Tony Bennett April 11, 2011

1. OPG - Waterways Public Safety Program ... working with the OWA , CDA & MNR for better programs • Tony Bennett • April 11, 2011

2. OPG- Program for Public Safety Around Dams OUTLINE of PRESENTATION • OPG’s Portfolio of Dams • OPG Dam Safety Program • OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety • Managed System Approach • Guiding Principles • Base Planning Assumptions • Minimum Requirements • Program Elements • Applications

3. CH Plant Group 26 Hydro Plants 123 MW 65 Hydroelectric Generating Stations 241 Dams 109 Dams in the ICOLD Registry Formal Dam Safety Program - 1986

4. OPG Dam Safety Program – Dam & Public Safety • Dam Safety • prevent an uncontrolled release of water (i.e. dam breach) • have Emergency Preparedness Plans in place in the event of failure • Public Safety Around Dams • safe management of water during normal operations • intake water • discharge from turbines • spill events • security of the site to minimize the exposure of the public to hazards Strong Underwater Currents Near Intakes and Sluiceways Sudden Discharges From Gates Sudden Discharges From Turbine s Produce Strong Currents Dry Spillway Channels Can Suddenly Fill with Turbulent Water Sudden Changes in Flows Producing Swift Currents Fluctuating Water Levels Inundate Low Lying Areas Potential Flooding from Dam Breach

5. Managed System Approach to Public Safety Managed System approach to address the residual risks to the public that are associated with dams and their operations. Managed System includes the following elements; • Plan/ Policies, Accountability, Assessments • Do/ Implement Controls and Maintain • Check/ Monitor • Revise/ Develop Corrective Actions Report Provides a process for continuous review of the measures to address site specific conditions which can change throughout a dam’s life cycle. Integration allows owner’s to take advantage of the synergies created in addressing the risks, including public education, control measures and monitoring activities.

6. OPG Managed System- Waterways Public Safety

7. OPG Dam Safety Program - Policy and Governance Framework OPG’s Dam Safety Policy Statement • Approved by the highest level of the Organization • Clear statement of the accountabilities • Outlines the scope of the Program • Establishes execution of the Oversight role • Insures the decision makers are informed as to the safety status of dams • Instills a requirement for regular review of the Policy • Specifies that all dams are to be designed, constructed, operated and maintained according to: • - Regulations / CDA – Dam Safety Guidelines / Industry Best Practices • Encompasses both conventional dam safety (i.e. failure scenarios) as well as the notion of public safety around dams under normal operations • Establishes the concept of risk management

8. CDA Dam Safety Guidelines (2007) - Principles • Public Safety beyond dam failure incorporated in Principles… • 1a The public and the environment shall be protected from the consequences of dam failure as well as release of any or all of the stored volume of water and/ or tailings behind a dam. • 2aRequirements for the safe operation, maintenance and surveillance of the dam, shall be suitably documented and contain sufficient information in accordance with the consequences of dam failure • 2bDocumented operating procedures shall be followed for the dam and applicable discharge equipment to address normal, unusual and emergencyconditions. • 2cDocumented maintenance procedures, (including public safety and security measures), shall be followed to ensure that the dam remains in a safe and operational ready condition.

9. OPG Public Safety Program- Standards & Procedures • Based on Six (6) Governing Documents for Public Safety Around Dams • Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety • - Provides the guiding principles • - Provides the minimum requirements • - Outlines the Risk Assessment Methodology • - Outlines the Control Measures • - Describes Elements of the Managed System • Supporting Technical Documents • Guidelines for Booms and Buoys • Guidelines for Audible Warning Devices and Lights • Standard for Public Safety Signage • Guidelines for Fencing & Barricades • Guidelines for Risk Assessment for Waterways Public Safety

10. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Governing Principles • OPG Corporate Health and Safety Policy provides overarching guidance in matters related to health and safety of employees, contractors and the public. In accordance with the Policy the Hydro BU will: • Make conservative decisions regarding our operations as they relate to the health and safety of the public • Integrate public safety considerations into business practices and decisions • Engage in partnerships that enhance public safety awareness and address public safety issues in the communities in which we operate • Plant Groups are responsible for public safety at the facilities for which they have been assigned accountability • Deviation from the “minimum requirements” stipulated in this Guideline is permitted provided written rationale for the deviation has been submitted to the Executive Vice President - Hydro for approval, copy to the Director Dam Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

11. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Base Planning Assumptions The following assumptions will form the basis in applying the Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety in OPG; • Physical barriers are intended as act as deterrents and are not designed to prevent access from those seeking to unlawfully gain access to OPG property or controlled areas. • Physical barriers are not intended to address naturally occurring hazards; both water based (e.g. rapids, submerged boulders, etc.) and landforms (e.g. cliffs); associated with a dam or hydroelectric site. • Recreational water use of waterways ... does not occur when there is floating ice in the waterway… or has been … designated for use by the authorities.

12. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Base Planning Assumptions • Partially open water and cracked ice is part of normal river/ reservoir conditions from late fall through spring seasons and no special protective measures are required to address these hazards… • Illumination of signs and barriers is intended to come from the motorized vehicles and watercraft which may be operated outside of daylight hours or other periods of low visibility.

13. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Base Planning Assumptions • The publics’ safe exit from an area will be based on normal healthy individuals and will be assumed to begin on first alert from the audible sirens, where provided. For the hearing impaired the assumption is that they will be cognizant of changing water levels based on signage and as brought about by the staged discharge from the spillway gates, or stop log sluices, and safely exit the area without delay. • It is recognized that changes will occur from time to time in the standards for control measures and the requirements of these Guidelines. These changes do not imply that existing control measures need to be replaced. In this case the effectiveness of the existing control measures is to be assessed relative to the new standards through the risk assessment process. If they meet the intent they shall be considered to be in compliance until such a time as they are scheduled for replacement, following which they will be replaced with control measures meeting the new standards.

14. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Managed System • Waterways public safety within the Hydro BU is to be incorporated within a managed system. • All water conveyance structures shall have a documented Waterways Public Safety Management Planthat meets the requirement of these Guidelines. • Waterways Public Safety Management Plans are to be reviewed every three years. • All physical control measures are to be inspected at least annually (e.g. signs, fencing, booms, buoys, audible alarms, access gates, etc.)

15. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Managed System • For the manual operation of sluice gates and log sluices, a form is to be used as a checklist by staff to ensure each procedural step is carried out. This checklist then becomes a formal record of the site specific public safety procedural requirements performed. The public safety procedural requirements, being site specific, may include such activities as, e.g., completing notifications of downstream or upstream stakeholders, spillway inspections, sounding audible sirens, stepped opening of sluice gates, etc.

16. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Managed System • Con’d … for the different manual operations the following applies: Remote/Manual operation (e.g., from a control centre or a generating station control room) – the time of completion of each step of the public safety procedural requirements shall be recorded by the Operators in the Station Log as it is completed. Local/Manual operation – A controlled form shall be used as a checklist that: • Lists each step of the site specific public safety procedure; • Records the time of completion for each step of the procedure as it is completed; • Includes supervisory review and sign off on the field copy; • Has the field copy filed in the local Hydro Record Centre.

17. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Risk Assessment • All water conveyance structures shall have a documented public safety risk assessment. • The risk assessment shall clearly define the system, including the extent that upstream and downstream reaches of the reservoirs/ rivers are considered. • Risk assessments shall be conducted on a 3 year cycle. • Hydraulic Assessments are to form supporting documentation for the risk assessment and should be completed, where required.

18. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Signage • Signage is to be used on OPG property to identify both hazardous locations rated as a medium or high risk, as well as to identify any areas designated for public use (e.g. portages). • All sites with the potential to spill wateror where there is a risk of a vertical fall of greater than 3 meters from an OPG structure will have signage to identify the residual risks. • All waterway signs are to be sized and placed so that they are readable by the publicapproaching the Dangerous Waterway Zone along the shore or from the waterway. • The installation of all new waterway signs shall meet the requirements of DS-LP-STD-002, for colour and format. • A sufficient number of waterway signs that are within hearing distance of an audible warning device and/or strobe light are to include wording which explains the purpose of the audible alarm and/or strobe lights.

19. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Signage • Red Waterway “Danger Signs” are to be installed: • One upstream, one downstream and at the commonly used land access point(s) to the water conveyance structure. • Such that they define the extent of the Dangerous Waterways Zone. • At all other locations identified as having a “high” risk rating on OPG property. • Yellow waterway warning signs are to be installed at all locations on OPG property identified as having a “medium” risk rating. • Where hazards are identified that could create either “Medium” or “High” risks to the public, as a direct result of OPG’s operations, but not on OPG property, formal correspondence advising the landowner of these hazards should be sent.

20. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Spillway Gates • Audible warning devices (or strobe lights) are to be used to warn the public in the Dangerous Waterways Zones downstream of all remotely and automatically controlled spillway gates. • All spillway gates are to be opened in increments so as to provide sufficient warning to persons who may be in the spillway channel to safely exit. • An audible alarm will sound prior to, and during, the initial opening of all spillway gates as they are raised from the sill, except where visual surveillance is maintained of the area. • After the initial opening the audible alarm should be sounded for any step in gate movement that creates a hazardous increase in water level or flow in the spillway channel, as determined by the hydraulic assessment.

21. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Minimum Requirements Booms & Buoys • Where the waterway has unrestricted access to boating (i.e. the rights to navigation have not been extinguished through the Canadian Shipping Act) an upstream safety boom is to be installed to delineate the Dangerous Waterways Zone in the following instances: • Upstream of all overflow spillways • Upstream of all flashboard installations • At the upstream entrance to all intake power canals • Upstream of all spillway gates and stoplog spillways where the risk rating is medium or above • Upstream of all intakes where the risk rating is medium or above.

22. OPG Guidelines for Waterways Public Safety - Control Measures • Site Specific Operating Procedures • Stepped Operation of Spillway Gates • Hydraulic Testing of Spillway Channels • Buffer Zone in Reservoir to reduce Spill • Visual Inspection prior to Operation • Video Surveillance Cameras • Audible Alerts & Warning Systems • Remotely Controlled Spillway Gates • Integrate Controls with Gate Operation • Site Access Controls • Signage, Booms & Buoys, Fencing • Security Patrols in High Public Use • Restricting Navigation Near Facilities • Vulnerability Assessments • Vandalism  Threat Evaluations

23. Do - PSMPPhysical control measures Silver Falls Intake

24. Do – Maintenance & Inspection Plans • Maintenance & Inspection • prescribed minimum standards • detailed procedures • follow-up protocols • embedded in existing work • management systems

25. Check/ Correct – PSMP ReviewsExtending Fencing

26. Corrective Action – Based on Attitude Research Residents’ awareness of the dangers highlighted in OPG ads and educational material has increased significantly since 2003. Unaided reasons for dangers: • increased water levels/ flooding/dam overflow unchanged • strong currents down 7% • drowning/getting caught in currents/electrocution up 5% • increased water flow down 6% • not enough warning about gate openings up 8% • risk of contact with power lines down 3%

27. What do you typically use these areas for? • Respondents were most likely to use areas for fishing • Older males are using the areas slightly more often than others • Respondents living less than 5 kilometers from a dam or hydroelectric station were more likely to use the areas Norman Giesbrecht, Rose Schmidt & Anca Ialomiteanu (2008) CAMH Study for OPG on Risk Takers

28. OPG Gauging Effectiveness – Engaging Stakeholders 800 Site Specific Community SurveysAnnually to assess Effectiveness of OPG’s Waterways Public Safety Program - e.g. Effectiveness of Signage in Conveying Safety Message • Degree to which users obey signs: • - always (80%) • - usually (11%) • - occasionally (5%) • - never (2%)

29. Signage Standards Colour Coding Headline Hazard Identification Message Text (1.5 x Headline) Dimensions & Lettering Dam Owner Name of Facility Require Action Emergency Telephone Number (24/7)

30. What would be effective in discouraging your activities at hydro sites? Note: Remaining participants answered somewhat or very ineffective Norman Giesbrecht, Rose Schmidt & Anca Ialomiteanu (2008) CAMH Study for OPG on Risk Takers

31. OPG – Applications of Research Program Focus on signage may change to “Trespassers will be prosecuted” to address findings of Research Program

32. OPG - Waterways Public Safety Program ... working with the OWA , CDA & MNR for better programs Questions? tony.bennett@opg.com