable under the regulations.”
