On the eve of regional councils being required to oversee dangerous dams, a lack of dam safety regulations is just ‘‘nonsense'', Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Cairns says.
Regional councils throughout New Zealand are being required by Government to become accredited and registered as building consent authorities for dams by June 30, taking over the role from territorial local authorities.
The ORC hoped its accreditation would come through in the next few weeks.
At yesterday's engineering and hazards committee, Mr Cairns said the ORC was the only regional council that looked like being accredited by the due date, yet it was doing so in a vacuum of regulations regarding dam safety.
‘‘Excuse me, but this is bloody nonsense,'' he said. The counci should raise its ‘‘very serious concerns'' about the situation through the Regional Affairs Committee, to the housing and building issues ministers, he said.
Environmental engineering and natural hazards director Gavin Palmer said it appeared under law the regional council was required to have policy in place on earthquake and flood-prone dams yet there were no definitions of those types of dams in regulations.
He had raised the issue with the ministry but no date had been given for the regulations being finalised and implemented.
The committee passed a recommendation to take its concerns to the housing and building issues ministers.
