Section 34 – commissioning of inspecting engineer etc.
This section requires reservoir managers of high or medium consequence reservoirs (which are not being supervised by a construction engineer) to commission an inspecting engineer to undertake an inspection as required by sections 30, 31 or 32 and to supervise the taking of any measure in the interests of safety as directed in an inspection report or recommended as a pre-commencement safety recommendation (that is, a recommendation in a pre-commencement inspection report as a measure required in the interests of safety of the reservoir – subsection (3)). Subsection (2) requires the reservoir manager to notify the Department within 28 days of the commission of an inspecting engineer.
Phase 1 of the Act requires an initial inspection to be undertaken by an inspecting engineer and an inspection report to be provided to the reservoir manager. The requirement to undertake any measures identified in an inspection report does not come into operation until Phase 2 of the Act is commenced.
Subsection (4) requires an inspecting engineer to be an appropriate panel engineer. Inspecting engineers are intended to have a degree of independence from the commissioning reservoir manager. Subsection (5) sets out the criteria disqualifying an engineer from being commissioned in relation to a particular reservoir; these include that the engineer is employed by the reservoir manager or has previously been a construction engineer for the reservoir.