CDA 2018 Annual Conference

Congrès annuel 2018 de l’ACB

CANADIAN DAM ASSOCIATION Québec, QC, Canada
ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES BARRAGES 2018 Oct 15-17

GUIDANCE FOR DAM SAFETY MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING THE ENGINEER OF

RECORD

Andy Small, Klohn Crippen Berger, Fredericton NB, Canada

Jarrod Malenchak; Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg MB’ Canada
Greg Noack, Klohn Crippen Berger, Toronto ON, Canada
Scott Martens, CNRL, Calgary AB, Canada
Des Hartford, BC Hydro, Vancouver BC, Canada
Michel Julien, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Toronto ON, Canada
Anthony Rattue, SNC Lavalin, Montréal QC, Canada

ABSTRACT

Revised guidance for the Engineer of Record is being prepared by a Working Group of the Canadian Dam
Association. This revision is to replace Section 3.1 of the Technical Bulletin: Application of Dam Safety
Guidelines to Mining Dams (2014). The revision provides further guidance on dam safety management and roles
and responsibilities, including the Engineer of Record (EOR) concept. A description of the EOR is provided along
with some discussion on responsibilities and qualifications. In support of this revision, the Wo rking Group has
prepared this paper that provides additional information related to the EOR concept such as typical functions,
interaction with the Dam Owner, why the EOR should be an individual, scope of the EOR services, etc.

RÉSUMÉ

Une révision des recommandations concernant l’Ingénieur Désigné est en préparation par un groupe de travail de
l’Association canadienne des barrages. Cette révision devrait remplacer la section 3.1 du Bulletin technique :
Application des recommandations de sécurité des barrages aux barrages miniers (2014). La révision fournit des
conseils supplémentaires sur la gestion de la sécurité d’un barrage, les rôles et les responsabilités ainsi que le concept
de l’Ingénieur Désigné. Une définition de l’Ingénieur Désigné est proposée avec des commentaires sur les
responsabilités et les qualifications professionnelles requises. À l’appui de cette révision, le groupe de travail a rédigé
cet article afin de fournir de l’information additionnelle reliée au concept de l’Ingénieur Désigné, tel que ses fonctions
typiques, sa relation avec le propriétaire du barrage, la raison pour laquelle l’Ingénieur Désigné devra être un individu,
l’envergure de ses services, etc.

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada

1 INTRODUCTION

This paper is a companion document to revised guidance for the Engineer of Record that is being prepared by a
Working Group of the Canadian Dam Association (CDA). The revised guidance is to replace Section 3.1 of the
Technical Bulletin: Application of Dam Safety Guidelines to Mining Dams (2014), hereafter referred to as the
Mining Dams Bulletin. The revision provides further guidance on dam safety management and roles and
responsibilities, including the Engineer of Record (EOR) concept.

The EOR concept was first introduced within the CDA in 2013 when the Mining Dams Bulletin was being
developed. It became apparent, during workshops and reviews that ongoing technical support to the Owner was
lacking and have could been a contributing factor to dam failures. To address this issue, the Mining Dams Bulletin
included guidance on the EOR as Section 3.1.2. That guidance included the following statement:

this Bulletin considers the Engineer of Record (EOR) as an important aspect of risk management for
mining dams. The EOR should be a qualified and competent engineer who is responsible for the design
and performance of a mining dam.

After the Mining Dams Bulletin was issued in 2014, it became apparent that further work was needed to address
the EOR concept, for example, as noted above, the Mining Dams Bulletin stated that the EOR is responsible for
the design and performance of a mining dam. This is not the case; the Owner has the ultimate responsibility for
the safety of the dam. Hence, starting in 2015, the CDA Mining Dams Committee worked on revisions to the
EOR guidance. Several updated versions were developed and circulated to representatives of the Mining Dams
Committee, the Dam Safety Committee of CDA, and industry representatives. In the mean time, the Mining
Association of Canada (MAC) was working on revisions to their “Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities,
Third Edition” which was issued in November 2017. MAC was also addressing the issue of EOR and consequently
CDA worked with MAC on their initiative in an effort to achieve an alignment between the two organizations. In
addition to CDA and MAC, other organizations were addressing this issue as discussed further below.

In 2017, at the CDA Conference in Kelowna, the CDA Mining Dams Committee met with the CDA Dam Safety
Committee to provide an update on the EOR guidance. At that session, it was agreed that a formal Working Group
of the CDA should be established to advance this issue. The Working Group members are:

From CDA Mining Dams Committee

Andy Small, Klohn Crippen Berger, Chair
Greg Noack, Klohn Crippen Berger;
Scott Martens, CNRL
Michel Julien, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited

From CDA Dam Safety Committee

Jarrod Malenchak; Manitoba Hydro;
Des Hartford, BC Hydro
Tony Rattue, SNC Lavalin

Coordinator: Allan Kirkham

As the Working Group discussed this issue, it became apparent that a more holistic approach was required to
properly place the EOR issue in context. As a result, rather than just focussing on revising Section 3.1.2 of the
Mining Dams Bulletin, the Working Group focussed on revising the majority of Section 3.1 and including a
discussion on Dam Safety Management to set the stage for the EOR discussion.

This paper provides further background to the development of the revised guid ance for Section 3.1, summarizes
the revised guidance, and provides some additional information related to the EOR. The reader is encouraged to
read the revised guidance separately (release planned for fall of 2018).

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 2

2 DAM SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Before discussing the EOR, it is important to set the context and indicate how the EOR fits into an overall dam
safety management system. The revised guidance provides an overview of dam safety management systems,
drawing on information from the Mining Association of Canada (MAC, A Guide to the Management of Tailings
Facilities, Third Edition) and ICOLD (Bulletin 154 – Dam Safety Management). Those documents clearly state
that the Owner is responsible for the safety of the mining dam and MAC comments that Owners of mining dams
should demonstrate their commitment to:
• Protection of public health and safety, and the environment;
• Responsible management of the contents being retained by the mining dam;
• Allocation of appropriate resources to support the dam safety manageme nt system; and
• Implementation of a dam safety management system through the actions of its employees,
contractors, and consultants.

MAC further states that the circumstances of each Owner and each mining dam vary and, therefore, governance
and organizational structure should be appropriately tailored to the needs of each Owner and facility. At a
minimum; however, accountabilities, responsibilities, authority, and roles should be clearly defined and
documented for the:
• Owner’s Board of Directors or Governance Level;
• Accountable Executive Officer;
• Responsible Person(s);
• Engineer-of-Record (EoR);
• Designer-of-Record (DE); and
• Independent Reviewer(s).

The MAC Guide provides elaboration on these roles, but some of the key items are:
• Ultimately, the accountability for decisions related to the mining dam rest with the Owner’s Board
of Directors or Governance Level;
• The Board of Directors designates an Accountable Executive officer that has accountability and
responsibility for putting in place an appropriate management structure;
• A Responsible Person(s), with appropriate qualifications, is designated by the Owner and delegated
responsibility for dam safety management;
• As a requirement of membership with MAC, the Owner must identify and retain an enginee r of
record who provides technical direction on behalf of the Owner.

ICOLD Bulletin 154 has a similar framework for dam safety management as is presented in the MAC Guide. In
terms of accountabilities and responsibilities, the Bulletin states: The ultimate responsibility for the establishment
of the Dam Safety Management System (DSMS), its implementation, periodic assessments and continuous
improvements rest with senior management. An individual reporting directly to senior management should be
given responsibility and authority to:
• Coordinate the development, implementation, regular assessments and continual improvement of the
DSMS;
• Request periodic reports on the status of performance from those responsible for specific dam safety
related activities and processes;
• Report on the performance of the DSMS to the senior management;
• Report any identified needs for the DSMS improvements;
• Resolve potential conflicts that may arise with respect to activities and processes related to dam
safety.

ICOLD does not identify an EOR in their guide as for many hydro dam companies, the Owner has staff members
that carry out the same duties and fulfill the same requirements as the EOR for a mining dam.

As part of the development of the revised guidance document, the Working Group developed an example RACI
matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) that describes the functional activities that should
be addressed in a dam safety management system. This is based on information from MAC, ICOLD, the

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 3

Geoprofessionals Business Association (GBA), and other sources. The Working Group identified 55 functional
activities that would be considered as Best Practices for Dam Safety Management for mining dams and the
complete table is contained in the revised guidance document. The table below is an excerpt of the RACI matrix.
The suggested key roles for mining dams are shown across the top. Note that the cells below the columns have
not been completed; they are left blank as the Owner and their team should populate the RACI in accordance with
their requirements and plans.

EXCERPTS FROM EXAMPLE R.A.C.I. MATRIX

Qualified Person /

Operations Team
Design Engineer

Person/Tailings

Manager / TSF
Record (EOR)
Accountable

Responsible

Dam Safety
Engineer of

Operations
Executive

Manager
Owner /

(DE)
Internal External External Internal Internal
or Internal or Internal
Develop and implement tailings dam safety
policy
Document and maintain the Design Basis
Complete a comprehensive site
characterization (e.g. site and waste
characterization, seismicity, geology,
geotechnical, hydrology, hydrogeology,
borrow materials, water management, etc.)
Provide resources to construct in
accordance with the design using appropriate
methods and materials
Apply Best Available/Applicable Practices
(BAP) for design, construction, operations
and closure stages
Develop, maintain and test Emergency
Preparedness Plans (EPP) and Emergency
Response Plans (ERP)
Implement closure plan measures and
provide construction quality assurance
(CQA)
Manage site security and carry out periodic
patrols of key facilities

In addition to these positions, the regulators will also be involved with the operation of mining dams. Typically,
they will be Consulted and Informed. Some tailings facilities have independent tailings review boards and they
also would be Consulted and Informed. The roles of these entities should be clarified in an organizational chart.

Another important aspect for effective dam safety management is continuity of knowledge associated with the
dam. The Owner should have systems in place to preserve the knowledge associated with the dam (reports,
drawings, files, etc.) from the original siting and site investigation through the design, construction, operation,
and closure. The document management system should be accessible and searchable to locate ke y documents.
As part of a DSR or at a frequency of about 5 to 10 years, a “story of the dam” should be prepared that documents
the history and evolution of the dam, indicates challenges that may have been experienced, and summarizes studies
that have been done for the dam. This single document can be updated over time and is an important document
to support reviews.

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 4

3 EOR CONCEPT

The EOR concept was originally adapted from other disciplines, notably structural engineering, where the
requirements are markedly different. Most civil structures, such as buildings, bridges, etc. have a defined
construction period and reach a point in time (say within a few years) where the structure is considered complete.
With mining dams however, the construction timeframe can span many years and perhaps even decades, thus the
requirements of the role of EOR take on a different sense, principally with regard to providing ongoing technical
support and knowledge as the dam is operated.

The Revised CDA Guidance for the EOR states the following:
The Engineer of Record provides technical knowledge related to the safety of the mining dam and
determines whether or not the dam (and components thereof):
• Has been designed in accordance with performance objectives and indicators, applicable
guidelines, standards and regulatory requirements and good practise;
• Has been constructed, operated, and is performing, throughout the life of the dam, in accordance
with the documented design intent and requirements.

The EOR is an individual engineer and may be a Consultant or part of the Owner’s organization. The
qualifications for the EOR are provided in the revised guidance but, essentially, the EOR should be a qualified
professional engineer with experience in dam safety commensurate with the potential losses that could be incurred
if the dam were to fail.

As indicated in this description, the EOR provides ongoing support to the Owner of the mining dam. In the
example of the civil structures noted above, the EOR is the designer. He or she designs the structure and may or
may not see it through to completion. In the case of the mining dams, the EOR could be the designer, but may
not necessarily be so. Hence, the function Design Engineer(s) (DE) has also been introduced. The DE is the
person or the persons who lead the design of the dam or elements of the dam, stamp the drawings, follow the
design through construction, and prepare the as-built report. For a new dam, this or these persons could then
become the EOR and provide ongoing support related to the safety of the dam. In other cases, the DE may work
with the EOR, where the EOR has an overarching involvement in the design, but is not the person stamping the
drawings. The DE would work in collaboration with the EOR

As noted in the Preface of the 2007 CDA Dam Safety Guidelines, “legal regulations take precedence over
guidelines produced by nongovernmental organizations.” In some instances, the regulations related to mining
dam safety and the engineering profession, include definitions of the EOR, along with outlining specific duties.
Thus, our intent is only to provide additional supplementary information and clarification to those requirements.
It also noted that the Owner may decide to apply a higher standard of care than the one required by the local legal
regulations.

Different organizations and different jurisdictions may follow the principles of the EOR, but wish to identify the
role by different term.

4 OTHER EOR INITIATIVES

As noted above, several other entities have been working on the EOR issue and the list below provides a
summary of some of those initiatives:

• The Mining Association of Canada - The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) is an advocacy
group for mining in Canada. Their mission is “to contribute to building a strong, sustainable
and internationally competitive Canadian mining, minerals and metals industry with broad
national support and to promote sound corporate and public policy”. MAC has published a
comprehensive document “A Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities”, with the third
edition being released in October 2017. That document provides guidance on the
accountabilities, responsibilities, authority, and key roles related to a tailings facility, including

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 5

 the Engineer of Record. The latest edition was revised to address shortcomings identified during
a review following the Mount Polley failure. The revisions included, among other important
issues, strengthening the change management section, particularly around develop ing and
including definitions and guidance related to managing a change of Engineer -of-Record and/or
a change of Ownership.
• British Columbia - In BC, the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC) have
produced two recent significant documents that deal with the EOR issue. The document “Site
Characterization for Dam Foundations in BC” was issued in August 2016 and the “Legislated
Dam Safety Reviews in BC” document was issued in July 2013 and revised most recently in
October 2016. This latter document presents an extensive list of requirements for an EOR with
an emphasis on providing design continuity and ongoing technical support with respect to dam
safety issues. These requirements are consistent with the current CDA approach.
• Geoprofessional Business Association – In January 2017, the Geoprofessional Business
Association (GBA) hosted over 50 industry leaders, including subject matter experts, regulators,
Owners, and practitioners for a Tailings EOR Workshop in Denver, Colorado. Collaborating
with the United States Society on Dams (USSD), the Association of State Dam Safety Officials
(ASDSO), the Canadian Dam Association (CDA), and others, the event was designed to identify
concerns of filling the role of the EOR for Tailings Storage Facilities and other mining dams,
and to develop guidance for those working on such projects in the United States and abroad.
The GBA is developing guidance for the EOR as well.
• Alberta - The Dam Integrity Advisory Committee (DIAC) of the Alberta Chamber of Resources
has developed a 2017 white paper entitled “Roles and Accountabilities for Dam Safety
Management in Alberta”, which outlines the basic roles and responsibilities necessary for the
safe management of dams in Alberta, including the EOR. The document also presents tables
illustrating in a matrix format the suggested roles and responsibilities of staff within both large
and small typical dam safety management systems, and was further developed by Boswell and
Martens (2017).

5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE ROLE OF THE E.O.R.

The typical functions of an EOR for a mining dam could include:

• Understanding:
o the regulatory setting of the project and informing the Owner of any noncompliance issues
or safety concerns;
o the geology and environmental loading conditions that could influence the dam
performance,
o the design, construction history and performance history,
o the status of active construction of the mining dam including oversight of construction
quality assurance;
o the dam safety conditions and records of the dam and keeping this knowledge up -to-date
through inspections, site visits, and review of instrumentation and the results of on -going
surveillance by the operator of the dam.
• Providing:
o input to the operations, maintenance and surveillance program, as well as to the key
performance criteria, water balance, and tailings deposition plans;
o input to the emergency preparedness and response plans;
o regular updates for the Owner regarding the risk profile created by the mining dam,
including input to the Owner when modifications are considered for the dam, operation or
the tailings facility;
o required technical support to the Owner in the event of dam safety concerns, adverse
performance, incidents or emergency situations;
o input to periodic Dam Safety Reviews.
• Reviewing:
o construction to assess conformance to the design;

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 6

 o performance during construction, operation and closure.
• Supporting:
o the Owner with developing a comprehensive succession plan to maintain continuity of
responsibilities throughout the life of the dam
• Advising:
o on mitigation or remediation strategies if the dam performance does not meet the design or
regulatory requirements.
• Conducting:
o site visits at a specified frequency appropriate for the type of facility and dams;
o dam safety inspections and/or reviewing the results of inspections carried out by others .

If the EOR is a consultant, then a contract will be established between the Owner and the Consult ing Firm that
employs the EOR. The EOR has a dual responsibility – to the Owner and the Consulting Firm. The contract
should include:
• Description of the roles and responsibilities of the EOR and the obligations of the Owner to the
EOR need to be clearly defined in the contract.
• A communication plan that includes the recourse that an EOR has in the event that advice or
recommendations from the EOR are not being followed.

The EOR should be an individual within a company and the company should have the c apability to support the
individual. The question is often asked – shouldn’t the EOR be the Consulting Firm and not the individual? The
Working Group is recommending that the EOR be an individual for the following reasons:
• This is consistent with the definition of Engineer of Record that has been developed for other
disciplines (transportation and structural). The DE should also be an individual.
• By naming an individual as the EOR, there is a commitment that the individual will take this
responsibility seriously and be available to the Owner as required to support their dam safety
program.
• Clarity is achieved with respect to who in the Consulting Firm is the EOR.
• If the EOR is a Consulting Firm, then there could be a variety of individuals involved in different
dam safety aspects for a project and these individuals can move between projects without making
a long term commitment to the safety of the dam. They can do their designs and possibly support
the construction and then end their commitment for that project. By having an individual as the
EOR that has made the long term commitment to an Owner to take on this responsibility, then
the continuity can be maintained.
• The individual becomes familiar and knowledgeable with the specific issues that will require
attention throughout the life cycle of the dam, where some details could be overlooked if this
responsibility is distributed without a single responsible focal.
• In addition, the individual becomes the principal point of contact for the Owner, the Regulator
and other stakeholders, and thus enhances the efficiency of communication.

The key challenge with having the EOR as an individual is what happens if the EOR retires, resigns, changes
consulting companies, or is unable to work because of a health issue. To address this issue, a succession plan
should be developed and the successor EOR named in the scope of services with the Owner. If the EOR is part
of a consulting firm, then the succession plan needs to account for the eventuali ty that the EOR changes to a
different consulting firm. If the EOR duties will transfer to a new company with the EOR, then the transition plan
needs to account for the transfer of files and knowledge to retain continuity.

Continuity of services is an important aspect of the EOR role. If the EOR is a consultant, then although the
contract for EOR services may be on an annual basis, there should be a stated commitment for provision of those
services for more than one year.

It may be appropriate to indemnify the EOR and their firm against potential lawsuits. The EoR would still commit
to act according to his or her obligations with respect to his or her engineering association.

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 7

The scope of the services provided by an EOR should be reviewed on an annual basis by the Owner. If an
independent tailings review board exists, this is an appropriate vehicle to conduct such a review.

In the context of the CDA Guidance, the mandate of the EOR is primarily associated with dam safety. However,
in many cases, the role of the EOR may expand to include items related to tailings planning, water management,
closure etc. This may be particularly appropriate if the EOR works for the Owner. When working within the
Owner’s organization, communication is facilitated and presence on the site may be at least more frequent if not
full-time. However, care must be taken to ensure the independence of the EOR in the services which the EOR
provides. There should be no conflict of interest in matters of dam safety.

The EOR for dams that were built many years ago can be difficult to establish, but as part of the Owner’s overall
risk management approach, the Owner can still establish a current EOR for the historic dams. This would be done
with the consensus of the EOR, the provision of appropriate background work, conducting a dam safety review,
and limitations on the scope of responsibility.

If a candidate EOR has not been involved in the design of the dam and the Owner wishes to have the individual
take on the EOR role, then the EOR should conduct a dam safety review to gain a full understanding of the dam.
In some cases, a DSR may have just been completed by an Owner and it may be possible for the EOR to place
reliance on that DSR. The most appropriate way for an EOR to gain an understanding of the dam sufficiently so
that they (and their company) can take on the responsibility of EOR will have to be developed on a case by case
basis. When a candidate EOR has been invited to become the EOR, until that candidate EOR is satisfied that they
understand the dam, then it is suggested that this person be referred to as the “Interim EOR”.

For the EOR concept to succeed and the risks to the Owner to be managed effectively, the EOR and the Owner
should be working as partners. The primary linkage to the Owner’s organization would typically be the
Responsible Person, but the EOR also needs the ability to communicate with the Accountable Executive Office
and others in the Owner’s organization if and as required. If the relationship between the EOR and Owner is not
a partnership and the Owner is not providing the EOR with sufficient information or treating the EOR as a partner,
then the EOR should work to remedy the situation and, if the remedy is not successful, then the EOR should
consider resigning from that role.

6 CONCLUSIONS

It is becoming widely accepted that a specific role is required in a dam safety management program to provide ongoing
technical support to the Owner during the design, construction and operation of a mining dam – the Engineer of
Record. This paper has addressed the concept of the Engineer of Record within the context of a Dam Safety
Management System. As such, the paper contributes to the dissemination of the CDA position on the subject of the
EoR and hopefully will encourage discussion within the industry on the objectives and means to improve the safety
of mining dams in Canada and around the world.

7 REFERENCES

Alberta Chamber of Resources, Dam Integrity Advisory Committee. 2017 Roles and Accountabilities for Dam
Safety Management in Alberta.
Boswell, J., and Martens, S., 2017. The Role of the Engineer of Record in an Integrated Dam Safety Management
System for Tailings Dams: Recent Perspectives from the Alberta Dam Safety Community. Proceedings,
Canadian Dam Association Annual Conference, Kelowna.
ICOLD Bulletin 154, 2017. Dam Safety Management: Operational Phase of the Dam Life Cycle.

CDA 2018 Annual Conference, Québec, QC, Canada 8