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Building Act 2004

Building - Safety of dams - Classification of dams

135A: Certifying engineer must notify regional authority and owner if dam dangerous

You could also call this:

“An engineer checking a dam must tell the local council and owner if they think the dam is dangerous.”

If you are an engineer asked to check a dam for safety, you have an important job to do. You might be asked to give a certificate about the dam’s safety for different reasons. These reasons are listed in other parts of the law.

While you’re checking the dam, if you think it might be dangerous, you need to tell two groups of people. You must tell the regional authority, which is like the local government for that area. You also need to tell the person who owns the dam.

When you tell these people, you need to do it in writing. You can’t just tell them in person or over the phone. You have to write it down. And you need to do this quickly - within 5 working days of when you first thought the dam might be dangerous.

It’s important to know that you only need to tell people if you notice something dangerous while you’re doing the job you were asked to do. You don’t have to go looking for danger if that’s not part of your job. Also, if you forget to tell someone or make a mistake, you can’t get in trouble for it in court.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5770100.

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135: Owner must provide classification of, and certificate for, dam to regional authority, or

“The person in charge of a dam must tell the local authority how safe the dam is and give them proof from an expert.”

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136: Regional authority must decide whether to approve or refuse dam classification, or

“The person in charge of an area must quickly say yes or no to how a dam owner groups their dam.”

Part 2 Building
Safety of dams: Classification of dams

135ACertifying engineer must notify regional authority and owner if dam dangerous

  1. An engineer engaged to provide a certificate for the purposes of section 135(1)(b), 142(1)(b), or 150(2)(f) must notify the regional authority and the owner of the dam if he or she believes that the dam is dangerous.

  2. The notice must be—

  3. in writing; and
    1. given within 5 working days after the engineer forms the belief in question.

      1. Nothing in subsection (1) requires an engineer to act outside the terms of his or her engagement by investigating whether the dam is dangerous or not and a breach of the duty in subsection (1) does not give rise to any civil liability in damages.

      Notes
      • Section 135A: inserted, on , by section 40 of the Building Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 100).