Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Report No. 8 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee October 2012

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee

Chair Mr Ted Malone MP, Chair, Member for Mirani Deputy Chair Mr Tim Mulherin MP, Deputy Chair, Member for Mackay Members Mr MP, Member for Redcliffe Mr Michael Hart MP, Member for Burleigh Mr Seath Holswich MP, Member for Pine Rivers Mr Rob Katter MP, Member for Ms Kerry Millard MP, Member for Sandgate Mr Bruce Young MP, Member for Keppel

Staff Dr Kathy Munro, Research Director Ms Erin Pasley, Acting Research Director (14 September - 12 October) Ms Mary Westcott, Principal Research Officer Ms Linh Luong, Principal Research Officer Ms Rhia Campillo, Executive Assistant

Technical Scrutiny of Ms Renée Easten, Research Director Legislation Secretariat Ms Marissa Ker, Principal Research Officer Ms Tamara Vitale, Executive Assistant

Contact details State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee House George Street Qld 4000 Telephone +61 7 3406 7230 Fax +61 7 3406 7500 Email [email protected] Web www.parliament.qld.gov.au/sdiic

Acknowledgements The committee thanks those who briefed the committee, made submissions, gave evidence and participated in its inquiry. In particular, the committee acknowledges the assistance provided by the Department of Energy and Water Supply.

Contents

Abbreviations iv

Recommendations vi

1. Introduction 1 1.1 Role of the committee 1 1.2 The referral 1 1.3 The committee’s inquiry process 1 1.4 Policy objectives of the Bill 2

2. Examination of the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 3 2.1 Should the Bill be passed? 3 2.2 Government consultation on the Bill 3 2.3 Policy proposals relating to recommendations of the Flood Commission of Inquiry 3 2.4 Policy proposals relating to reducing regulatory burden on the water industry 11 2.5 Policy proposals relating to the Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme 13

3. Fundamental legislative principles 15 3.1 Rights and liberties of individuals 15 3.2 Administrative power - Section 4(3)(a) Legislative Standards Act 1992 15 3.3 Sufficient regard to the institution of Parliament 16 3.4 Explanatory notes 17

Appendix A – List of submissions received 18

Appendix B – Witnesses at public hearing on 11 October 2012 19

Appendix C – Summary of clauses 20

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee iii Abbreviations Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Abbreviations

POQA Parliament of Queensland Act 2001

LSA Legislative Standards Act 1992

The Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill

The Commission Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry

The committee State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee

The Department The Department for Energy and Water Supply

The Scheme Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme

Water Act Water Act 2000

Water Supply Act Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008

iv State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Foreword and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Chair’s foreword

This report presents a summary of the committee’s examination of the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.

The committee’s task was to consider the policy outcomes to be achieved by the legislation, as well as the application of fundamental legislative principles – that is, whether it has sufficient regard to rights and liberties of individuals and to the institution of Parliament.

On behalf of the committee, I thank officers from the Department of Energy and Water Supply who briefed the committee, the committee’s secretariat and the Technical Scrutiny of Legislation Secretariat.

I commend the report to the House.

Ted Malone MP Chair

October 2012

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee v Recommendations Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Recommendations

Recommendation 1 3 The committee recommends that the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 be passed.

Recommendation 2 5 The committee asks that the Bill clarifies how it will provide for a situation where notice has been given to a dam owner under section 371H(1) to prepare a new flood mitigation manual within 30 business days and a flood event occurs prior to the approval of the new manual.

Recommendation 3 7 The committee recommends that the Minister consult with Seqwater during the development of the Guidelines on Emergency Action Plans so that the Guidelines can clearly outline the responsibilities in relation to the notification of ‘relevant entities’ in an emergency.

Recommendation 4 10 The committee recommends the Minister consider amending sections 352V and 385 to confine the content requirements for interim emergency event reports and interim flood event reports and to provide flexibility in the information required.

Recommendation 5 10 The committee recommends that the legislation provide flexibility in the timeframes for providing an interim report (for an emergency event or flood event) in light of the practical difficulties which may arise in some circumstances.

vi State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Introduction and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

1. Introduction

1.1 Role of the committee The State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee (the committee) was established by resolution of the Legislative Assembly on 18 May 2012 and consists of government and non- government members. The committee’s primary areas of responsibility are1: • State Development, Infrastructure and Planning • Energy and Water Supply • Tourism • Major Events • Small Business • Commonwealth Games. Section 93(1) of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 (POQA) provides that a portfolio committee is responsible for considering: • the policy to be given effect by the Bill, and • the application of the fundamental legislative principles to the Bill. Standing Order 132(1) provides that the committee is to recommend whether the Bill be passed.

1.2 The referral On 12 September 2012, the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (the Bill) was referred to the committee for examination and report. The Committee of the Legislative Assembly varied the reporting date on the Bill in accordance with Standing Order 136(1). The committee is to report to the Legislative Assembly by 22 October 2012.

1.3 The committee’s inquiry process On 18 September 2012, the committee called for written submissions on the Bill to be provided by 3 October 2012. The committee received three submissions (See Appendix A). The committee received a written briefing from the Department of Energy and Water Supply (the Department) on 28 September 2012 and was briefed by officers of the Department at a public briefing on 5 October 2012. The committee received oral evidence at a public hearing held at Parliament House on 11 October 2012 (See Appendix B). The written submissions and transcripts of the departmental briefing and public hearing are published on the committee’s webpage at www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of- committees/committees/SDIIChttp://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/committees.

1 Schedule 6 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as at 22 August 2012.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 1 Introduction Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

1.4 Policy objectives of the Bill The primary objectives of the Bill are to: 2 • amend the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (Water Supply Act) to implement recommendations in the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry report delivered in March 2012 in relation to dam safety and flood mitigation; • relocate provisions in the Water Act 2000 (Water Act) for declaring temporary full supply levels for flood mitigation dams to the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 so as to align the responsibility for decisions about dam safety and flood mitigation under the one Act; • reduce the regulatory burden on the water industry; and • amend the Electricity Act 1994 to align the operation of the Solar Bonus Scheme with Government policy to reduce the feed-in tariff for new small customers after 9 July 2012 and clarify the conditions for the feed-in tariff entitlement. A summary of the clauses of the Bill are contained in Appendix C. The committee will examine each key policy proposal in the sections below.

2 Minister McArdle, Introductory Speech, Record of Proceedings, 12 September 2012, pp. 1843-1844; and Explanatory Notes, pp. 1-7.

2 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 2. Examination of the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

2.1 Should the Bill be passed? Standing Order 132(1) requires the committee to recommend whether the Bill should be passed. After examining the Bill, and considering issues raised in submissions and evidence provided at the public hearing, the committee determined that the Bill should be passed. The committee considered each key policy proposal in the Bill and identified some provisions in the Bill that may warrant amendment or clarification.

Recommendation 1 The committee recommends that the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 be passed.

2.2 Government consultation on the Bill The Bill’s explanatory notes provide that proposals in relation to the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, dam safety proposals and water industry regulatory amendments were developed in consultation with Government Departments (Premier and Cabinet, Queensland Treasury and Trade, Local Government, Justice and Attorney-General, Community Safety, and Emergency Management Queensland). Industry stakeholders included Seqwater, SunWater, the Local Government Association of Queensland, Queensland Water Commission, Agforce and Queensland Farmers’ Federation.3 The proposals in relation to dam safety were also aired publicly during the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. Government departments, Energex and Ergon Energy were consulted in relation to the Solar Bonus Scheme. The Department advised that no community consultation was undertaken during the development of any of the policy proposals in relation to the Scheme and that on 25 June 2012, the Government notified the public in a ministerial media release and on its website that it intended to make changes to the Scheme by the end of 2012.4 The committee notes that whilst the explanatory notes indicate a positive response was received from industry stakeholders on the Bill, it was advised that the policy proposals were only discussed with stakeholders in broad terms.5 The committee encourages the Minister to consult with stakeholders when bills are in their final form in the future. The committee heard during the Inquiry that the reporting timeframes imposed by the House are making it difficult for small organisations to provide meaningful comment on bills.6

2.3 Policy proposals relating to recommendations of the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry The Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry (the Commission) was established on 17 January 2011 to conduct a forensic examination into the events of the 2010-11 floods.

3 Explanatory Notes, pp. 12-13. 4 See - Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012. 5 See - Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012. 6 Public Hearing Transcript, 11 October 2012, p. 5.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 3 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 The Commission released its final report on 16 March 2012 which contained 177 recommendations. A number of findings and recommendations related to the operational procedures for dam safety and flood mitigation of referable dams. The then supported all of the Commission’s recommendations.7 The Bill seeks to implement nine (9) recommendations in relation to dam safety.8 The Government agreed to make appropriate amendments to the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (Water Supply Act) before the next wet season.9 The Bill addresses areas in relation to dam safety namely, flood mitigation manuals, emergency action plans, legislative requirements for flood event and emergency event reports and the declaration of temporary full supply levels to mitigate flood or drought, outlined below.

Flood mitigation manuals content and approval

Currently, approved flood mitigation manuals are in place for Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams, setting out operating strategies for operating each dam during flood events. The manuals are currently approved by the chief executive for a period of five years. Where an approved flood mitigation manual exists, the dam’s owner, operator and employees are protected from civil liability for any act or omission done honestly and without negligence in observance of the procedures in the manual. The Commission recommended that the Minister (as the representative of the people), rather than the chief executive, approve the manuals for use by dam operators. The Minister’s decision would be informed by the advice of departmental officers who should maintain the role of assessing flood mitigation manuals.10 The Department acknowledged that the Commission recommended using an independent person to both assess manuals and provide advice to the Minister, but noted that substantial difficulty would arise in determining a person who could be truly considered independent and who would be willing to undertake assessments of flood mitigation manuals as the dam safety engineering community in is small and interconnected. Accordingly, it was determined that the Minister should instead be able to draw on an advisory committee to provide advice on manuals submitted for approval.11 In relation to flood mitigation manuals the Bill provides: • that the Minister is the person responsible to approve a flood mitigation manual; • mandatory content requirements for a manual and establishes criteria for approval; • power for the chief executive or dam owner to approve departures from the procedures authorised in the manual if there are unforeseen circumstances during a flood event; • power for the chief executive to set minimum qualifications, experience and training requirements for key flood operations personnel; and • a requirement for dam owners to report annually on the preparedness of the dam for flood mitigation operations before each wet season. Annual preparedness reports Section 377(2) of the Bill provides that the chief executive may give notice to the dam owner to

7 Queensland Government response to Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry Final Report, tabled 7 June 2012. 8 Queensland Parliament, Record of Proceedings, 12 September 2012, at p. 1843. 9 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 3. 10 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 4. 11 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 4.

4 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 require that a responsible person under a flood mitigation manual for a dam has particular qualifications or experience or has completed particular training for the safe and effective operation of the dam. A failure to comply with the notice may result in a maximum of 1665 penalty units. Seqwater advised the committee that there are limited candidates for Flood Operations Engineer roles. Complying with a notice from the chief executive may be difficult at times, and it is suggested that the chief executive consult with Seqwater before issuing notices. The Department advised that it would consult with the dam owner before a notice is issued.12 Refusing to approve a flood mitigation manual Section 371H(1) of the Bill provides that if the Minister decides to refuse to approve the flood mitigation manual, the Minister must give the owner of the dam a notice directing the owner to prepare a new flood mitigation manual within 30 days. Section 371H(2) of the Bill provides that the owner must comply with the notice, and a failure to comply could result in a maximum of 1665 penalty units. The Bill’s explanatory notes state13: The consequences of a decision to refuse to approve a manual are significant as the dam owner is protected by civil liability if the owner observes the operational procedures in an approved manual. A decision to approve a flood mitigation manual is also significant as choice of operating strategies under flood mitigation manuals has the capacity to affect millions of people as it necessarily balances competing interests when determining operational strategies and their priority. A right of review of an adverse decision is a recognised element of procedur[e] fairness. However, the Bill provides for mandatory preparation of a new flood mitigation manual in the event of refusal. While there is no merits review of a refusal, a dam owner is not prevented from seeking judicial review of the decision. In the circumstances, it is considered justifiable to limit the dam owner’s right of review to procedural matters. The committee seeks a point of clarification in relation to the refusal to approve a manual and civil liability. In particular, if a notice has been given under section 371H(1) for a dam owner to prepare a new manual within 30 business days and a flood event occurs in that time, would the dam operator be operating under a manual that had not been approved?

Recommendation 2 The committee asks that the Bill clarifies how it will provide for a situation where notice has been given to a dam owner under section 371H(1) to prepare a new flood mitigation manual within 30 business days and a flood event occurs prior to the approval of the new manual.

Nomination of dams to be operated under a flood mitigation manual

The Commission recommended that as part of the longer term review of the flood mitigation manual for North Pine Dam, consideration be given to whether the dam is to continue to be operated for flood mitigation purposes.14 The Department indicated that it is managing studies into optimising the operation of the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam system and the North Pine Dam. The outcomes of the North Pine Dam

12 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 13 Explanatory Notes, p. 11. 14 Explanatory Notes, p. 4.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 5 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Optimisation Study will be used to inform consideration of whether North Pine Dam should be operated for flood mitigation. The Bill introduces the policy that the Minister retain the discretion to determine whether particular dams should be assessed against criteria to determine whether they should have a manual or not. The Bill introduces criteria for deciding which dams should be operated for flood mitigation purposes and therefore required to operate under an approved flood mitigation manual. The Department advised that the Bill provides a rationale for the legislative basis for having a flood mitigation manual as the current manuals are required only through the operation of a long series of transitional provisions in successive Acts over the last twenty years.15 Based on the information the committee received, the committee is satisfied with this proposal.

Emergency action plans

The Water Supply Act currently requires dam owners to prepare emergency action plans, under either development conditions (applied to a permit for the dam’s construction) or safety conditions. The Commission recommended that the Water Supply Act be amended to provide a legislative requirement that emergency action plans be prepared for all referable dams and for these plans to be approved and periodically reviewed. A ‘referable dam’ is a dam that would put two or more persons at risk if it were to fail, as determined by a ‘failure impact assessment’. Referable dams are regulated under the Water Supply Act.16 The Bill specifies mandatory content requirements for the plans (new section 352H) and requires a review of a plan after five years. The Bill specifies what dam owners must do in an emergency to notify people who are at immediate risk (relevant entities), notify emergency services, and to rectify or mitigate the emergency at the dam.17 The Department advised that the evidence base for the policy proposal were the findings of the Commission and international best practice. The US National Academies of Science recently released a report titled Dam and Levee Safety and Community Resilience: A Vision for Future Practice concerning disaster management which advocated for community engagement in developing emergency action plans and by making the plans available to the community.18 New section 352M provides that an emergency action plan must be made publicly available, without containing personal identifying information. New section 352N provides that an owner of a referable dam must keep a copy of their emergency action plan and make it available to relevant persons identified in the plan.19 The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) was concerned about the requirement that owners of small farm dams have an emergency action plan.20 The Department advised that guidelines will be developed in consultation with QFF to assist dam owners in developing emergency action plans. The Department also advised that it expects the burden of developing an emergency action plan will be proportionate to the risks posed to the community and should mean that farm dams will not need a complex plan.21

15 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 5. 16 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 3. 17 Explanatory Notes, p. 23. 18 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 6. 19 Explanatory Notes, p. 26. 20 Public Hearing Transcript, 11 October 2012, p. 2. 21 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012.

6 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Definition of relevant entities Section 352H(1)(b)(ii) of the Bill provides that for each emergency condition, an emergency action plan must state when and how the owner of the dam must notify the relevant entities of the emergency condition, if it happens, including the order of priority in which the relevant entities are to be notified. Section 352H(2)(b) of the Bill defines ‘relevant entities’ for an emergency condition under an emergency action plan, as the persons whose safety or property may be threatened by the emergency condition. Seqwater advised the committee that it considers that the definition of ‘relevant entities’ goes further than what the Commission originally envisaged.22 The Commission’s interim report stated a general rule that dam operators are not responsible for providing warnings directly to the community. However, the Commission noted a confined exception to the rule that, dam operators must take responsibility for identifying and warning a limited category of people, i.e. residents living immediately downstream of dams, or a short distance from the dam where water levels can threaten before the local disaster management group can properly process the dam information and issue a warning.23 Seqwater considers that the definition of relevant entities could be interpreted as capturing considerably more people than a limited category of people and residents living immediately downstream of referable dams envisaged by the Commission. The committee notes that the Bill provides examples for section 352H(2)(b) as ‘the owners of parcels of farm land adjacent to the dam’ and ‘the residents of a township’. In response to the submission, the Department advised that Guidelines on Emergency Action Plans will provide further clarity on the ‘relevant entities’ that must be notified of an emergency condition. However, dam owners will be responsible for identifying who must be notified, when and how the notification will take place, and that will require a case by case assessment. The Department also advised that it was not their expectation that all relevant parties would be notified immediately or directly.24 Seqwater advised the committee that it has implemented an early warning notification system to notify subscribed residents when flood releases are conducted.25 The committee recommends that the Minister consult with Seqwater during the development of the Guidelines on Emergency Action Plans to address this issue.

Recommendation 3 The committee recommends that the Minister consult with Seqwater during the development of the Guidelines on Emergency Action Plans so that the Guidelines can clearly outline the responsibilities in relation to the notification of ‘relevant entities’ in an emergency.

Legislative requirement for flood event and emergency event reports The Bill introduces a legislative requirement for emergency event reports and flood event reports to be prepared by dam owners and submitted to the chief executive within 30 business days after the end of an event. Emergency event reports are currently required under development or safety conditions, and flood event reports are required by flood mitigation manuals. A failure to provide a

22 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, pp. 1 -2. 23 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 2. 24 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 25 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 2.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 7 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 flood or emergency event report may result in a maximum financial penalty (1665 penalty units).26 As a result of the Commission’s recommendation that the Department develop standardised practices for reviewing event reports, the Department advised that it became apparent that the basis for these reports should be enshrined in legislation in order to provide clarity about the requirement, and to ensure that there could be legislative penalties for failure to report.27 The Department advised that this proposal is consistent with the Australian Committee on Large Dams’ Guideline on Dam Safety Management, and Emergency Management Australia’s manual Emergency Planning for Floods Affected by Dams.28 Seqwater believes that the proposed obligation to prepare reports following a ‘downstream release hazard’ is unnecessary and impractical because29: • Dam owners are already obligated to prepare a flood event report following a flood event when controlled releases occur; and • Spills over ungated dams are very regular occurrences and would be an unreasonable diversion of resources for Seqwater to comply with the proposed requirement. Seqwater considers that the requirement is incommensurate with the likely degree of risk. As an example, Seqwater advised the committee that all but two of Seqwater’s 22 ungated referable dams spilled on many occasions during the last year. In response to the submission, the Department advised that it is not intended to capture every routine spillway release and the definition limits the events that need to be reported on.30 The Department further advised that31: … the Emergency Action Plan for each dam will specify that level of release over a spillway constitutes a downstream release hazard that would require the Emergency Action Plan to be triggered, and so also require a report to be submitted after the event finishes. This would be implemented to ensure that the level of administrative burden on dam owners is commensurate with the level of risk to downstream communities… The Department does not consider the requirement for emergency event reporting as duplication. The content and purpose of Flood Event Reports and Emergency Event Reports are different… However, should both requirements be triggered by an event, a single report would be sufficient provided the report met the requirements for both an Emergency Event Report (under section 352V) and a Flood Event Report (under section 385). The committee is satisfied with the Department’s proposal. Timeframe for emergency event reports As stated above, emergency event reports and flood event reports are to be prepared by dam owners and submitted to the chief executive within 30 business days after the end of an event. The timing of the preparation of the flood report would depend upon the magnitude of the flood event. Seqwater considered that 60 days to prepare and submit a report is more appropriate.32 The committee notes that proposed section 352T(2)(b) provides that a further period for the

26 Explanatory Notes, pp. 5 & 29. 27 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, pp. 6-7. 28 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 6. 29 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, pp. 3-4. 30 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 31 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 32 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 5.

8 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 preparation and submission of an emergency action plan can be agreed to in writing by the chief executive. The Department advised the committee that the chief executive would be likely to agree to a longer reporting timeframe for a high magnitude event, particularly if it occurred early in a wet season.33 The committee considers the current reporting timeframe as adequate, given the chief executive can agree to extend the timeframe in the case of a high magnitude event. Interim reports The Bill provides the power for the chief executive to require an interim flood event report or interim emergency event report within 10 business days where relevant events are expected to take over one month. Seqwater noted that under the proposed provisions34: • The proposed content requirements for an interim report are the same as a full report (ss385 and 352V); and • A failure to prepare an interim report within the timeframe is punishable with fines of up to 1665 penalty units. Proposed section 352V provides the content for an emergency event report or emergency event interim report. In particular the reports are to: • include an assessment of whether and to what extent the approved emergency action plan effectively dealt with the emergency event (352V(e)); and • recommend any changes to the approved emergency action plan that would allow the plan to deal with a similar emergency event more effectively (352V(f)). Seqwater advised the committee that it would be premature for an interim report to include assessments of the appropriateness of operational documents and associated recommendations for operational changes whilst an event is still occurring.35 Seqwater suggested that the content requirements for interim reports should be less extensive than final reports, in light of the time available to prepare the reports and recognition that the event is ongoing. In particular, Seqwater suggested that interim reports should be limited to preliminary descriptions of the event and actions taken to date in response.36 In response to the submission the Department advised the committee that interim reports would not normally be required, however the dam safety regulator considers that this power should be held in reserve. The Department also accepted that despite an interim report requiring the same content as a final report, an interim report would not be as detailed as a final flood event report and provide limited information as the event would be continuing.37 The committee recognises that information may be required during an interim phase in order for changes to dam operations to be implemented quickly, and accepts that that information is vital. It also accepts that dam operators as a matter of course during a flood or emergency event would be in frequent contact38 with the Department and chief executive to provide regular updates. The committee notes Seqwater’s concerns in relation to the content requirements for interim reports and final reports and the Department’s justification. On balance, the committee considers

33 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 34 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 5. 35 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 5. 36 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 5. 37 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 15 October 2012. 38 Public Hearing Transcript, 11 October 2012, p. 12.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 9 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 that the legislation should recognise the difference in content requirements for interim reports final reports and provide flexibility.

Recommendation 4 The committee recommends the Minister consider amending sections 352V and 385 to confine the content requirements for interim emergency event reports and interim flood event reports and to provide flexibility in the information required.

Timeframe for interim reports As stated above, the chief executive may require an interim flood event report or interim emergency event report within 10 business days where relevant events are expected to take over one month. During the public hearing, Seqwater raised practical concerns with the timeframe and explained to the committee that39: … if you had a flood event continuing for a month or if you had a safety issue going for a month, then the 10 business days may or may not be appropriate. It is very difficult to sort of say putting time lines on us like that when effectively I could have—take your month for example—had all of the flood engineers rostered on and off for a 12-hour shift[s] over that period of time and then say to some of them, ‘Look, I can’t have you actually coming on your shift. I want you to write this particular interim report.’ Notwithstanding the importance of the information required to make a decision quickly in an emergency or flood event, the committee considers that the legislation should provide some degree of flexibility in the timeframes for providing an interim report (for an emergency event or flood event) in light of the practical difficulties which may arise in some circumstances as outlined above by Seqwater.40

Recommendation 5 The committee recommends that the legislation provide flexibility in the timeframes for providing an interim report (for an emergency event or flood event) in light of the practical difficulties which may arise in some circumstances.

Declaring temporary full supply levels to mitigate flood or drought

Under the Water Act 2000 (Water Act), the full supply level of a dam is the level of water surface when the water storage is at maximum operating level when not affected by flood. The full supply level is specified for particular dams in a resource operations plan. The Commission recommended in its interim report that a streamlined process be developed to temporarily change the full supply level of a dam (which previously required an amendment to the Resource Operation Plan applied to the dam under the Water Act). Specifically, the Commission recommended that control over temporary alteration of the full supply level of Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams should be a function of the responsible Minister.41 The current provisions under the Water Act were first enacted in response to the Commission’s interim report. The Department advised that it has identified further opportunities to streamline the process

39 Public Hearing Transcript, 11 October 2012, p. 12. 40 Seqwater, Submission No. 3, p. 6. 41 Explanatory Notes, pp. 40-41.

10 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 implemented and to reflect the Government’s intention to merge the bulk water entities. The Bill relocates provisions for declaring a temporary full supply level for flood mitigation dams from the Water Act to the Water Supply Act. The Department also advised that it is convenient to relocate the provisions to the Water Supply Act in order to have all provisions relating to water supply and dam safety under one Act.42 Section 390 of the Bill provides that the Minister must require information about the impacts of declaring a temporary full supply level for mitigating the impacts of a potential flood or drought. The Queensland Conservation Council suggested in their submission to the committee that the Minister must have regard to the full range of potential impacts such as social, economic and environmental impacts that may occur from invoking temporary full supply levels.43,44 Section 390(2) of the Bill provides that in considering whether a proposed temporary full supply level may mitigate the impacts of flood or drought, the Minister may have regard to any matter the Minister considers appropriate including meteorological forecasts and the public interest. The committee does not consider that the Bill limits the Minister’s discretion to consider a wide range of impacts when invoking temporary full supply levels and is satisfied with the current proposal.

2.4 Policy proposals relating to reducing regulatory burden on the water industry

Failure impact assessment criteria

Currently, section 343(1) of the Water Supply Act provides that dams that meet certain criteria are required to conduct a failure impact assessment. Around 80 per cent of the dams captured by the current criteria in section 343(1)(b) of the Water Supply Act have been assessed as having no persons at risk (and therefore not classified as referable dams). The current criteria are based on the height and storage capacity of the dam or proposed dam after its construction. The current criteria require smaller dams that are located in sparsely populated areas to be failure impact assessed despite there being no obvious risk to the public.45 As a result of the current criteria these dams will need to be reassessed for their failure impact in the future. A failure impact assessment can be a considerable cost to owners of small dams costing approximately $50,000 due to the technical skills required to complete an assessment.46 The Bill raises the height and volume criterion for both types of dams from 8 metres to 10 metres, and from 500 megalitres to 1,500 megalitres for ring tank style dams, and from 250 megalitres to 750 megalitres for gully style dams.47 The Department advised that the new criteria were based on a review of the existing database of

42 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 7. 43 Queensland Conservation Council, Submission No. 2, pp. 1-2. 44 The Queensland Conservation Council listed a range of potential impacts in their submission including, but not limited to, impacts to upstream ecosystems caused by inundation from increased full supply levels, impacts to fish and amphibian habitat and passage, impacts on drinking water (in the case of lowering levels) and impacts to recreational and public usage of dams. 45 Explanatory Notes, p. 5. 46 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 8. 47 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 8.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 11 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 dams with failure impact assessments. Amending the criteria will exempt 65 dams, which have proven to put no more than two people at risk, from having to undertake future failure impact assessment.48 Whilst this will remove the mandatory requirement for failure impact assessments for owners of smaller dams, the chief executive can, under existing powers, require any dam owners to have their dam failure impact assessed if there is a reasonable belief the dam would have persons at risk should the dam fail.49 QFF indicated support for the removal of the requirement of lesser capacity dams to carry out a failure impact assessment, and that the proposed changes are likely to alleviate the concerns of the owners of small farm dams.50 Based on the information the committee received, the committee is satisfied with the proposal and provides an appropriate balance between reducing the burden of assessments and reviews on owners of smaller dams and community safety.

Recycled water scheme approval timeframes

Regulation of recycled water provisions were introduced in 2008 when the Water Supply Act was enacted. Under the current framework, a range of schemes supplying for lower risk uses are required to have an approved recycled water management plan or an exemption from doing a plan in place by 1 July 2013. These schemes supply recycled water for uses such as irrigation of highly processed food crops (e.g. sugar cane), irrigation of open spaces and non-food crops, dust suppression and road works. The Bill seeks to amend the Water Supply Act to extend the timeframe by one year to 1 July 2014 to provide sufficient time to review the framework and to develop a regulatory approach for these schemes. This review may recommend simplified and reduced regulatory requirements for these types of schemes. The Department advised that there is no evidence of public health being affected by the operation of the lower risk schemes since the Water Supply Act was enacted.51 Based on the information the committee received, the committee is satisfied with the proposal.

Statutory exemptions for small non-urban water service providers

The Water Supply Act regulates water and sewerage service providers and imposes, among other things, a requirement for registration and the development of a range of management plans. There are around 60 registered small non-urban water service providers that typically provide non-potable water for irrigation or stock and domestic purposes and drainage services. Small water service providers can apply to the regulator for an exemption from planning requirements. These exemptions have always been granted but the application and assessment process places an administrative burden on service providers as well as government.52 The Bill introduces a statutory exemption from the requirements under the Water Supply Act to have an approved strategic asset management plan, approved system leakage management plan and

48 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 8. 49 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 8. 50 Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Submission No. 1, p. 2. 51 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 9. 52 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 9.

12 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Examination of the Bill and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 drought management plan.53 The Department advised that there is no evidence that these providers have posed a risk, or that regulatory plans have provided significant benefit for these providers or their customers since the Water Supply Act was enacted. Many have already been granted exemptions.54 QFF was supportive of the proposal and advised that the removal of the requirements will reduce the regulatory burden on irrigation boards and allow them to make a choice as to what planning is required to fit their schemes.55 Based on the information the committee received, the committee is satisfied with the proposal.

2.5 Policy proposals relating to the Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme The Queensland Government Solar Bonus Scheme (the Scheme) pays eligible customers for the surplus electricity generated from solar photovoltaic (PV) panel systems, which is exported to the Queensland electricity grid. The Scheme is designed to make solar power more affordable, stimulate the solar power industry and encourage energy efficiency.56 The Scheme compensates customers for energy exported to the electricity grid whenever they generate more energy than they use - not just the balance at the end of the quarter, but whenever generation exceeds consumption during the day. 57 The Bill seeks to address the increasing cost to Queensland business and households of the Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme (QSBS) through amendments to the Electricity Act 1994 (Electricity Act). The QSBS commenced in June 2008. Since that time, the number of solar photovoltaic installations have increased from 1,200 systems to more than 205,000 systems in July 2012. This increase has driven the costs associated with the scheme to its 2028 end date. The costs were estimated to be $1.8 billion in 2011. The Minister indicated in his introductory speech that a higher- than-forecast uptake to June this year suggests that the figure will be conservative. On 25 June 2012, the Minister announced that the solar feed-in tariff would drop from 44 cents per kilowatt hour to 8 cents per kilowatt hour for new customers. Section 44A(1)(b) of the Electricity Act obliges a distribution entity to credit a prescribed amount against the charges payable by a small customer for electricity produced by small photovoltaic generators that is in excess of the electricity used by the small customers and is supplied to the Queensland electricity network. Small customers participating in the Scheme are paid a per kilowatt hour (c/kWh) rate (called a Feed- in Tariff [FiT]) for exported electricity. The Scheme is distributor funded, and costs (FiT payments) are passed directly through to Queensland residential electricity customers in the form of higher electricity prices. On 25 June 2012, the Government agreed to policy changes to contain the cost of the Scheme and to limit electricity price impacts. Implementation was achieved in part via amendment to the Electricity Regulation 2006 to close the 44 c/kWh FiT to new Scheme entrants from midnight 9 July 2012, and

53 Explanatory Notes, p. 7. 54 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 10. 55 Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Submission No. 1, p. 2. 56 Department of Energy and Water Supply, http://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/demand-side/solar-bonus- scheme.htm. 57 Department of Energy and Water Supply, http://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/demand-side/solar-bonus- scheme.htm.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 13 Examination of the Bill Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 replace it with an 8c/kWh FiT. The Bill seeks to implement the Government’s remaining cost saving measures. It also seeks to align the administration of the Scheme with the Government policy decision of 25 June 2012 to reduce the FiT for new small customers after 9 July 2012.58 The Department advised the committee that the rate of 8 cents was considered appropriate for Queensland as it reflects the approximate average commercial value to retailers of the solar PV ’s electricity network. Rates set recently in South Australia and New South Wales were between 7 c/kWh and 10 c/kWh for 2012-13, and were set to reflect the value at which retailers could compensate households for exported PV energy, without impacting the Government budget or electricity bills. 59 The Department also indicated that the Minister for Energy and Water Supply has asked the Queensland Competition Authority to review and make recommendations to the Government by March 2013 on an unsubsidised ‘fair and reasonable’ FiT rate for Queensland and implementation options, which will inform a departmental review of the Scheme.60 The committee did not receive any other evidence in relation to the Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme. Based on the information the Department provided the committee, the committee considers that the evidence base used to justify this policy is adequate.

58 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 10. 59 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 13. 60 Department of Energy and Water Supply, Briefing, 28 September 2012, p. 14.

14 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Fundamental legislative principles and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 3. Fundamental legislative principles

Section 4 of the Legislative Standards Act 1992 states that ‘fundamental legislative principles’ are the ‘principles relating to legislation that underlie a parliamentary democracy based on the rule of law’. The principles include that legislation has sufficient regard to the: • rights and liberties of individuals, and • institution of parliament. The committee invites the Minister to provide further comment on the following issues identified.

3.1 Rights and liberties of individuals

Clause 32 inserts s.399 into the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 which provides that “no compensation is payable to any person because of the operation of this part.” “This part” refers to Chapter 4, Part 3 of that Act which relates to declaring temporary full supply levels [of dams] to mitigate flood or drought.

Current Queensland drafting practice requires that If property is damaged, provision must be made for notice to be given to the owner of property and for payment of compensation unless there is particular justification for not providing compensation61. The Government can obviously elect not to provide compensation for property damage arising directly/indirectly from the declaration of a temporary full supply level of a dam to mitigate flood or drought.

3.2 Administrative power - Section 4(3)(a) Legislative Standards Act 1992 Are the rights, obligations and liberties of individuals dependent on administrative power only if the power is sufficiently defined and subject to appropriate review?

Clause 29 inserts a number of provisions into the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008, including a new s.371H which allows the Minister, where he/she has refused to approve a flood mitigation manual, to give the dam owner a notice directing the owner to prepare a new flood mitigation manual within a stated period of at least 30 business days. The owner must comply with the notice, and is liable to a maximum penalty of 1665 penalty units (currently $183,150) for a failure to comply.

There is no merit review of the Minister’s decision, presumably attributable to the absence of a higher authority within the Department by whom a merits review could be conducted and/or the public safety aspects of the subject matter being such as to require corrective action (in the form of an approved/valid flood mitigation manual) to be taken expediently and not protracted/delayed while a merits review is conducted.

Judicial review is available to a dam owner wishing to challenge the procedural aspects of the Minister’s decision-making-process under s.371H, although commencing a judicial review action may be cost-prohibitive for any (small) dam owners (e.g. farmers) whose dams might become prescribed dams in the future.

61 Fundamental Legislative Principles: the OQPC Notebook; (January 2008),p. 46.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 15 Fundamental legislative principles Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Delegation of administrative power – Section 4(3)(c) Legislative Standards Act 1992 Does the bill allow the delegation of administrative power only in appropriate cases and to appropriate persons?

Clause 32 inserts a number of provisions into the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008, including new chapter 4, part 2, division 8 which deems an alternative procedure to be an authorised alternative procedure where a flood event has occurred and the dam owner cannot, after making reasonable efforts, contact the chief executive in a timely manner to request authorisation for use of an alternative procedure to respond effectively to a flood event (see s.381).

This provision will allow a dam owner to disregard existing operational procedure if necessary and observe an alternative procedure where a flood event happens and the owner reasonably considers that an existing operational procedure under the flood mitigation manual for the dam does not provide (or provide adequately) for the particular flood event (or an aspect of the flood event) and that use of an alternative procedure is necessary to respond effectively to the flood event.

The question arises as to whether a dam owner is an appropriate person to have the delegated discretion to determine that existing/approved operational procedures are inadequate to appropriately address a flood event and that (then) unauthorised62 alternative procedures should be adopted to combat the flood event threat. Relevant considerations in weighing that question are the “emergency” nature of the flood event threat and the need to act expediently; any expertise held by the dam owner and dam employees in determining appropriate responses to flood events and in gauging the likelihood that a particular strategy may successfully manage a flood event; and the possible consequences should an alternative strategy be adopted that is ultimately an inadequate response to the flood event.

3.3 Sufficient regard to the institution of Parliament

Clause 4 inserting ss.44A(2) in the Electricity Act 1994; and clauses 28, 29 and 32 inserting sections 352H(1)(d), 352V(1)(h), 371A(1), 371D(f), and 385(1)(k) into the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008. Delegation of legislative power – Section 4(4)(a) Legislative Standards Act 1992 Does the bill allow the delegation of legislative power only in appropriate cases and to appropriate persons? Clause 4 inserts a replacement s.44A into the Electricity Act 1994. Subsection 44A(2) provides a head of power to make a regulation to prescribe the circumstances in which a small customer is entitled, or stops being entitled, to be credited with the prescribed credit amount for that customer. It will enable a regulation to limit the future circumstances in which a small customer of the 44c/kWh feed- in tariff can continue to receive that feed-in tariff rate (ss.44A(2)(a)). It will also, under ss.44A(2)(b) allow a regulation to be made prescribing an end date for a prescribed credit amount that is earlier than the Scheme end date of 1 July 2028 set out in s.44A(5). This will enable a regulation to be made that sets an end date of 30 June 2014 for the 8c/kWh tariff in accordance with a June 2012 Government announcement.

62 Where such occurs and the Chief Executive had been unable to be contacted to give approval, s.381 will deem the unauthorised alternative procedure used to be an authorised alternative procedure.

16 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Fundamental legislative principles and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Section 4(4)(a) of the Legislative Standards Act 1992 states that a Bill should allow the delegation of legislative power only in appropriate cases and to appropriate persons. The greater the level of potential interference with individual rights and liberties the more appropriate it is that a power should be prescribed in an Act of Parliament and not delegated below Parliament.

The committee would like to ask the Minister to consider whether these issues are of such importance that they should have been provided for in the Bill/primary legislation rather than provided for in the future by way of subordinate legislation.

A significant number of provisions in this Bill (ss.44A(2) in the Electricity Act 1994; and sections 352H(1)(d), 352V(1)(h), 371A(1), 371D(f), and 385(1)(k) inserted into the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008) allow important/relevant matters to be prescribed by regulation.

In most cases this is drafted to include “any other relevant matter prescribed under a regulation” at the end of a list of matters specifically provided for in the Bill. These ‘catch-all’ provisions are used to allow things to be added later by regulation on an ad-hoc basis, as and when needed for expedient administration of a scheme, rather than needing to wait for an amendment to be passed by the House; however conversely they also allow ‘other matters’ to be effectively added to a legislative list of requirements by way of delegated legislation which does not receive the same level of scrutiny and debate by the House.

Essentially, whilst the House in debating a Bill has a chance to scrutinise statutory requirements set out in the Bill (e.g. prescribed contents of a manual), the use of a catch-all “and includes any other relevant matter prescribed under a regulation” allows additional (and perhaps draconian) conditions to be set later by regulation that will not receive the same level of consideration/evaluation by the House. Another limitation of such drafting is that where a catch-all provision of this type is used, a person who is bound by the statute to meet the stated criteria must then go searching outside of the primary legislation for any other regulations which have been passed and which also impose obligations on them. It therefore becomes difficult for a person to be assured they have met their statutory obligations when those obligations may be scattered across a number of disparate pieces of legislation. Where a failure to meet those obligations attracts significant penalties it is even more important that a person’s duties under the law are clearly spelt out for them.

The committee would welcome the Minister’s response to these issues.

3.4 Explanatory notes Part 4 of the Legislative Standards Act 1992 (LSA) relates to explanatory notes. Explanatory notes were tabled with the introduction of the bill. The notes are fairly detailed and contain the information required by s.23 of the LSA and a reasonable level of background information and commentary to facilitate understanding of the bill’s aims and origins.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 17 Appendices Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Appendix A – List of submissions received

Submissions

1. Queensland Farmers’ Federation

2. Queensland Conservation Council

3. Seqwater

18 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Appendices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Appendix B – Witnesses at public hearing on 11 October 2012

Witnesses

Queensland Farmers’ Federation

Queensland Conservation Council

Seqwater

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 19 Appendices Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 Appendix C – Summary of clauses

The Department of Energy and Water Supply provided the committee with a summary of the Bill’s clauses outlined in the following table.63

Clause Summary of Clause 1 Short Title 2 Commencement – Part 2 (Electricity Act Amendments) commences on proclamation Part 2 – Electricity Act 1994 Amendments 3 Shows the Act being amended by Part 2 4 Removes reference to a credit amount payable for exported energy, introduces a head of power to limit credit entitlements for certain categories of small customers, removes review requirements, and aligns distributor reporting requirements to new tariff structures 5 Minor amendment to align retailer reporting requirements to new tariff structures 6 Applies transitional arrangements under clause 7 to section 328 7 Inserts transitional arrangements that limit credit entitlements for section 328 affected small customers on property transfer or where the qualifying generator is not installed before 30 June 2013 8 Minor amendment to Schedule 5 definitions Part 3 – Water Act 2000 Amendments 9 Shows the Act being amended by Part 3 10 Minor heading amendment 11 Minor amendments to reflect movement of temporary full supply level (TFSL) provisions to Water Supply Act. 12 Removes provisions which are being replaced in the Water Supply Act 13 Minor amendments to reflect movement of TFSL provisions to Water Supply Act. 14 Minor amendments to reflect movement of TFSL provisions to Water Supply Act. 15 Minor amendments to reflect movement of TFSL provisions to Water Supply Act. 16 Renumbering to reflect movement of TFSL provisions to Water Supply Act. 17 Reflects removal of Queensland Water Commission from the TFSL process 18 Provides a transitional arrangement in case a TFSL is in force at commencement 19 Minor amendments to reflect movement of TFSL provisions to Water Supply Act. Part 4 – Water Supply (Safety & Reliability) Act 2008 Amendments 20 Shows the Act being amended by Part 4 21 Exempts a small non-urban service provider from the requirement to have a strategic asset management plan 22 Exempts a small non-urban service provider from the requirement to have a system leakage management plan 23 Exempts a small non-urban service provider from the requirement to have a drought management plan 24 Relocates the definition of resource operations plan to the dictionary 25 Relocates the definition of water security to the dictionary 26 Minor heading amendment 27 Relaxes the criteria for automatically requiring failure impact assessment of dams from 8m in height to 10m, and extends the volume criteria.

63 J Black, Director-General, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Correspondence, 28 September 2012.

20 State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) Appendices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

28 Inserts new division covering emergency action planning and emergency reporting for referable dams 29 Introduces the requirement for Ministerial approval of flood mitigation manuals, and establishes the required content for flood mitigation manuals 30 Amends the process for amending a flood mitigation manual to reflect the Minister as approving authority instead of the chief executive 31 Amends the process for reviewing a flood mitigation manual to reflect the Minister as approving authority instead of the chief executive 32 Makes legislative provision for a range of powers and functions currently expressed in flood mitigation manuals. These include the requirement to submit replacement manuals, power for the chief executive to specify qualifications etc for responsible persons, power for the chief executive or dam owner to vary the procedures in manual in unforeseen circumstances, and the requirements for reporting after flood events. The clause also amends the protections from liability afforded to a dam owner to reflect the new structure of the flood mitigation manuals, and establishes the process for setting a temporary full supply level for a dam operated under a flood mitigation manual 33 Minor heading amendment 34 Minor consequential amendment from changes to the Sustainable Planning Act 35 Minor consequential amendment from changes to the Sustainable Planning Act 36 Minor consequential amendment from changes to the Sustainable Planning Act 37 Extends the transitional timeframe for lower risk recycled water schemes to have an approved recycled water management plans or exemption 38 Provides transitional arrangements for emergency action plans, emergency event reports, flood mitigation manuals and dam safety conditions 39 Amends the dictionary Part 5 – Water Supply (Safety & Reliability) Regulation 2011 Amendments 40 Shows the Regulation being amended by Part 5 41 Renumbers the existing section in the Regulation 42 Prescribes that Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine Dams are dams that must have flood mitigation manuals.

State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee 21