Contents · 2017. 10. 5. · • Iron ore • Lead sulphide concentrate • Copper concentrate • Zinc concentrate • Nickel concentrate • Talc • Coal • Mineral sands •

Environmental Protection Act 1986 Page 2 of 24 Licence: L4275/1982/15 File Number: 2011/000451 IRLB_TI0672 v2.8

Contents Licence 1 Contents 2 Introduction 2 Licence conditions 5 1 General 5 2 Emissions 8 3 Monitoring 9 4 Improvements 12 5 Information 12 Schedule 1: Maps 14 Schedule 2: Reporting & notification forms 18

Schedule 3: Methodology 23

Introduction This Introduction is not part of the Licence conditions. DER’s industry licensing role The Department of Environment Regulation (DER) is a government department for the state of Western Australia in the portfolio of the Minister for Environment. DER’s purpose is to advise on and implement strategies for a healthy environment for the benefit of all current and future Western Australians. DER has responsibilities under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (the Act) for the licensing of prescribed premises. Through this process DER works with the business owners, community, consultants, industry and other representatives to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm to conserve and protect the environment.DER also monitors and audits compliance with works approvals and licence conditions, takes enforcement action as appropriate and develops and implements licensing and industry regulation policy. Licence requirements This Licence is issued under Part V of the Act. Conditions contained within the Licence relate to the prevention, reduction or control of emissions and discharges to the environment and to the monitoring and reporting of them. Where other statutory instruments impose obligations on the Premises/Licensee the intention is not to replicate them in the licence conditions. You should therefore ensure that you are aware of all your statutory obligations under the Act and any other statutory instrument. Legislation can be accessed through the State Law Publisher website using the following link: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/default.html For your Premises relevant statutory instruments include but are not limited to obligations under the: • Environmental Protection (Unauthorised Discharges) Regulations 2004 – these Regulations make

it an offence to discharge certain materials such as contaminated stormwater into the environment other than in the circumstances set out in the Regulations.

• Environmental Protection (Controlled Waste) Regulations 2004 - these Regulations place

obligations on you if you produce, accept, transport or dispose of controlled waste. • Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997 – these Regulations require noise emissions

from the Premises to comply with the assigned noise levels set out in the Regulations. You must comply with your licence. Non-compliance with your licence is an offence and strict penalties exist for those who do not comply.


Licence holders are also reminded of the requirements of section 53 of the Act which places restrictions on making certain changes to prescribed premises unless the changes are in accordance with a works approval, licence, closure notice or environmental protection notice. Licence fees If you have a licence that is issued for more than one year, you are required to pay an annual licence fee prior to the anniversary date of issue of your licence. Non payment of annual licence fees will result in your licence ceasing to have effect meaning that it will no longer be valid and you will need to apply for a new licence for your Premises. Ministerial conditions If your Premises has been assessed under Part IV of the Act you may have had conditions imposed by the Minister for Environment. You are required to comply with any conditions imposed by the Minister. Premises description and Licence summary The Geraldton Port is managed by the Mid West Ports Authority (MWPA) and is located to the north west of the city centre of Geraldton, approximately 430 km north of Perth. The Port is located on the northern shores of Point Moore and situated within the south-eastern corner of Champion Bay. The Port is surrounded by land zoned Industrial, Commercial and Residential. The nearest residence is located at Crowther St, Beachlands, approximately 100 m south of the port boundary. The Geraldton Port consists of a shipping channel, a 7-berth inner harbour, a fishing boat harbour, a small work boat base and related storage facilities, infrastructure and industries. This licence regulates activities associated with the loading/unloading and storage of bulk granular material. Other prescribed activities occurring at the port such as boat building and seafood processing are regulated through separate DER instruments held by the occupiers of these premises.

The handling of the following bulk granular products are regulated under this licence: • Iron ore • Lead sulphide concentrate • Copper concentrate • Zinc concentrate • Nickel concentrate • Talc • Coal • Mineral sands • Mineral sands concentrate

Other products are also handled at the Port, which due to legal advice on the nature of ‘bulk granular material’ have not been historically regulated under the licence. These include:

• Grains • Petroleum • Fertilisers • General cargo • Stockfeed • Livestock

The Port has a maximum bulk granular product handling capacity of 16,000,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) which is largely determined by the limitations of the predominantly rail-based delivery system. Over 14,000,000 tpa this capacity is centred on iron ore exports through berths 5 and 7. The main emissions of note from the Port are lead, copper and nickel dust from the loading and handling of up to approximately 550,000 of metal concentrates per year, as well as the fugitive


discharge of these materials into the harbour. These emissions are managed in the licence through a comprehensive dust monitoring and analysis programme from four air quality monitoring stations onsite; annual sediment monitoring; general housekeeping conditions; and reporting and notification requirements.

This licence reissue includes a conversion to the current DER ‘Refire’ format. As a result, changes to the licence format and wording has occurred. As part of the Refire conversion process, a number of standard conditions have also been introduced. The licence reissue also includes changes as follows:

• Removal of the requirement for monitoring ambient air concentrations of zinc due to insignificant levels demonstrated in historical monitoring.

• Replacement of monthly air quality reporting requirements with requirements based on target exceedances and quarterly reporting of lead levels.

• The renaming of several of the sediment monitoring sites in line with MWPA protocol. The licences and works approvals issued for the Premises since 18 March 2009 are:

Instrument log Instrument Issued Description L4275/1982/13 18/03/2008 Licence re-issue W4398/2007/1 26/06/2008 Construction of metal concentrate storage shed W4443/2008/1 15/09/2008 Construction of iron ore storage shed at Berth 5 W4461/2008/1 01/12/2008 Construction of iron ore storage shed at Berth 6 W4462/2008/1 28/09/2009 Construction of iron ore storage shed at Berth 6 W4805/2010/1 13/12/2010 Construction of loading/unloading infrastructure L4275/1982/13 09/02/2011 Licence amendment: change of copper air quality target L4275/1982/13 08/09/2011 Licence amendment: change of lead air quality limit L4275/1982/14 18/03/2012 Licence re-issue L4275/1982/14 03/01/2013 Licence amendment: trial nickel exports W5345/2013/1 04/03/2013 Works approval for new cargo: nickel L4275/1982/14 14/02/2014 Licence amendment for new cargo: nickel L4275/1982/15 12/03/2015 Licence re-issue and REFIRE conversion

Severance It is the intent of these Licence conditions that they shall operate so that, if a condition or a part of a condition is beyond the power of this Licence to impose, or is otherwise ultra vires or invalid, that condition or part of a condition shall be severed and the remainder of these conditions shall nevertheless be valid to the extent that they are within the power of this Licence to impose and are not otherwise ultra vires or invalid.

END OF INTRODUCTION


Licence conditions 1 General 1.1 Interpretation

1.1.1 In the Licence, definitions from the Environmental Protection Act 1986 apply unless the

contrary intention appears.

1.1.2 For the purposes of this Licence, unless the contrary intention appears: ‘Act’ means the Environmental Protection Act 1986; ‘annual period’ means the inclusive period from 1 July until 30 June in the following year; ‘ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines’ means the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (2000), Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality, Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council & Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, National Water Quality Management Strategy No. 4 & 7.

‘Assessment Levels for Soil, Sediment and Water, Do E 2010’ means the document titled Assessment Level for Soil, Sediment and Water, Contaminated Sites Management Series, prepared by the Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia. ‘averaging period ’ means the time over which a limit or target is measured or a monitoring result is obtained; ‘CEO’ means Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Environment Regulation; ‘CEO’ for the purpose of correspondence means;

Manager Licensing (Resources North) Department of Environment Regulation Locked Bag 33 Cloisters Square PERTH WA 6850 Telephone: (08) 9333 7510 Facsimile: (08) 9333 7550 Email: [email protected];

‘code of practice for the storage and handling of d angerous goods’ means the document titled “Storage and handling of dangerous goods: Code of Practice“ published by the Department of Mines and Petroleum, as amended from time to time; ‘dangerous goods’ has the meaning defined in the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007; ‘environmentally hazardous material’ means material (either solid or liquid raw materials, materials in the process of manufacture, manufactured products, products used in the manufacturing process, by-products and waste) which if discharged into the environment from or within the premises may cause pollution or environmental harm. Note: Environmentally hazardous materials include dangerous goods where they are stored in quantities below placard quantities. The storage of dangerous goods above placard quantities is regulated by the Department of Mines and Petroleum; ‘EPA 2005’ means Manual of Standard Operating Procedures – For Environmental monitoring against Cockburn Sound Environmental Quality Criteria (2003-2004) – A supporting document to the


State Environmental (Cockburn Sound) Policy 2005, Prepared by Environmental Protection Authority, Report no. 21, Western Australia, January 2005. ‘Midwest Ports Authority Air Quality Monitoring Sam pling and Analysis Plan’ means Midwest Ports Authority Air Quality Monitoring Sampling and Analysis Plan Revision 5 Prepared by Midwest Ports Authority, dated 30 January 2014; ‘Midwest Ports Authority Sediment Monitoring Sampli ng and Analysis Plan’ means Midwest Ports Authority 2014 Sediment Monitoring Program - Sampling and Analysis Plan Revision 4 Prepared by Midwest Ports Authority, dated 25 November 2014;

‘fugitive emissions’ means all emissions not arising from point sources identified in sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5; ‘HVAS’ is defined as High Volume Air Sampler; ‘Licence’ means this Licence numbered L4275/1982/15 and issued under the Act; ‘Licensee’ means the person or organisation named as Licensee on page 1 of this Licence; ‘Metal Concentrate Shed’ means any shed used to store lead sulphide concentrate, copper concentrate and zinc concentrate; ‘Metal Concentrate’ means lead sulphide concentrate, copper concentrate, zinc concentrate or nickel concentrate; ‘m/s’ is defined as metres per second; ‘NATA’ means the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia; ‘NATA accredited’ means in relation to the analysis of a sample that the laboratory is NATA accredited for the specified analysis at the time of the analysis; ‘PM10’ means particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less or equal to 10 µm; ‘Premises’ means the area defined in the Premises Map in Schedule 1 and listed as the Premises address on page 1 of this Licence; ‘quarterly’ means the 4 inclusive periods from 1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December and in the following year, 1 January to 31 March; ‘Schedule 1’ means Schedule 1 of this Licence unless otherwise stated; ‘Schedule 2’ means Schedule 2 of this Licence unless otherwise stated; ‘Shiploading Event’ means any shiploading where bulk Metal Concentrate is loaded into a ship or unloaded out of a ship; ‘spot sample’ means a discrete sample representative at the time and place at which the sample is taken; ‘TDS’ means total dissolved solids; ‘TEOM’ means Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance unit;

‘TSP’ means total suspended particulates; ‘µg/kg’ means micrograms per kilogram; and


‘µg/m 3’ means micrograms per cubic metre. 1.1.3 Any reference to an Australian or other standard in the Licence means the relevant parts of

the standard in force from time to time during the term of this Licence.

1.1.4 Any reference to a guideline or code of practice in the Licence means the version of that guideline or code of practice in force from time to time, and shall include any amendments or replacements to that guideline or code of practice made during the term of this Licence.

1.2 General conditions 1.2.1 Nothing in the Licence shall be taken to authorise any emission that is not mentioned in the

Licence, where the emission amounts to: (a) pollution; (b) unreasonable emission; (c) discharge of waste in circumstances likely to cause pollution; or (d) being contrary to any written law.

1.2.2 The Licensee shall operate and maintain all pollution control and monitoring equipment to the

manufacturer’s specification or any relevant and effective internal management system. 1.2.3 The Licensee, except where storage is prescribed in section 1.3, shall ensure that

environmentally hazardous materials are stored in accordance with the code of practice for the storage and handling of dangerous goods.

1.2.4 The Licensee shall immediately recover, or remove and dispose of spills of environmentally

hazardous materials outside an engineered containment system. 1.2.5 The Licensee shall:

(a) implement all practical measures to prevent stormwater run-off becoming contaminated by the activities on the Premises; and

(b) treat contaminated or potentially contaminated stormwater as necessary prior to being discharged from the Premises.1

Note1: The Environmental Protection (Unauthorised Discharges) Regulations 2004 make it an offence to discharge certain materials into the environment.

1.2.6 The Licensee shall ensure that a dust filtration system is in operation on any iron ore or metal

concentrate shed whenever dust generating activities (including any stockpile disturbance) are being undertaken within the shed.

1.3 Premises operation

1.3.1 The Licensee shall inform the CEO in writing of any proposal to load or unload at the

premises, any bulk granular material other than iron ore, lead sulphide concentrate, copper concentrate, zinc concentrate, nickel concentrate, talc, coal, mineral sands or mineral sands concentrate.

1.3.2 The Licensee shall instruct ship’s masters that all spillage of cargo onto the deck of the vessel is to be collected in a manner so as to prevent it accesing the marine environment.

1.3.3 The Licensee shall collect all spillage of iron ore, talc, mineral sands, mineral sands concentrate or metal concentrate within the premises in a manner so as to prevent it accessing the environment.

1.3.4 The Licensee shall ensure that measures are taken to prevent spillage entering the marine environment via the gap between the berth and the vessel.


2 Emissions 2.1 General 2.1.1 The Licensee shall record and investigate the exceedance of any descriptive or numerical

limit or target specified in any part of section 2 of this Licence. 2.2 Point source emissions to air

There are no specified conditions relating to point source emissions to air in this section.

2.3 Point source emissions to surface water

2.3.1 The Licensee shall ensure that where waste is emitted to surface water from the emission points in Table 2.3.1 and identified on the map of emission points in Schedule 1 it is done so in accordance with the conditions of this Licence.

Table 2.3.1: Emission points to surface water Emission point reference and location on Map of emission points

Description Source including abatement

SW1-SW15 Discharge pipe into Geraldton Harbour

Stormwater runoff No abatement specified

2.4 Point source emissions to groundwater

There are no specified conditions relating to point source emissions to groundwater in this section.

2.5 Emissions to land

There are no specified conditions relating to emissions to land in this section. 2.6 Fugitive emissions 2.6.1 The Licensee shall ensure that reasonable and practicable measures are taken to ensure that

dust generated on the premises (excluding dust from Shiploading Events or Metal Concentrate handling) does not cross the premises boundary.

2.7 Odour 2.7.1 The Licensee shall ensure that odour emitted from the Premises does not unreasonably

interfere with the health, welfare, convenience, comfort or amenity of any person who is not on the Premises.

2.8 Noise There are no specified conditions relating to noise in this section.


3 Monitoring 3.1 General monitoring 3.1.1 The Licensee shall ensure that all laboratory samples are submitted to and tested by a

laboratory with current NATA accreditation for the parameters being measured unless indicated otherwise in the relevant table.

3.1.2 The Licensee shall ensure that annual monitoring is undertaken in each calendar year prior to

30 June. 3.1.3 The Licensee shall ensure that all monitoring equipment used on the Premises to comply with

the conditions of this Licence is calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

3.1.4 The Licensee shall, where the requirements for calibration cannot be practicably met, or a

discrepancy exists in the interpretation of the requirements, bring these issues to the attention of the CEO accompanied with a report comprising details of any modifications to the methods.

3.2 Monitoring of point source emissions to air

There are no specified conditions relating to monitoring of point source emissions to air in this section.

3.3 Monitoring of point source emissions to surface water

There are no specified conditions relating to monitoring of point source emissions to surface

water in this section. 3.4 Monitoring of point source emissions to groundw ater

There are no specified conditions relating to monitoring of point source emissions to groundwater in this section.


3.5 Monitoring of emissions to land

There are no specified conditions relating to monitoring of emissions to land in this section. 3.6 Monitoring of inputs and outputs

There are no specified conditions relating to the monitoring of inputs and outputs in this section.

3.7 Process monitoring

There are no specified conditions relating to process monitoring in this section.

3.8 Ambient environmental quality monitoring 3.8.1 The Licensee shall undertake the monitoring in Tables 3.8.1 and 3.8.2 according to the

specifications in those tables and record and investigate results that do not meet any target specified.

Table 3.8.1: Monitoring of ambient air quality Monitoring point reference and location (as shown in schedule 1)

Parameter Limit Target Units 1

Averaging period

Frequency 2 Method

Berth 1;Lemmon Road; Port Way; Connell Road

Lead as TSP

0.5 - µg/m3 3 month rolling average3

Continuous during shiploading events

Mid West Ports

Authority Air

Quality Sampling

and Analysis

Plan

Berth 1;Lemmon Road; Port Way; Connell Road

Copper as PM10

- 1.0

µg/m3 24 hours

Continuous during shiploading events Nickel as

TSP

- 0.14

Particulates as TSP

- 90 Continuous

Particulates as PM10

- 50

Berth 1;Lemmon Road; Port Way

Lead as PM10

- 0.5 µg/m3 24 hours Continuous during shiploading events

Connell Road

Lead as PM10

- 2.0

µg/m3

24 hours

Continuous during shiploading events

Note 1: All units are referenced to STP dry Note 2: Continuous monitoring is permitted to include gaps equating to no more than 2 hours in every 24 hour monitoring

period as required for the changing of HiVol sampler filter papers. Note 3: The three month rolling average is to be calculated using the methodology outlined in schedule 3.


Table 3.8.2: Monitoring of ambient sediment quality Monitoring point reference and location

Parameter Units

Frequency Method 1

CS2, CS1, ORA1, ORA2, FBH1, FBH2, CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4, CH5, CH6, CH9, OF2, CH10, YM1, and TB1

Aluminium mg/kg Annually Mid West Ports Authority Sediment Sampling and Analysis Plan Methodology outlined in EPA 2005 and ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines.

Arsenic Cadmium Copper Lead Mercury Nickel Zinc

CS2, CS1, ORA1, ORA2, FBH1, FBH2, CH2, CH5, CH6, CH3, CH4, CH9 CH1, OF2, CH10, YM1, and TB1

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)

mg/kg

Prior to 30 June in every second year

Mid West Ports Authority Sediment Sampling and Analysis Plan Methodology outlined in EPA 2005 and ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines.

Tributyltin (TBT)

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Particle Size Analysis (PSA)

%

Note1: the median concentration from the sediment monitoring at each monitoring point for each parameter shall be compared with which ever values are the lowest in either the ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines (ISQG-Lows and ISQG-Highs) or Assessment Levels for Soil, Sediment and Water.

3.8.2 The Licensee shall provide to the CEO an investigation report within six weeks of becoming

aware of an exceedance of the lowest value for the parameters in Table 3.8.2 of any guideline value stated in the ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines (ISQG-Lows and ISQG-Highs) or Assessment Levels for Soil, Sediment and Water.

3.8.3 The Licensee shall ensure that the investigation report required in 3.8.2 contains;

(a) a summary of the exceedance(s), including a comparison of results with the guidelines referred to in 3.8.2;

(b) an evaluation of the source(s) of contamination and the potential risk to the environment; and

(c) an outline of any remedial actions taken as a result of the exceedance.


3.9 Meteorological monitoring

There are no specified conditions relating to meteorological monitoring in this section.

4 Improvements There are no specified improvement conditions in this section.

5 Information 5.1 Records 5.1.1 All information and records required by the Licence shall:

(a) be legible; (b) if amended, be amended in such a way that the original and subsequent amendments remain

legible or are capable of retrieval; (c) except for records listed in 5.1.1(d) be retained for at least 6 years from the date the records

were made or until the expiry of the Licence or any subsequent licence; and (d) for those following records, be retained until the expiry of the Licence and any subsequent

licence: (i) off-site environmental effects; or (ii) matters which affect the condition of the land or waters.

5.1.2 The Licensee shall ensure that:

(a) any person left in charge of the Premises is aware of the conditions of the Licence and has access at all times to the Licence or copies thereof; and

(b) any person who performs tasks on the Premises is informed of all of the conditions of the Licence that relate to the tasks which that person is performing.

5.1.3 The Licensee shall complete an Annual Audit Compliance Report indicating the extent to which the

Licensee has complied with the conditions of the Licence, and any previous licence issued under Part V of the Act for the Premises for the previous annual period.

5.1.4 The Licensee shall implement a complaints management system that as a minimum records the

number and details of complaints received concerning the environmental impact of the activities undertaken at the Premises and any action taken in response to the complaint.

5.2 Reporting 5.2.1 The Licensee shall submit to the CEO an Annual Environmental Report within 64 calendar days after

the end of the annual period. The report shall contain the information listed in Table 5.2.1 in the format or form specified in that table.

Table 5.2.1: Annual Environmental R eport Condition or t able (if relevant)

Parameter Format or f orm 1

- Summary of any failure or malfunction of any pollution control equipment and any environmental incidents that have occurred during the annual period and any action taken

None specified

Table 3.8.1 Ambient air quality monitoring None specified Table 3.8.2 Ambient sediment monitoring None specified 5.1.3 Compliance Annual Audit

Compliance Report (AACR)

5.1.4 Complaints summary None specified Note 1: Forms are in Schedule 2


5.2.2 The Licensee shall ensure that the Annual Environmental Report also contains an assessment of the information contained within the report against previous monitoring results and Licence limits and/or targets.

5.2.3 The Licensee shall submit the information in Table 5.2.2 to the CEO according to the specifications in

that table. Table 5.2.2: Non-annual reporting requirements Condition or t able (if relevant)

Parameter Reporting period

Reporting date (after end of the reporting period)

Format or form 1

- Copies of original monitoring reports submitted to the Licensee by third parties

Not applicable

Within 14 days of the CEOs request

As received by the Licensee from third parties

Table 3.8.1 Three month rolling average ambient air quality concentration for lead

Quarterly Within 30 days after the end of each quarterly period

None specified

Table 3.8.1 Target exceedances Quarterly Within 30 days after the end of each quarterly period

ET1

Table 3.8.1 Lead, copper or nickel target exceedances

Not applicable

Within 7 days of becoming aware of exceedance

ET12

Condition 3.8.2 Sediment sampling exceedances

Not applicable

Within six weeks of becoming aware of an exceedance

None specified

Note 1: Forms are in Schedule 2 Note 2: The report shall also include a summary of the Shiploading Events associated with the exceedances including the type and quantity of cargo loaded and the date and time of commencement and completion of loading. The report shall also include air quality data for all parameters detailed in Table 3.8.1 recorded during any Shiploading Event undertaken during the period of the exceedances. 5.3 Notification 5.3.1 The Licensee shall ensure that the parameters listed in Table 5.3.1 are notified to the CEO in

accordance with the notification requirements of the table. Table 5.3.1: Notification requirements Condition or table (if relevant)

Parameter Notification requirement 1 Format or form 2

2.1.1 Breach of any limit specified in the Licence

Part A: As soon as practicable but no later than 5pm of the next usual working day Part B: As soon as practicable

N1

- Any failure or malfunction of any pollution control equipment or any incident, which has caused, is causing or may cause pollution

3.1.4 Calibration report As soon as practicable None specified

Note 1: Notification requirements in the Licence shall not negate the requirement to comply with s72 of the Act Note 2: Forms are in Schedule 2


Schedule 1: Maps Premises map The Premises is shown in the map below. The orange line depicts the Premises boundary.


Map of emissions points The locations of the emission points defined in Table 2.3.1 are shown below


Map of monitoring locations The locations of the monitoring points defined in Table 3.8.1 are shown below.


Map of monitoring locations The locations of the monitoring points defined in Table 3.8.2 are shown below.


Schedule 2: Reporting & notification forms These forms are provided for the proponent to report monitoring and other data required by the Licence. They can be requested in an electronic format.

ANNUAL AUDIT COMPLIANCE REPORT PROFORMA

SECTION A LICENCE DETAILS

Licence Number:

Licence File Number:

Company Name: Trading as:

ABN:

Reporting period: ___________________ to ___________________

STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH LICENCE CONDITIONS 1. Were all conditions of the Licence complied with within the reporting period? (please tick the appropriate

box)

Yes □ Please proceed to Section C

No □ Please proceed to Section B Each page must be initialled by the person(s) who signs Section C of this Annual Audit Compliance Report (AACR). Initial:


SECTION B DETAILS OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH LICENCE CONDITION. Please use a separate page for each Licence condition that was not complied with.

a) Licence condition not complied with:

b) Date(s) when the non compliance occurred, if applicable:

c) Was this non compliance reported to DER?:

� Yes � Reported to DER verbally Date ___________

� Reported to DER in writing Date ___________

�No

d) Has DER taken, or finalised any action in relation to the non compliance?:

e) Summary of particulars of the non compliance, and what was the environmental impact:

f) If relevant, the precise location where the non compliance occurred (attach map or diagram):

g) Cause of non compliance:

h) Action taken, or that will be taken to mitigate any adverse effects of the non compliance:

i) Action taken or that will be taken to prevent recurrence of the non compliance:

Each page must be initialled by the person(s) who signs Section C of this AACR Initial:


SECTION C SIGNATURE AND CERTIFICATION This Annual Audit Compliance Report (AACR) must only be signed by a person(s) with legal authority to sign it. The ways in which the AACR must be signed and certified, and the people who may sign the statement, are set out below.

Please tick the box next to the category that describes how this AACR is being signed. If you are uncertain about who is entitled to sign or which category to tick, please contact the licensing officer for your premises.

If the licence holder is The Annual Audit Compliance Report must be signed a nd certified:

An individual

□

□

by the individual licence holder, or

by a person approved in writing by the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Environment Regulation to sign on the licensee's behalf.

A firm or other unincorporated company

□

□

by the principal executive officer of the licensee; or

by a person with authority to sign on the licensee's behalf who is approved in writing by the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Environment Regulation.

A corporation

□

□

□

□

□

□

by affixing the common seal of the licensee in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001; or

by two directors of the licensee; or

by a director and a company secretary of the licensee, or

if the licensee is a proprietary company that has a sole director who is also the sole company secretary – by that director, or



A public authority (other than a local government)

□

□



a local government

□

□

by the chief executive officer of the licensee; or

by affixing the seal of the local government.

It is an offence under section 112 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 for a person to give information on this form that to their knowledge is false or misleading in a material particular. There is a maximum penalty of $50,000 for an individual or body corporate.

I/We declare that the information in this annual audit compliance report is correct and not false or misleading in a material particular.

SIGNATURE: ________________________

NAME: (printed) _____________________________

POSITION: __________________________

DATE: ______/_______/________________

SIGNATURE: ________________________

NAME: (printed) _____________________________

POSITION: __________________________

DATE: ______/_______/________________

SEAL (if signing under seal)


Licence: L4275/1982/15 Licensee: Mid West Ports Authority Form: ET1 Period: Name: Target exceedances Form E T1: Target exceedance s

Please provide an analysis of the target exceedances for the month, including but not limited to the:

(a) date, time and reason for the exceedance;

(b) period over which the exceedance occurred; and

(c) corrective action taken or planned to prevent a recurrence of the exceedance, if appropriate, including a timeline for implementation.

Signed on behalf of Mid West Ports Authority: ……………………………………….. Date: …………………….


Licence: L4275/1982/15 Licensee: Mid West Ports Authority Form: N1 Date of breach: Notification of detection of the breach of a limit or any failure or malfunction of any pollution control equipment or any incident which h as caused, is causing or may cause pollution. These pages outline the information that the operator must provide. Units of measurement used in information supplied under Part A and B requirements shall be appropriate to the circumstances of the emission. Where appropriate, a comparison should be made of actual emissions and authorised emission limits. Part A Licence Number

Name of operator

Location of Premises

Time and date of the detection

Notification requirements for the breach of a limit

Emission point reference/ source

Parameter(s)

Limit

Measured value

Date and time of monitoring

Measures taken, or intended to

be taken, to stop the emission

Notification requirements for any failure or malfun ction of any pollution control equipment or

any incident which has caused, is causing or may ca use pollution

Date and time of event

Reference or description of the

location of the event

Description of where any release

into the environment took place

Substances potentially released

Best estimate of the quantity or

rate of release of substances

Measures taken , or intended to

be taken, to stop any emission

Description of the failure or

accident


Part B Any more accurate information on the matters for

notification under Part A.

Measures taken, or intended to be taken, to

prevent a recurrence of the incident.

Measures taken, or intended to be taken, to rectify,

limit or prevent any pollution of the environment

which has been or may be caused by the emission.

The dates of any previous N1 notifications for the

Premises in the preceding 24 months.

Name

Post

Signature on behalf of

Mid West Ports Authority

Date


Schedule 3: Methodology Three Month Rolling Average for Lead: Calculation

The following procedure will be used to calculate the 3 month rolling average ambient air quality for lead as TSP referred to in Table 3.8.1.

Sampling Regime: Samples will be collected using HiVol samplers over a 24 hour period and are to be defined as either:

(i) a “Concentrate Sample” – where loading of heavy metal concentrate occurs during the 24 hour monitoring period, or in the 24 hour period after the concentrate shipment has completed loading; or

(ii) a “Background Sample” – sample that is not a Concentrate Sample. Continuous sampling will be conducted during the loading of heavy metal concentrates and for the 24 hours after the concentrate shipment has completed loading. A Background Sample will be collected every six days to obtain five samples per month. Where a scheduled background sample falls on a day where concentrate sampling is required an additional background sample should be collected to obtain a minimum of five background monitoring samples per month. Monthly Averaging: For each calendar month the average concentration of lead as TSP will be calculated using the following formula:

Where:

A = The average concentration of lead as TSP calculated from all 24 hour Background Samples collected during the month.

B = The number of 24 hour periods in the month where concentrate sampling was not required.

C = The sum of all 24 hour Concentrate Samples of lead as TSP collected during the month.

Three Month Rolling Average: The three month rolling average will be calculated for each month using the following formula:


Decision Document

Environmental Protection Act 1986, Part V

Proponent: Mid West Ports Authority

Licence: L4275/1982/15 Registered office: 298 Marine Terrace

GERALDTON WA 6530 ABN: 73 384 989 178 Premises address: Geraldton Port Part of Lot 503 on plan 57801

GERALDTON WA 6530 Issue date: Thursday, 12 March 2015 Commencement date: Wednesday, 18 March 2015 Expiry date: Tuesday, 17 March 2020 Decision Based on the assessment detailed in this document the Department of Environment Regulation (DER), has decided to issue a licence. DER considers that in reaching this decision, it has taken into account all relevant considerations and legal requirements and that the Licence and its conditions will ensure that an appropriate level of environmental protection is provided. Decision Document prepared by: Steve Checker and Paul Anderson

Licensing Officers Decision Document authorised by: Alana Kidd

Manager Licensing


Contents Decision Document 1 Contents 2 1 Purpose of this Document 2 2 Administrative summary 3 3 Executive summary of proposal and assessment 4 4 Decision table 6 5 Advertisement and consultation table 11 6 Risk Assessment 12 Appendix A 13 Appendix B 14

1 Purpose of this Document This decision document explains how DER has assessed and determined the application and provides a record of DER’s decision-making process and how relevant factors have been taken into account. Stakeholders should note that this document is limited to DER’s assessment and decision making under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986. Other approvals may be required for the proposal, and it is the proponent’s responsibility to ensure they have all relevant approvals for their Premises. Works approval and licence conditions DER has three types of conditions that may be imposed on works approvals and licences. They are as follows; Standard conditions (SC) DER has standard conditions that are imposed on all works approvals and licences regardless of the activities undertaken on the Premises and the information provided in the application. These are included as the following conditions on works approvals and licences:

Works approval conditions: 1.1.1-1.1.4, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 5.1.1and 5.1.2. Licence conditions: 1.1.1-1.1.4, 1.2.1-1.2.4, 5.1.1-5.1.4 and 5.2.1.

For such conditions, justification within the Decision Document is not provided. Optional standard conditions (OSC) In the interests of regulatory consistency DER has a set of optional standard conditions that can be imposed on works approvals and licences. DER will include optional standard conditions as necessary, and are likely to constitute the majority of conditions in any licence. The inclusion of any optional standard conditions is justified in Section 4 of this document. Non standard conditions (NSC) Where the proposed activities require conditions outside the standard conditions suite DER will impose one or more non-standard conditions. These include both premises and sector specific conditions, and are likely to occur within few licences. Where used, justification for the application of these conditions will be included in Section 4.


2 Administrative summary

Administrative details

Application type

Works approval New licence Licence amendment Works approval amendment

Activities that cause the premises to become prescribed premises

Category number(s) Assessed design capacity 58 44,000 tonnes per day

Application verified

Application fee paid

Date: 6/2/2015

Date:19/2/2015

Works Approval has been complied with

Compliance Certificate received

Yes No N/A Yes No N/A

Commercial-in-confidence claim Yes No

Commercial-in-confidence claim outcome

Is the proposal a Major Resource Project? Yes No

Was the proposal referred to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986?

Yes No Referral decision No:

Managed under Part V

Assessed under Part IV

Is the proposal subject to Ministerial Conditions? Yes No

Ministerial statement No: 367

EPA Report No:411 and 1050

Does the proposal involve a discharge of waste into a designated area (as defined in section 57 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986)?

Yes No

Department of Water consulted Yes No

Is the Premises within an Environmental Protection Policy (EPP) Area Yes No

If Yes include details of which EPP(s) here.

Is the Premises subject to any EPP requirements? Yes No

If Yes, include details here, e.g. Site is subject to SO2 requirements of Kwinana EPP.


3 Executive summary of proposal and assessment

The Geraldton Port is managed by the Mid West Ports Authority (MWPA) and is located to the north west of the city centre of Geraldton, approximately 430 km north of Perth. The Port is located on the northern shores of Point Moore and situated within the south-eastern corner of Champion Bay. The Port is surrounded by land zoned Industrial, Commercial and Residential. The nearest residence is located at Crowther St, Beachlands, approximately 100 m south of the port boundary. The Geraldton Port consists of a shipping channel, a 7-berth inner harbour, a fishing boat harbour, a small work boat base and related storage facilities, infrastructure and industries. This licence regulates activities associated with the loading/unloading and storage of bulk granular material. Other prescribed activities occurring at the port such as boat building and seafood processing are regulated through separate DER instruments held by the various occupiers of these premises.

The handling of the following bulk granular products is regulated under this licence: Iron ore Lead sulphide concentrate Copper concentrate Zinc concentrate Nickel concentrate Talc Coal Mineral sands Mineral sands concentrate

Other products are also handled at the Port, which, due to legal advice on the nature of ‘bulk granular material’ have not been historically regulated under the licence. These include:

Grains Petroleum Fertilisers General cargo Stockfeed Livestock

The Port has a maximum bulk granular product handling capacity (not including grain) of 16,000,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) which is largely determined by the limitations of the predominantly rail-based delivery system. Over 14,000,000 tpa of this capacity is centred on iron ore exports through berths 5 and 7. The highest risk bulk granular products handled by the Port are metal concentrates (particularly lead sulphide) which have been historically exported at combined rates of up to approximately 550,000 tpa. Currently the Port handles lead, copper and zinc concentrates through the Berth 4 conveyor system and nickel, copper and zinc concentrates via ‘Rotainer’ loading at Berth 6.


All products, with the exception of talc and Rotainer-loaded concentrates, are stored within sheds onsite. Material can be delivered to the Port via train (grain and iron ore only) or via truck. The Port owns and operates one iron ore train unloader, whilst Karara Mining Limited (KML) own and operate a second iron ore train unloader. There are several truck unloaders for iron ore, mineral sands and talc are unloaded directly into the storage sheds or stockpile (for Talc) after transport to the Port via trucks. Co-operative Bulk Handling own and operate a grain train unloading facility and a single truck unloader which are not currently regulated under this licence as described above. Rotainer-loaded concentrates are loaded into the containers at the minesite and delivered to the port on a campaign basis. There is no storage of Rotainer-loaded product onsite.

Storage sheds for high volume (iron ore) and moderate - high risk (metal concentrates) products are fully sealed with dedicated dust extraction systems. There are two metal concentrates storage sheds onsite, however only one is currently in use. Only one company (MMG) currently stores its metal concentrates (copper, lead and zinc) onsite. The MMG concentrates are loaded at Berth 4 via a conveyor system which has been upgraded significantly since the 1960’s. Other metal concentrate exports (copper, nickel and zinc) are conducted using the Rotainer loading system, which involves the tipping of crane-loaded containers directly into the hold of vessels and represents current best practice in small-volume bulk loading.

The main emissions of note from the Port are lead, copper and nickel dust from the loading and handling of metal concentrates, as well as the fugitive discharge of these materials into the harbour. These emissions are managed via the licence through a comprehensive dust monitoring and analysis programme from four air quality monitoring stations onsite; annual sediment monitoring; general housekeeping conditions, and reporting and notification requirements. This licence reissue is required for continued operation of the port and includes a conversion to the current DER ‘Refire’ format. As a result, changes to the licence format and wording have occurred. As part of the Refire conversion process, a number of standard conditions have also been introduced. The licence reissue also includes changes as follows:

Removal of the requirement for monitoring ambient air concentrations of zinc due to insignificant levels demonstrated in historical monitoring.

Replacement of monthly air quality reporting requirements with requirements based on target exceedances and quarterly reporting of lead levels.

The renaming of several of the sediment monitoring sites in line with MWPA protocol. A detailed overview of Port operations is provided in Appendix B.

.


4 Decision table All applications are assessed in line with the Environmental Protection Act 1986, the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 and DER’s Operational Procedure on Assessing Emissions and Discharges from Prescribed Premises. Where other references have been used in making the decision they are detailed in the decision document. DECISION TABLE

Works Approval / Licence section

Condition number W = Works Approval L= Licence

OSC or NSC

Justification (including risk description & decision methodology where relevant)

Reference documents

General conditions

L1.2.1 – L1.2.5 OSC Standard general conditions have been applied to Licence. OSC 1.2.5 has been added to the Licence to implement all practical measures to minimise the contamination of stormwater and for all contaminated water to be treated prior to discharge as required. Currently, all contaminated stormwater is treated prior to discharge. Contaminated stormwater from Berth 4 and washdown water from the metal concentrates circuit is directed to Hume Inceptor Pits onsite. Previous sampling has identified that this system does not effectively remove contaminants to a level suitable for marine discharge. The Humeceptors have therefore been sealed and are used as collection sumps which are pumped into storage tanks with water returned to the minesite or used in dust suppression in the metal concentrates storage sheds.

NSC 1.2.6 relating to the operation of dust extraction systems in product storage sheds replaces condition 11 in the previous licence.

Premises operation

1.3.1 – 1.3.6 NSC Non-standard premises operation conditions have been directly transferred from the previous Licence to the REFIRE conversion. NSC 1.3.1 outlines the notification requirements for new cargo and replaces condition 1 in the previous licence. NSC 1.3.2 requires ship’s masters to be notified as to clean-up requirements and replaces condition 10 in the previous licence. NSC 1.3.3 requires the collection of spillage in the berths and replaces condition


DECISION TABLE



OSC or NSC


Reference documents

3 in the previous licence. NSC 1.3.4 requires measures to prevent spillage between the vessel and the berth which replaces condition 11 in the previous licence.

Emissions general

L2.1.1 OSC Descriptive limits will be set through condition 2.7.1 of the licence and therefore OSC regarding recording and investigation of exceedances of limits or targets has been included.

N/A

Point source emissions to air including monitoring

L2.2 N/A No significant point source emissions to air are anticipated during the operation of the Port. As the previous licence contained no conditions relating to point source emissions to air, no such conditions have been added to the reissued licence.

General provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1986

Point source emissions to surface water including monitoring

L2.3.1

OSC Point source emissions to surface water have not been reassessed as part of this licence reissue. OSC 2.3.1 has been included in the licence to identify stormwater discharge points. MWPA have advised DER that an audit of their stormwater system will be undertaken shortly to verify the status and location of stormwater discharge points. Once the port’s stormwater management plan has been updated, DER intends to amend the licence to include a hydrocarbon limit on stormwater discharge.

Environmental Protection (Unauthorised Discharges) Regulations 2004

Point source emissions to groundwater including monitoring

L2.4 N/A No significant point source emissions to groundwater are anticipated during the operation of the Port. As the previous licence contained no conditions relating to point source emissions to groundwater, no such conditions have been added to the reissued licence.


Emissions to land including monitoring

L2.5 N/A Emissions to land have not been reassessed as part of the licence reissue. As the previous licence contained no conditions relating to emissions to land, no such conditions have been added to this reissued licence.


Fugitive emissions

L2.6.1

NSC

Emissions for general dust and metal concentrates dust (except zinc) have not been reassessed as part of this licence reissue. DER’s assessment and decision making in relation to fugitive emissions of zinc is outlined in Appendix A.



DECISION TABLE



OSC or NSC


Reference documents

NSC 2.6.1 replaces condition 9 in the previous licence and requires the proponent to undertake reasonable and practicable measures to prevent dust from crossing the premises boundary. This condition excludes dust from metal concentrates loading/handling as the parliamentary ‘Inquiry into the cause and extent of lead pollution in the Esperance area’ identified that DER should not be regulating hazardous dust (i.e. metals) emissions from ports through general dust management conditions.

Odour L2.7.1 OSC Sources of odours onsite include nickel concentrates and metal concentrates containing xanthates. Odour has not been reassessed as part of the licence reissue. OSC 2.7.1 replaces condition 2 in the previous licence which prohibits odours generated onsite from impacting the health or amenity of receptors offsite.


Noise L2.8

N/A

Noise emissions have not been reassessed as part of the licence reissue. As the previous licence contained no conditions relating to noise, no such conditions have been added to this reissued licence.

Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997

Monitoring general

L3.1.1 – L3.1.4 OSC

OSC 3.1.1 has been added to the licence to require testing to be performed by a NATA accredited laboratory. OSC 3.1.2 has been added to the licence to specify timeframes for monitoring. OSC 3.1.3 and 3.1.4 have been added to ensure monitoring equipment is correctly calibrated and to outline measures to be taken where calibration cannot be undertaken.

Monitoring of inputs and outputs

L3.6

N/A There are no specified conditions relating to the monitoring of inputs and outputs required to be added to this licence.

General provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

Process L3.7 N/A There are no specified conditions relating to process monitoring required to be N/A


DECISION TABLE



OSC or NSC


Reference documents

monitoring added to this licence.

Ambient quality monitoring

L3.8.1 L3.8.2 - L3.8.3

OSC NSC

Requirements for ambient monitoring have not been reassessed as part of this licence reissue with the exception of zinc ambient air quality monitoring which is covered under ‘fugitive emissions’ above and Appendix A to this document. Condition 3.8.1 outlines ambient quality monitoring requirements for air and sediment and replaces conditions 5(a), 5(b), 7 and 13(a) in the previous licence. The sixteen sediment monitoring sites nominated in the previous licence have been carried over to the reissued licence in condition 3.8.1 however some of the site designations have been updated in accordance with current MWPA protocol. NSC 3.2.1 and 3.8.3 related to sediment monitoring reporting requirements replace conditions 15(a) and 15 (b) in the previous licence. DER has identified that the sediment monitoring conditions, methodology and trigger values are in need of review. This will be conducted in consultation with the MWPA and their marine consultant with any changes captured via licence amendment.

Meteorological monitoring

L3.9 N/A Requirements for meteorological monitoring have not been reassessed as part of this licence reissue. As the previous licence did not contain specified conditions relating to meteorological monitoring, no such conditions have been added to the required to be added to this licence. Meteorological monitoring requirements have not historically been included on the licence as the location of the monitoring station in the vicinity of product loading (Transfer Tower 501) was not able to be installed in accordance with Australian Standards due to the amount of infrastructure in the area. MWPA currently do not have a procedure for meteorological monitoring.

N/A

Improvements

L4 N/A Requirements for improvement conditions have not been reassessed as part of this licence reissue. There are no specified conditions relating to improvements required to be added to the licence.

N/A


DECISION TABLE



OSC or NSC


Reference documents

Information L5.2.2 OSC Condition 16 of the previous licence required submission of a monthly air quality report related to metal concentrates loading. The need for monthly reporting has diminished since the amendment of the lead limit to 0.5 µg/m3 (as 3 month rolling average) in 2013 as recommended by the Department of Health (DoH). Lead levels have been consistently under 0.03 µg/m3 since this time. Condition 16 has been replaced in the reissued licence by OSC 5.2.3 which requires quarterly reporting of the three-month rolling average for lead and notification of metal concentrate target exceedances including associated air quality, meteorological and shiploading data. OSC 5.3.1 also requires the notification of any breach of licence limits by 5pm on the next working day.

N/A

Licence Duration

N/A N/A The licence is proposed to be issued for a period of five years in accordance with standard DER procedure. There are no factors that warrant the limiting of the licence duration.

N/A


5 Advertisement and consultation table Date Event Comments received/Notes How comments were taken into

consideration 02/03/2015 Application advertised in West

Australian newspaper None

N/A

06/03/2015 Proponent sent a copy of draft instrument

Minor corrections relating to infrastructure and operational descriptions in decision document

Decision document updated accordingly

EnviroLicencFile Nu

6 Note: T

Table

onmental Protecce: L4275/1982/umber: 2011/00

Risk AThis matrix is t

e 1: Emiss

ction Act 1986 /15 00451

Assessmtaken from the

sions Risk

ment e DER Corpora

k Matrix

ate Policy Stattement No. 07

7 - Operational

P

IRLB_

l Risk Manage

Page 12 of 20

_TI0669 v2.6

ement


Appendix A Fugitive emissions MWPA export a number of concentrates which contain a zinc fraction, including zinc concentrate. MWPA have been monitoring ambient zinc at the premises boundary since September 2010 against a Licence target of 50.0 µg/m3 as PM10 which was provided to DER by the Department of Health (DoH). Over 2800 zinc samples have been analysed in that time with a maximum recorded concentration of 8.2 µg/m3 which was recorded prior to the introduction of improved metal concentrates loading and monitoring practices in April 2011. In the last 12-months, the maximum zinc concentration recorded was 1.7 µg/m3. Average monthly zinc concentrations have been below 0.3 µg/m3 since April 2011. On 2 April 2013 DoH advised DER that they supported the removal of zinc ambient air quality monitoring from the Geraldton Port licence. Zinc concentrate shiploading/handling is subject to the same monitoring requirements and management controls as all other metal concentrates as it potentially contains lead, copper and other hazardous fractions. Operation Emission Description Emission: Fugitive emissions of zinc dust from metal concentrates loading/handling. Impact: Contamination of surrounding land and marine environment. Limited impacts expected as zinc is relatively low toxicity and monitoring has shown that zinc dust levels from the port are significantly under the recommended target. Controls: Most product transported in kibbles and in-shed unloading within dedicated storage sheds with a number of pollution control features. Remainder is loaded via ‘best-practice’ Rotainer system. Product conditioning to 8-9% moisture to limit dust generation. Controls during product loading including dust extraction at transfer points, foam applied to conveyors, maximum product loading rates, wind speed/direction loading protocols and continuous vacuum sweeping of berth and vessel deck during loading. Risk Assessment Consequence: Minor Likelihood: Rare Risk Rating: Low Regulatory Controls Condition 7 of the previous licence required the monitoring and analysis of zinc dust during shiploading events. Zinc dust emissions from the port have been assessed as low risk to and the zinc monitoring requirement has been removed as part of this licence reissue as agreed to by DoH. Zinc concentrate shiploading/handling events are still subject to the same monitoring and management requirements under the licence as for all other metal concentrates including continuous monitoring for lead, copper and general dust. Residual Risk Consequence: Minor Likelihood: Rare Risk Rating: Low


Appendix B GERALDTON PORT OVERVIEW The Geraldton Port consists of a shipping channel, an inner harbour, a fishing boat harbour, a small work boat base and related storage facilities, infrastructure and industries. Activities at the Geraldton Port include:

Transfer of product to the port by truck and rail Bulk loading/unloading Product storage Boat building/maintenance Local fishing industry base (wet line, rock lobster, prawn and scallop vessels) Seafood processing Miscellaneous businesses such as seafood and marine equipment retailers Mooring pens for commercial craft

This licence regulates activities associated with the loading/unloading and storage of bulk granular material. Other prescribed activities occurring at the port such as boat building and seafood processing are regulated through separate DER instruments held by the occupiers of these premises. The Geraldton Port Authority inner harbour currently has 7 berths with normal use as follows:

Berth 1: Maintenance, occasional Rotainer metal concentrates loading Berth 2: Misc. use, bunkers, inloading of fertiliser and mineral sands concentrates,

occasional Rotainer metal concentrates loading Berth 3: Grain Berth 4: Metal concentrates, mineral sands, talc Berth 5: Iron ore Berth 6: Miscellaneous cargo, fuel, fertiliser, Rotainer metal concentrates loading Berth 7: Iron ore

Product is transported from the bulk storage facilities at the southern end of the Port via a network of conveyors and transfer towers. Transfer towers enclose the points of directional change of product (from one conveyor to another), which are the most significant sources of dust generation in the transport network. They also typically house pollution control equipment such as dust extraction and suppression systems, belt scrapers and the like. The common use transport and shiploader infrastructure is operated by a third party stevedore. The Berth 7 iron ore facility is operated by Karara Mining Limited. The layout of the berths at Geraldton Port as shown in figure 1 below:


Figure 1: Geraldton Port Layout

Metal Ore Concentrates (Berths 4 and 6) Concentrates are conglomerates of minerals and are typically identified by their main metal component. Lead, zinc, copper and nickel concentrates are currently exported through the Geraldton Port. In addition to the main metal component, these concentrates may contain lead, copper, zinc, iron, arsenic, sulphur and silica in varying proportions. The metal ore concentrates present the largest risk of all prescribed materials handled by MWPA in terms of human health and environmental impacts. Metal concentrate products handled by MWPA are typically low-bioavailablity sulphides which present a lower risk to human health and the environment than other forms. Up to approximately 550,000 tpa of concentrates have historically been exported through the Geraldton Port. The bulk of these (all lead and most copper and zinc concentrates) are exported via Berth 4 by MMG. Other metal concentrate exports (copper and zinc and a small number of nickel loads) are conducted at Berth 6 using a ‘Rotainer’ loading system (Qube Rotabox), which involves the tipping of loaded containers via crane directly into the vessel’s hold and represents current best practice in small-volume bulk loading.

Much of the Berth 4 infrastructure and transport network was constructed in the 1960s and has been significantly upgraded over the years. The Berth 4 shiploader conveyor, CV4, is only partially enclosed and has been the subject of unsuccessful attempts to progress to full cover. Engineering


reports have indicated that the berth itself is not able to support significant additional weight on the shiploader which along with wind loading concerns has limited available options for Berth 4 upgrades. Nonetheless, a large number of smaller infrastructure upgrades to the concentrates circuit and significant improvements in housekeeping and product handling/loading have resulted in satisfactory performance from Berth 4 loading in recent years. In June 2007, DER conducted an assessment of the concentrate handling practices at the Geraldton Port and determined that whilst metal contamination outside of the premises boundary was not detected in significant levels, the infrastructure and handling practices for concentrates (lead in particular) was substandard. Since that time, MWPA have introduced a number of improvements to the mineral concentrate conveyor network and in mineral concentrate handling, loading and storage practices. Improvements were validated in early 2011 when an interagency investigation lead by DoH identified that onsite contamination impacts from metal concentrates had reduced since 2007 and that again, no significant offsite contamination was discovered. Metal concentrate storage There are two metal concentrates storage sheds onsite, however only one is currently in use. Only one company (MMG) currently stores its metal concentrates (copper, lead and zinc) onsite. Metal concentrate storage incorporates a number of controls to minimise potential emissions such as:

Door interlock systems to prevent simultaneous opening of both doors (which may cause a wind tunnel effect within the shed)

Sheds operate under negative pressure Automated tripper systems Internal fogging systems Product delivered on a campaign basis with relatively high moisture content of 7-9%

(moisture content is retained – only very short term storage) Active (baghouse/wet scrubber) dust extraction systems Ore trucked from the mine in kibbles (enclosed storage vessel). Kibbles are moved to

the appropriate storage location within the shed (as opposed to bulk dumping on the floor) thereby minimising handling and tracking out of material

Wheel cleaners are utilised on trucks prior to exiting the sheds Motorised floor sweeper based permanently within the sheds

There is no storage of Rotainer-loaded product onsite. Concentrates are loaded into the Rotainers at the minesite and delivered to the port on a campaign basis. Mineral Sands (Berth 4) Mineral sands are currently exported through Berth 4 by Iluka Resources Ltd and GMA Garnet Ltd. Iluka products historically handled are zircon sands, synthetic rutile, synthetic rutile enhanced product, ilmenite and rutile. Since 2010, Iluka imports a Heavy Mineral Sands Concentrate (HMC) from its Jacinth-Ambrosia project in Eucla, South Australia for processing at its Narngulu facility. GMA Garnet export garnet sands and ilmenite. In June 2008 MWPA commissioned a Cleveland Cascade Chute for the loading of Mineral Sands. This chute comprises a series of cascading buckets which deliver product into the ship’s hold at low exit velocity. The chute was installed to help combat dust issues from the loading of synthetic rutile products, which are typically of small particle size, dark in colour and loaded with a very low moisture content. To date, the operation of the chute has been very effective in controlling dust emissions. All of the mineral sands currently handled by MWPA has been assessed as posing a low risk to health and the environment


Mineral sands storage GMA Garnet operates a single segregated shed for storage of their products. DER has not identified any issues with the storage of GMA Garnet product. Iluka stores its various products in a number of sheds in the bulk storage area. The Iluka storage sheds have been recently upgraded. Iron Ore (Berths 5 and 7) Iron ore (hematite and magnetite) is currently unloaded via rail or truck, stored in dedicated sheds and loaded at Berths 5 and 7. The iron ore truck and rail unloaders are equipped with dust extraction systems. The Berth 5 shiploader and conveyor system was constructed under works approval W4183 and was commissioned in January 2008. Berth 5 currently exports principally hematite iron ore. Karara Mining Limited operates Berth 7 for the export of hematite and magnetite iron ore. The Karara storage shed and shiploader were constructed under works approval W4461 and commissioned in late 2012. Iron ore dust has historically been a source of community concern, particularly in relation to nuisance impacts on the adjacent fishing boat harbour. However, with improvements to infrastructure and environmental management, there have been no complaints received by DER on this issue for a number of years. Iron ore storage There are currently five dedicated storage sheds for iron ore in use at the Port. Three are located in the ‘Bulk Handling Facility’ area and two in the area behind Berths 5 and 6. Iron ore storage facilities outload via front end loaders and internal hoppers and are directly connected to shiploading conveyors. The existing sheds share a number of features to help minimise the release of dust from product handling activities, such as:

Sealed construction Active internal dust collection/extraction through wet scrubbers or baghouses Active dust suppression at key external transfer points Negative pressure environment during operation

Berth 5 shiploader The Berth 5 shiploader is mostly enclosed with openings in the gallery to facilitate movement of the shiploader along the berth and at the chute and incorporates dust extraction and suppression throughout. This includes

enclosure of critical dust generating points baghouse dust extraction at transfer points conveyor misting sprays conveyor scrapers and brushes a shiploader chute fogger

Berth 7 shiploader Karara operate the Berth 7 bulk storage facility and shiploader is mostly enclosed with openings in the gallery to facilitate movement of the shiploader along the berth and at the chute and incorporates dust extraction and suppression throughout. This includes

enclosure of critical dust generating points baghouse dust extraction at transfer points conveyor misting sprays conveyor scrapers and brushes a shiploader chute fogger real-time infrared ore moisture content sensors


Talc (Berth 6) Talc (along with other general products) is exported from Berth 4. Talc is stored in open lump stockpiles (with minimal fines content) near the mineral sands concentrates storage sheds. Dust generation is minimised through general housekeeping and wetting of the ore prior to handling. Wastewater infrastructure The following outlines the key wastewater infrastructure at the Geraldton Port:

Location Current Management Iron ore/mineral sands drainage/washdown sumps

There are four sumps for the washdown of handling equipment and/or runoff associated with minerals sands and iron ore located adjacent to potentially contaminated areas (e.g. truck and train unloaders, transfer towers). Three of these sumps incorporate filtration screens and a weir system and discharge to soak wells. There is one sump (adjacent to transfer tower 2) which incorporates filtration screens and a weir system and disposes of water to the stormwater system.

MMG western washdown bay

The bay located between the MMG Minerals shed and the iron ore storage sheds receives concentrate washdown from the MMG loadout conveyor and associated transfer tower as well as iron ore washdown from loaders. Washdown water is contained within sumps and typically reused within the iron ore sheds for dust suppression. Settled solids are removed from the sump as required, stored in kibbles and returned to the MMG Scuddles and Gossan Hill mine site

Berth 4 washdown bays

There are two washdown bays on Berth 4 for the cleaning of ship loading and other equipment. Currently, contaminated washdown water is directed to Hume Inceptor Pits under Berth 4. This is sufficient to remove sediment form non hazardous cargo loading such as mineral sands and talc. Previous sampling has identified that this system does not effectively remove metal concentrates to a level suitable for marine discharge. The interceptors are therefore sealed and are used as collection sumps during metal concentrates washdown. Contents of the interceptors are pumped into storage tanks with water returned to the minesite or used in dust suppression in the metal concentrates storage sheds.

Stormwater management The Port’s stormwater system discharges stormwater to the inner harbour via a number of outfalls. The Port stormwater system collects and directs stormwater runoff from the port precinct and is also connected to municipal systems outside of the port boundaries. Stormwater from residential and industrial areas of the suburbs of Geraldton and Beachlands is discharged to the harbour via the MWPA’s stormwater system. Historical monitoring of stormwater has occasionally shown elevated nutrient and hydrocarbon levels which maybe attributable to activities outside of the port precinct. MWPA employs the following measures to minimise discharge of product to the environment via the stormwater system:

MWPA lease contracts require leaseholders to manage stormwater appropriately Leaseholders are inspected on a regular basis (up to once per day) for housekeeping and

general compliance Stormwater runoff from the Iluka lease passes through a triple interceptor trap prior to

discharge


Sweeping of common use areas is contracted to a commercial road sweeper. MWPA has developed an engineering ‘Drainage Master Plan’ to assist in the management of any drainage and stormwater issues. Hydrocarbon storage MWPA maintains a 2,000 litre diesel storage tank behind the workshop at Berth 1. The tank is situated on hardstand and is located such that any spills are not expected to impact the marine environment. Contractors also maintain a 2,000 litre diesel tank near the mineral sands storage sheds. The tank is contained within a bunded compound and surrounded by bitumen hardstand. It is located near the southern boundary of the port, quite removed from the harbour. Air Quality Monitoring The MWPA maintains four air quality monitoring stations at the premises boundary. The location of the stations was selected with input from DER Air Quality Branch to meet (as far as possible) the requirements of AS/NZS 3580.1.1: 2007 Methods for sampling and analysis of ambient air – Part 1.1: Guide to siting air monitoring equipment. Each monitoring station houses a TEOM, a HiVol with PM10 inlet and a HiVol with TSP inlet. Continuous (as 10 minute average) TEOM data for dust as PM10 is logged on a central computer and is able to be monitored in real-time by the Port’s environmental and operational staff to assist in mitigating and investigating dust issues. The current configuration of the Air Quality Monitoring Network was reached on 28 March 2012 when the historic Berth 6 Monitoring station was relocated to its current site at Connell Road. The remainder of the Air Quality Monitoring Stations have been in their current locations since August 2011. Prior to 9 May 2011 the Port Way site was referred to as the “BP” site and the Lemmon Road site as “Fishing Boat Harbour” site. The change in naming conventions was implemented to more accurately define the dust monitor locations. An additional offsite air quality monitoring station was commissioned during January 2013 which comprises a BAM1020 real-time air quality monitor able to collect general, unspeciated dust data. . This site is been located at Bluff Point several kilometres north of the Port and is not subject to licence requirements. This location was selected as modelling identified that it was outside the area of impact from the port’s operations and it is used to collect background/regional data. Monitoring results from the offsite station are available to DER on request. Air quality monitoring at the Port is conducted in accordance with the MWPA Air Quality Sampling and Analysis Plan (current version 5, January 2014). MWPA have advised that the plan will be submitted for independent review shortly. Sediment Monitoring Sediment sampling and analysis is conducted at 16 sites in accordance with the MWPA Sediment Sampling and Analysis Plan. The programme was developed by Oceanica marine consultants and covers the main contaminants in products handled at the Port as well as those potentiallty introduced by other activities onsite. Historically, elevated levels of metals have been detected to varying degrees in the inner harbour, however these have been attenuating in recent years due to improved loading and handling practices onsite.


In 2014, the MWPA changed the site identification nomenclature for sediment monitoring sites as per table below. These changes have been reflected in the current licence.

Sediment Monitoring Sites Current Site Identification

Previous Site Identification

Location Easting (MGA z 50)

Northing (MGA z 50)

ORA1 ORA1 North of outer reclamation area

264610 6815170

ORA2 ORA2 Outside mouth of FBH 264903 6815043 FBH1 OF1 FBH 264642 6814483 FBH2 OF2 FBH 264644 6814650 CH1 B31 Berth 3 Pocket 265465 6814441 CH2 B41 Berth 3 Pocket 265373 6814420 CH3 B42 Berth 4 Pocket 265271 6814425 CH4 B43 Berth 4 Pocket 265133 6814394 CH5 B51 Berth 5 Pocket 265091 6814535 CH6 B61 Berth 5 Pocket 265123 6814630 CH9 MH2 Main Harbour 265374 6814658 CH10 MH3 Main Harbour 265662 6814999 YM1 YM1 Tug Pens 265873 6814503 TB1 TB1 Town Beach 266094 6814790 CS1 CS1 Control Site 266265 6817839 CS2 CS2 Control Site 266163 6817924

Meteorological Monitoring MWPA maintain two continuous meteorological monitoring stations at the Geraldton Port. Stations are located at Tower 501 (at the western end of Berth 4) and offshore to the north west of Berth 7 Operators monitor real time data during shiploading with regard to the MWPA’s internal wind loading parameters for ships loading metal concentrates. These limits take into account the distance of the berth from the port boundary, wind speed and wind direction. These limits are outlined in the following MWPA procedures.

Procedure 4.4 Loading Metal Concentrates – Berth 4 BHF Procedure 4.4D Loading Metal Concentrates via Containers

Meteorological monitoring requirements have not historically been included on the licence as the location of the monitoring station in the vicinity of product loading (Transfer Tower 501) was not able to be installed in accordance with Australian Standards due to the amount of infrastructure in the area. MWPA currently do not have a procedure for meteorological monitoring. Stormwater Monitoring MWPA implement a stormwater monitoring programme largely focussed on collection and analysis of ‘first flush’ stormwater caused by rainfall events following extended dry periods. Due to the difficulties in collecting first flush stormwater, the significant rainfalls required to cause flow in the stormwater system and difficulties in interpreting sampling results, stormwater and surface water monitoring requirements were removed from the licence in 2009 in favour of a comprehensive sediment monitoring programme which includes sampling locations designed to capture stormwater outfalls.

Documents

Contents · 2017. 10. 5. · • Iron ore • Lead sulphide concentrate • Copper concentrate • Zinc concentrate • Nickel concentrate • Talc • Coal • Mineral sands •