FINAL Mining Area C Southern Flank PER May 2017.pdf -...

Unformatted text preview: Mining Area C – Southern Flank Public Environmental Review Document May 2017 BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review Document tracking Item Project name Saved location of document Prepared by Reviewed by Approved for release by Status/version number Date saved Cover photo Detail Mining Area C – Southern Flank Cabinets/Managed Documents/HEALTH SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT/HSE Environment/Environment Operations/Environmental Management/Approvals/South Flank/Submissions/PER/PER_May 2017 for public release Sarah Williamson, Belinda Barnett Renelle Thorpe Gavin Price, Head of Environment Analysis and Improvement Final/Rev 3 3 May 2017 BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Page ii INVITATION TO MAKE A SUBMISSION The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) invites people to make a submission on the environmental review for this proposal. BHP Billiton Iron Ore proposes to develop and operate a new satellite iron ore deposit located immediately south of the existing Mining Area C operation at Southern Flank which will become part of the Mining Area C hub and increase disturbance within the existing Mining Area C operation (the Proposal). In accordance with the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act), this Public Environmental Review (PER) has been prepared by BHP Billiton Iron Ore to describe the Proposal and its likely effects on the environment. The PER is available for a public review period of [4] weeks from 8 May 2017, closing on 6 June 2017. Information on the proposal from the public may assist the EPA to prepare an assessment report in which it will make recommendations on the proposal to the Minister for Environment. Why write a submission? The EPA seeks information that will inform the EPA’s consideration of the likely effect of the proposal, if implemented, on the environment. This may include relevant new information that is not in the Public Environmental Review, such as alternative courses of action or approaches. In preparing its assessment report for the Minister for Environment, the EPA will consider the information in submissions, the proponent’s responses and other relevant information. Submissions will be treated as public documents unless provided and received in confidence, subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 1992. Why not join a group? It may be worthwhile joining a group or other groups interested in making a submission on similar issues. Joint submissions may help to reduce the workload for an individual or group. If you form a small group (up to 10 people) please indicate all the names of the participants. If your group is larger, please indicate how many people your submission represents. Developing a submission You may agree or disagree with, or comment on information in the Public Environmental Review Document. When making comments on specific elements in the PER document: Clearly state your point of view and give reasons for your conclusions. Reference the source of your information, where applicable. Suggest alternatives to improve the outcomes on the environment. What to include in your submission Include the following in your submission to make it easier for the EPA to consider your submission: Your contact details – name and address. Date of your submission Whether you want your contact details to be confidential. Summary of your submission, if your submission is long. List points so that issues raised are clear, preferably by environmental factor. Refer each point to the page, section and if possible, paragraph of the PER. Attach any reference material, if applicable. Make sure your information is accurate. The closing date for submissions is Tuesday, 6 June 2017. The EPA prefers submissions to be made electronically via the EPA’s consultation hub at Alternatively, submissions can be: posted to: Chairman, Environmental Protection Authority, Locked Bag 10, East Perth 6892; or delivered to the Environmental Protection Authority, Level 8, The Atrium, 168 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia. If you have any questions on how to make a submission, please contact the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority (OEPA), on (08) 6145 0800. BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty. Ltd. (BHP Billiton Iron Ore) proposes to develop and operate a new satellite iron ore deposit, located immediately south of the existing Mining Area C operation, at Southern Flank, which will become part of the Mining Area C hub, and to increase the disturbance at the existing Mining Area C hub (the Proposal). The Proposal is located approximately 100 kilometres (km) northwest of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Proposal will use existing ore processing facilities located at the Mining Area C hub, including, but not limited to, ore handling plant, stockyard and train load-out facilities coupled with the addition of new ore processing facilities within the current Mining Area C hub. Primary crushing and open-pit mining activities will take place in the Southern Flank locality. This reflects BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s current approach of developing new ore-bodies that are able to use existing infrastructure at established mining hubs. This approach will minimise the amount of disturbance and therefore impacts associated with the Proposal. The ore resource of the Southern Flank satellite ore body has been estimated at approximately 1,850 million tonnes (Mt). Production from the Southern Flank satellite mine (approximately 80 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa)) will replace declining iron ore supplies, which is currently produced by other BHP Billiton Iron Ore mining operations in the Pilbara and therefore enable BHP Billiton Iron Ore to sustain its current level of iron ore production from its Pilbara mines. Mining will be undertaken using conventional open-pit iron ore mining activities both above and below the water table and will require mine dewatering ahead of mining to facilitate dry mining conditions. Approximately eight percent of the ore resource at the Southern Flank satellite ore body is estimated to be below the water table. Thus, the Proposal will require in-pit and ex-pit mine dewatering (i.e. groundwater abstraction) ahead of accessing ore resources that are below the water table to facilitate dry mining conditions. Open pits will be developed using conventional drill and blast techniques. Ore will be transported via an overland conveyor to ore handling facilities at the Mining Area C hub and then transported by rail to Port Hedland for export. This Public Environmental Review (PER) document provides supporting information to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to enable it to undertake its assessment under s38 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act). This document provides information about the existing environment, options considered for replacement of iron ore mined from BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s Pilbara mines, an assessment of potential impacts of implementation of the Proposal, any proposed mitigation measures and as assessment of whether the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) objectives will be met. This PER document describes BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s regional management approach to manage potential impacts of the EPA’s environmental factors. In 1998, the existing Mining Area C mining operation was approved under Part IV of the EP Act as the Multiple Iron Ore Mine Development Mining Area C Northern Flank via Ministerial Statement (MS) 491. A draft Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was attached to the Mining Area C Public Environmental Review, which provided details of the management requirements during construction and operation of the Deposit C and Brockman Detrital deposits. MS 491 provided an ongoing mechanism for the development of the remaining 12 deposits in the Northern Flank of Mining Area C (Proponent Commitment 2), subject to the EMP being reviewed and updated as deposits are developed (Proponent Commitment 3). Page v BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review In 2016, Revision 6 of the EMP (EMP Revision 6) was accepted by the OEPA as the current version of the EMP. The EMP Revision 6 provided information on the potential environmental impacts as a result of mining of all 14 deposits within the Mining Area C Development Envelope. For the purposes of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) undertaken as part of EMP Revision 6, an impact assessment area of 11,377 hectares (ha) was used. The current MS 491 allows for clearing of up to 5,385 ha anywhere within the 11,377 ha, of which 4,792 ha have been cleared under MS 491 as of 31 December 2016. However, it is noted that the EMP update mechanism does not accommodate a change of the key characteristics for Mining Area C. Therefore, this Proposal includes a request for an additional 5,942 ha of disturbance within the EMP Revision 6 Indicative Impact Assessment Area. Outcomes from the EIAs previously undertaken to support the development of the EMP Revision 6 are discussed in this document. As the additional clearing may occur anywhere in the 11,377 ha, the EIAs have assessed potential impacts for the entire 11,377 ha, not just the additional clearing. As Southern Flank and Northern Flank (Mining Area C) operations will be operated as one hub it is proposed that MS 491 be replaced with a new MS. This document therefore provides information on the following: Mining Area C (Northern Flank) Development Envelope: The area (25,815 ha) currently approved as the development envelope under MS 491. Additional Development Envelope: The additional area (10,218 ha) that contains the Southern Flank satellite orebodies. Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope: This is the proposed development envelope for the full Mining Area C hub. It consists of the Mining Area C (Northern Flank) Development Envelope and the Additional Development Envelope (Southern Flank) and will constitute the boundary of the new MS if approved. Mining Area C Revision 6 EMP Impact Assessment Area: The area (11,377 ha) that was used for the purposes of impact assessment in line with Condition 7 and commitments 2 and 3 of MS 491 via EMP Revision 6 in January 2016. Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area: The indicative spatial area for the development of the Southern Flank ore body, based on the mine plan and design at the time of submission and is used as an assessment tool. The locations of these areas are shown in Figure ES-1. BHP Billiton Iron Ore has developed a regional management approach in consultation with government agencies, including the EPA, over a number of years. The approach is being implemented as part of an increased business focus on simplification to improve the way we do business and to achieve better environmental outcomes in five key areas: water planning; mine closure; biodiversity; noise and air quality. BHP Billiton Iron Ore considers that this Proposal provides an opportunity to further embed this approach. BHP Billiton Iron Ore and its entities have operated in the Pilbara for over 50 years. BHP Billiton Iron Ore have undertaken numerous studies to support proposals in the Pilbara region, including in the vicinity of this Proposal. BHP Billiton Iron Ore have used its knowledge of the environment, together with an understanding of EIA in the Pilbara region, to undertake an assessment for this Proposal. The assessment took into consideration the EPA’s Environmental Assessment Guideline 8 for Environmental Factors and Objectives (EAG 8) (EPA, 2013a), the EPA’s Statement of Environmental Principles, Factors and Objectives (EPA, 2016a) and the OEPA Environmental scoping document (OEPA, 2016) to identify the following as preliminary key environmental factors: Page vi BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review flora and vegetation; terrestrial fauna (including short-range endemics); subterranean fauna; hydrological processes; inland waters environmental quality; heritage; rehabilitation and decommissioning; and offsets. Other environmental factors that were assessed as part of this Proposal are: landforms; terrestrial environmental quality; air quality (including greenhouse gas emissions); amenity; and human health (noise). A summary of the potential impacts to the environmental factors considered during the impact assessment process is provided in Table ES-1, which includes the potential impacts associated with additional clearing within the Mining Area C EMP Revision 6 (BHP Billiton Iron Ore, 2015a) impact assessment area, the potential impacts associated with the development of the ore body at Southern Flank and the potential cumulative impacts associated with the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope following implementation of the Proposal. The significance of the impact of the implementation of the Proposal on the environmental factors was assessed in line with the EPA’s EAG 9 for Application of a Significance Framework in the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EPA, 2013b). BHP Billiton Iron Ore have concluded that some factors may be considered preliminary key environmental factors as listed above. Sections 11 and 12 respectively provide a description and evaluation of, the key and other environmental factors listed above. Section 12 details the potential impacts (both inherent and residual following application of the mitigation hierarchy) arising from the Proposal for those factors whose significance was determined to be a preliminary key factor. For those factors that were evaluated to be preliminary key environmental factors in the Environmental Scoping Document phase, Section 11 provides further discussion on what specific management actions BHP Billiton Iron Ore has taken to mitigate the proposed environmental impact of the Proposal in line with the mitigation hierarchy published in the WA Environmental Offsets Guidelines (Government of Western Australia, 2014). A figure illustrating the range of actions taken to address the mitigation hierarchy is provided in Figure ES 2. Each discussion includes an evaluation of whether the EPA objective can be met. Impact assessments undertaken as part of the Proposal for two factors that were considered to be preliminary key factors (Inland Waters Environmental Quality and Heritage) have demonstrated that these factors can meet the EPA objective without the need for application of the mitigation hierarchy or Ministerial Conditions and are therefore not considered likely to have a significant effect on the environment. Page vii BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review BHP Billiton Iron Ore has had due regard for the principles of ecological sustainable development of the EP Act. BHP Billiton Iron Ore has extensive regional data sets, and endorsed current management practises on which the environmental impact assessments were based, offering a high degree of confidence in impact assessments. Where inherent impacts have been assessed as significant the application of the mitigation hierarchy based on a robust scientific methodology has resulted in a reduction of potential impacts to a level BHP Billiton Iron Ore considers reasonable and all EPA objectives are considered to be met. BHP Billiton Iron Ore considers that the information and assessment presented in this PER adequately identifies and addresses environmental impacts relevant to the Proposal, adequately addresses the environmental scoping document and is suitable to enable the EPA to undertake its assessment of the Proposal. Page viii 118°50'0"E 118°55'0"E 119°0'0"E 119°5'0"E 118°45'0"E 118°50'0"E 118°55'0"E 119°0'0"E 119°5'0"E 23°0'0"S 23°0'0"S 22°55'0"S 22°55'0"S 118°45'0"E BHP BILLITON IRON ORE Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope Approved Mining Area C (Northern Flank) Development Envelope Liability BHPBIO does not warrant that this map is free from errors or omissions. BHPBIO shall not be in any way liable for loss, damage or injury to the user of this map or any other person or organisation consequent upon or incidental to the existence of errors or omissions on this map. This map has been compiled with data from numerous sources with different levels of reliability and is considered by the authors to be fit for its in tended purpose at the time of publication. However, it should be noted that the information shown may be subject to change and ultimately, map users are required to determine the suitability of use for any particular purpose. Additional Development Envelope MINING AREA C - SOUTHERN FLANK Spatial Areas as Disscussed in PER Document Mining Area C EMP Rev 6 Impact Assessment Area Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area Scale @ A4: 1:150,000 Date: Revision: 12/01/2017 Rev B Prepared: Checked: Reviewed: S. TRINDER R. GREGORY S. WILLIAMSON Project No: A780/047 REV B Figure: ES-1 Great Northern Highway BHP Billiton Rail 0 5 10 Kilometres Coordinate System: Central Project Grid (CPG94) Projection: Transverse Mercator Datum: GDA 1994 Document Path: Y:\Jobs\A501_A1000\A780\3Project\A780_056_E_MAC_Southern_Flank_PER_MapES1_RevB.mxd 118°45'0"E 118°50'0"E 118°55'0"E 119°0'0"E 119°5'0"E The Proposal will locate infrastructure at the Mining Area C Hub as opposed to clearing native vegetation for construction of infrastructure (eg ore handling plant and rail) at the Southern Flank satellite ore body. 22°55'0"S 22°55'0"S Re-use of surplus water or return to local groundwater aquifiers. Diversion of surface water around mine to retan flow to natural drainage systems. OSA's moved to reduce amenity impacts to Great Northern Highway 23°0'0"S 23°0'0"S Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area modified to reduce impact to Ghost Bat and Troglofauna Habitat Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area modified to reduce impact to Ghost Bat and Troglofauna Habitat 118°45'0"E Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area modified to retain Troglofauna habitat Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area modified to retain Ghost Bat and Troglofauna Habitat 118°50'0"E 118°55'0"E 119°0'0"E 119°5'0"E Liability BHPBIO does not warrant that this map is free from errors or omissions. BHPBIO shall not be in any way liable for loss, damage or injury to the user of this map or any other person or organisation consequent upon or incidental to the existence of errors or omissions on this map. This map has been compiled with data from numerous sources with different levels of reliability and is considered by the authors to be fit for its in tended purpose at the time of publication. However, it should be noted that the information shown may be subject to change and ultimately, map users are required to determine the suitability of use for any particular purpose. Modified Indicative Impact Assessment Area BHP BILLITON IRON ORE Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope MINING AREA C - SOUTHERN FLANK Implementation of the Mitigation Hierarchy Scale @ A4: 1:150,000 Prepared: S. TRINDER Revision: Reviewed: S. WILLIAMSON Date: 4/05/2017 Rev B Checked: R. GREGORY Project No: A780/048 REV B Figure: ES-2 Approved Mining Area C (Northern Flank) Development Envelope Additional Development Envelope Mining Area C EMP Rev 6 Impact Assessment Area Great Northern Highway BHP Billiton Rail 0 5 10 Kilometres Coordinate System: Central Project Grid (CPG94) Projection: Transverse Mercator Datum: GDA 1994 Document Path: Y:\Jobs\A501_A1000\A780\3Project\A780_057_E_MAC_Southern_Flank_PER_MapES2_RevB.mxd BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank Public Environmental Review Page intentionally blank Page x BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C Southern Flank – Public Environmental Review Table ES-1: Summary of potential impacts, proposed mitigation and outcomes Note: Factors that are considered to be prelimina...
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