On May 22 and 23, we were organizers of the first CDA (Canadian Dam Association) Tailings Dam Safety Review Workshop in our country, held at the Swissotel facilities. The workshop was presented with simultaneous translation (English to Spanish). The instructors who led the workshop are members of the Tailings Dam Safety Review Working Group that is part of the CDA Dam Safety Committee. This tailings dam safety review workshop presented the concepts and processes developed in the standards of the CDA Tailings Dam Safety Guide and Tailings Safety Review Technical Bulletin, the approach of which is used in various tailings projects. scale involving tailings dams in Canada and Peru.
As part of the workshop, a case study of a tailings dam was presented and the attendees organized into groups to work on the following topics:
-How to approach and carry out a safety review of a tailings dam.
-How to work around the aspects of failure risk control modes through safety analysis.
-How to present the results of the tailings dam safety review.
This workshop was geared towards tailings dam owners / operators, consultants and regulators who wanted to learn what the Canadian Dam Association considers good practice in tailings dam safety review.
The CDA Dam Safety Review Technical Bulletin was included as part of the workshop and as a handout, while the Tailings Dam Safety Guide was available for sale to attendees.
Instructors data:
Dave MacMillan. 30 years of experience in the design, management and safety of dams. As a director of the KGS group, his responsibilities include project management, strategic studies, design supervision, design and regulatory approvals.
Chad LePoudre. Vice President of Geoscience & Materials Testing at SNC-Lavalin. He has 15 years of experience participating in various geotechnical and environmental projects and 10 years in non-technical roles in construction and management.
Terry Oswell. Civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience in dam safety, hydroelectric civil area and geotechnical engineering. Ms. Oswell was part of BC Hydro’s Dam Safety team for 10 years, managing the dam safety program as well as updating OMS manuals and interpreting the dam safety regulation for the state of British Columbia, Canada.
Clare Raska. She began her career in 1981 at Acres International, then served as a Senior Engineer with BC Hydro from 1998 to 2014. Ms. Raska played a central role in developing and documenting an innovative dam safety management system, which has earned her recognition as leader in practice.
Santiago Paz. Geotechnical engineer and dam safety engineer with 12 years of experience. As a regulator in Alberta, Engineer Paz was involved in dam regulation related to flow control, irrigation and mining. He is an active member of the CDA for 10 years, and was the chair of the Dam Safety Committee for Alberta.