draft guidance note – environmental risk assessment … · draft guidance note – environmental...

Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and SafetyPetroleum

Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and SafetyMineral Titles

Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and SafetyEnvironment

Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and SafetyResources Safety

Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and SafetyGeological Survey of Western Australia

1

DRAFT Guidance Note – Environmental Risk Assessment for mining proposals

and mine closure plans

PURPOSEThe purpose of this guidance note is to provide additional practical advice relating to the preparation of a comprehensive environmental risk assessment for inclusion in a Mining Proposal and/or Mine Closure Plan.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this guidance note are to provide advice on: • whatconstitutesthescopeofasitespecificenvironmentalriskassessmentovertheminelifecycle;• theuseofoneriskassessmentforbothMiningProposalandMineClosurePlan;• thelevelofinformationrequiredforrisktreatments;and• thelevelofinformationrequiredforrisktreatmentsregulatedunderotherlegislation.

SCOPEThisguidancespecificallyrelatestoproponentspreparingenvironmentalriskassessmentsforinclusioninMiningProposalsbeingpreparedinaccordancewiththe‘GuidelineforMiningProposalsinWesternAustralia,April2016’(the2016MPGuideline)and‘GuidelinesforPreparingMineClosurePlans,May2015’(MCPGuidelines).Thisguidancenoteshouldbereadinconjunctionwiththe2016MPGuidelineandMCPGuidelines,whichstipulaterequirementsforenvironmentalriskassessment.

Pleasenotetheexamplesprovidedinthisguidancemaynotbeapplicabletoallsites.Itisimportanttoconsidersitespecificconditionswhenundertakingtheriskassessment.

DOCUMENT HIERARCHYThefollowingdocumentsguidetheassessmentandapprovalofMiningProposalsandMineClosurePlans.

Legislation and Statutory Guidelines:• RelevantLegislation;regulationsandconditions–Mining Act 1978andMiningRegulations1981• ‘GuidelineforMiningProposalsinWesternAustralia,April2016’(the2016MPGuideline–mandatoryforallnewprojectsites

from1January2017)• ‘GuidelinesforMiningProposalsinWesternAustralia,February2006’.• ‘GuidelinesforPreparingMineClosurePlans,May2015’(MCPGuidelines).

Policy:• Environmental Regulatory Strategy

Technical Guidance:• Guidancenote–environmentalriskassessmentforminingproposalsandmineclosureplans• Guidancenote–environmentaloutcomesforminingproposals

DRAFT ONLY FOR COMMENT

http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/Environment/ENV-ADMIN-050.pdf

2


Itisimportanttodistinguishthisguidancenotefromthe‘statutoryguidelines’forMiningProposalsandMineClosurePlansthatareformallyapprovedundertheMining Act 1978.AMiningProposalandaMineClosurePlansubmittedtotheDepartmentofMines,IndustryRegulationandSafety(DMIRS)forassessmentandapprovalmustbeintheformrequiredbytherelevantstatutoryguideline,andcontaininformationofthekindrequiredbythatguideline(seeSection70OoftheMining Act 1978).These‘statutoryguidelines’1 are the:

• ‘GuidelineforMiningProposalsinWesternAustralia,April2016’(the2016MPGuideline–mandatoryforallnewprojectsfrom1January2017).

• ‘GuidelinesforMiningProposalsinWesternAustralia,February2006’.• ‘GuidelinesforPreparingMineClosurePlans,May2015’(MCPGuidelines).

Pleasenotethattheguidancenoteshavenostatutorybasis,andareprovidedtosupportproponentsinthepreparationof their applications.

GUIDANCEAnumberofresourcesexistinrelationtoriskassessmentandmanagement.TheStandardAS/NZSISO31000:2009Riskmanagement–PrinciplesandGuidelinesprovidesthegenericguidelinesonriskmanagementandtheHandbookHB203:2012ManagingEnvironment-relatedRiskdiscusseshowthestandardcanbeusedtoassistwiththemanagement of environment related risks.

TheAustralianGovernmenthasalsodevelopedguidanceonriskassessmentandmanagementspecifictotheminingindustrythroughtheirLeadingPracticeSustainableDevelopmentProgramfortheMiningIndustry–RiskManagementHandbook(2016).

The2016MPGuidelinedetailstherequirementsfortheenvironmentalriskassessmentincludedinaMiningProposal.

1. Scope of a the Risk Assessment

1.1. ProjectSitespecificRiskassessmentandmanagementshouldbesitespecific;ariskassessmentthatissuitableforonesitewillnotnecessarilybesuitableforuseatanother.MiningProposalsrequireanenvironmentalriskassessment.Theriskassessmentshouldpresentriskstotheenvironmentfromtheoperation;corporaterisks–suchascompanyreputationdamagefromanenvironmentalincident–arenotrequired.

Riskassessmentandmanagementneedstotakeintoaccountsitespecificssuchaslocation,baselineenvironment,proposedinfrastructureandoperationsandspecificpracticesandprocesses.Theenvironmental risk assessment provided in the Mining Proposal and Mine Closure Plan needs to demonstrate thatsitespecificshavebeenconsideredandaddressed.Itcanbeproblematictotryanduseariskassessmentfromanothersiteasthestartingpointortemplateforanassessmentofanewsiteasitislikelytocausethenewriskassessmenttobeinherentlybiasedbytheissuesthatwerepresentattheprevioussite.

Itisessentialfortheriskassessmenttobebasedon,andinformedby,thespecificattributesandbaselineenvironmentaldatarelatingtothesite.Itshouldbeeasytorelatetheriskassessmentbacktothemainissuesthathavebeenidentifiedinthesiteactivities,stakeholderengagementandbaselinedatasectionsoftheMiningProposalorMineClosurePlan.Whilstitisimportantfortheriskassessmenttoincludealltheissuesidentifiedforthesite,thereisnorequirementtoincluderiskswhichhavenotbeenidentifiedbytheprojectsitedescription,stakeholderengagementandenvironmentalbaselinedata(seeexample1intheAppendix).Forexample,iftheprojectsitehasnoconservationsignificantflora,conservationsignificantflorarisks are not relevant.

1.2 Considering all Phases of MiningTheenvironmentalriskassessmentshouldconsiderallphasesofmining,whetherplannedorunplanned.Thesephasesincludeconstruction,operation,careandmaintenance,andclosure.Itisimportantthatallphasesareconsideredbecausesomerisksmayonlybepresentduringonephase,ormightbeagreaterriskduringaparticularphaseorrequiredifferentmanagementstrategiesdependingonthephasee.g.dewateringmaybemanagedverydifferentlyduringcareandmaintenanceandmaypresentquitedifferentriskstoduring operations.

1 Thislistiscorrectasofthedatethisguidancewaspublished.ItisalwaysadvisabletorefertoDMIRS’swebsiteforanyupdatesorchangestotheseguidelines.

3


Ausefulwaytoensureallphasesofminingareconsideredisbyincludingtheminephaseasaspecificinputfield/columnintheriskassessment.Seeexample1intheAppendix).TheMCPGuidelinesalsorequirethattheMineClosurePlanincludeadescriptionofhowtemporaryclosureand/orcareandmaintenancewillbemanaged.Furtherdetail on these management strategies can be provided in the Mine Closure Plan rather than the Mining Proposal.

1.3 Single Risk Assessment for Mining Proposal and Mine Closure PlanWhilethe2016MPGuidelineandtheMCPGuidelinesbothrequireariskassessmenttobeundertaken,theseriskassessmentsdonotneedtobeundertakenseparately.Undertakingoneholisticriskassessmentthatconsidersboth operational and closure risks is recommended for the Mining Proposal. This can reduce the likelihood of inconsistenciesbetweentheMiningProposalandMineClosurePlanandreducesduplicationofeffort.Intheseinstances,theMineClosurePlansubmittedinsupportofaMiningProposalcanreferbacktotheriskassessmentprovidedintheMiningProposal.WhenarevisedMineClosurePlanisre-submittedforapprovaleverythreeyears, oratadateotherwiseadvisedbyDMIRS,asrequiredundertheMining Act 1978,anupdatedriskassessmentis to be included.

2. Risk Assessment CriteriaRiskcriteria–likelihoodandconsequence–underpintheriskassessmentandshouldbewelldefinedtoenableacomprehensive and relevant risk assessment to be undertaken.

Consequencelevelsshouldbebasedonthescaleoftheactivitiesoreffectsofagivenimpactonspecificenvironmentalvalues.Theyshouldalsotakeintoaccounttheenvironmentalsensitivityofanareainwhichtheactivityistakingplace.Thelikelihoodlevelforagivenimpactmayrelatetoaknownfrequencyofsuchaneventoccurring,basedonavailableindustrydataorstatisticalreview.

Althoughminingoperationsalsohavehealth,safety,financialandotherrisks,MiningProposalsrequireanenvironmentalriskassessment,andthereforetheconsequenceratingsshouldbedefinedinenvironmentalterms;costbasedorcorporatedefinitionsarenotsuitableandmayskewriskrankings.

3. Risk Pathway and Potential ImpactsItisimportanttofullydescribeeachrisk,pathwayandpotentialimpactasthisdemonstratesthattherisksareunderstoodandallowsfortheadequacyoftheproposedtreatmentstobeassessed;thereshouldbeadirectlinkbetweenthecause/sourceoftheriskandtheproposedtreatmentmeasures.Thisalsoenablestheidentificationofanypotentialgapsinriskidentification.Seeexample2intheAppendixforfurtherexplanation.

4. Reducing Environmental ConsequenceGenerally,themostcommonscenarioforloweringtheenvironmentalconsequenceisthroughtheeliminationorsubstitutionofariskpathway;thisoftenoccursduringtheprojectplanningphase.Examplesincludealteringtheplannedlocationofinfrastructuretoavoiddirectimpactstoconservationsignificantfloraoroptingforsmallerscalefuelstorageratherthanthestorageoflargevolumesofhydrocarbonsonsite.

DecisionstoeliminateorsubstituteriskpathwaysmayalreadyhavebeenmadewhenitcomestimetodrafttheMiningProposal or Mine Closure Plan. Proponents are encouraged to include these treatments in the risk assessment to demonstratethewaysinwhichriskhasbeenreducedduringtheplanningphase.Iftheconsequenceratingwithintheriskassessmentisreducedpost-treatmentbymeansotherthaneliminationorsubstitution,adequatejustificationshouldbeprovided.Refertothebottomtableinexample3intheAppendix.

5. Level of Information Required on Risk TreatmentsThelevelofinformationprovidedfortherisktreatments,ormanagementstrategies,riskmitigations,shouldbecommensuratetothelevelofriskthatisbeingtreated.Forraw(untreated)risksthatareconsideredlow,lessdetailisgenerallyrequiredfortherisktreatments,especiallyifthesetreatmentsutiliseexistingindustrystandardsorcodes,howeverthesestandardsshouldbeoutlined.Forraw(untreated)risksthatareconsideredhighorgreaterandrequirespecificandsignificantmanagementmeasures,theMiningProposalwillneedtocontainacomprehensivedescriptionoftheproposedtreatmentse.g.encapsulationplanforPotentiallyAcidForming(PAF)materialsandassociateddiagrams/drawingsoftheencapsulationcell.Thisinformationmaynotfitwithintheriskassessmenttableandmayneedtobesupportedbydetailsprovidedinanappendix;howeverthekeymanagementpointsshouldstillbeincludedintheriskassessment.Seeexample4intheAppendix.

FurtherdetailsareprovidedinSection3.9.4ofthe2016MPGuideline.

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6. Applying the ALARP ‘As low as reasonably practicable’ PrincipleDMIRSexpectstheALARPprincipletobeusedwhendeterminingwhichrisktreatmentstoapply.Thisprincipleisexplainedfurtherinsection3.9.1ofthe2016MPGuideline.ItisimportantthattheprinciplesofALARPareconsideredwhenapplyingtreatments.InsomeinstancespastpracticesandstandardproceduresmaymeettheALARPprinciple;howeverinsomeinstancesitmaybereasonabletoapplymorestringenttreatmentstotherisk.Itultimatelydependsoneachindividualscenario.Example3intheAppendixillustrateshowtheALARPprinciplecanbeappliedinaspecificscenario.

7. Risks Regulated under Other LegislationAnumberofdifferentagenciesregulateenvironmentimpactsofminesitesunderotherlegislation.The2016MPGuidelinerequireproponentstoclearlyarticulatetheotherlegislativecontrolsthatexistforasitetoassisttheDMIRS’assessmenttoinsteadfocusonthoseaspectsthatarenotdirectlyregulatedunderotherlegislation.RefertoSection3.6ofthe2016MPGuideline.

Theriskassessmentstillneedstoconsiderallrelevantenvironmentalrisks,howeverifanyoftheserisksaredirectlymanagedviaotherlegislation,theselegislativecontrolscanbelistedastherisktreatmentthatwillbeapplied,withnoadditionalinformationrequiredinmostcircumstances.Thetreatmentinexample2oftheAppendixdemonstrates this scenario.

ItisimportanttonotethatsomeregulatorycontrolsoutsideoftheMining Act 1978,suchasaPartVLicence,onlyapplywhenaprojectsiteisoperating,soextradetailsmayberequiredontreatmentoftheriskduringotherphasesof mining such as care and maintenance and closure.

5


APPE

NDIX

– P

RACT

ICAL

EXA

MPL

ES

Exam

ple

1: L

ink

betw

een

base

line

data

and

risk

ass

essm

ent;

cons

ider

ing

all m

ine

phas

es.

Proj

ect P

hase

Activ

ityRi

sk P

athw

ayLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Raw

Risk

Trea

tmen

tLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Trea

ted

Risk

Cons

truct

ion,

Op

erat

ion

Vege

tatio

ncle

arin

g or

ot

her g

roun

d di

stur

bing

ac

tiviti

es.

Unau

thorise

dcle

arin

g / g

roun

d di

stur

bing

ac

tiviti

es

resu

lting

in

impa

cts t

o co

nser

vatio

n sig

nific

antflora.

Poss

ible

Maj

orHi

ghNo

kno

wn

cons

erva

tion

sign

ifica

ntflora

loca

ted

in th

e Pr

ojec

t site

ar

ea o

r bro

ader

vi

cini

ty.

Rare

Maj

orM

oder

ate

Thee

nviro

nmen

talb

aseline

datado

esnotapp

eartoha

veade

quately

inform

edth

eide

ntifica

tionofrisksf

orth

issit

e.Th

ebas

eline

stud

ieshaveind

icatedthatth

erea

re

noco

nservatio

nsig

nific

antfloralo

catedinth

eprojec

tsite

areaorbroad

ervicin

ity,how

everth

erisk

assessm

entind

icatest

heim

pactonco

nservatio

nsig

nific

antflorais

possible.Alth

ough

ther

iskishigh,no

trea

tmen

tiso

fferedforthe

risk,ju

stast

atem

enttoexplainthatth

ereisn

oreas

onab

leris

kpresent.O

nlyr

iskst

hata

reactua

llyre

levan

ttoth

eprojec

tsite

shou

ldbeinc

lude

dinth

erisk

assessm

ent,an

dan

app

ropriatelevelo

ftreatmen

tsho

uldbe

app

liedtoea

chofthe

serisks.

Adding

a‘projec

tpha

se’colum

ntoth

erisk

assessm

enttab

leisaus

efulwayofe

nsuringallp

haseso

fminingarec

onsid

ered

.

6


Exam

ple

2: F

ully

des

crib

ing

the

risk

Proj

ect P

hase

Activ

ityRi

sk P

athw

ayLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Raw

Risk

Trea

tmen

tLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Trea

ted

Risk

Operation

Pitd

ewatering.

Disc

harg

e of

de

wate

r int

o Bl

acka

dder

Cr

eek.

-------------------------

Disc

harg

e of

de

wate

r int

o Bl

acka

dder

Cr

eek

lead

ing

to in

crea

sed

salin

ity,

turb

idity

and

he

avy m

etal

le

vels

with

in

the

cree

k an

d br

oade

r ca

tchm

ent,

resu

lting

in

neg

ativ

e im

pact

s to

the

ecol

ogic

al

func

tion

of th

e cr

eek.

Likely

Mod

erat

eHi

ghAd

herenc

eto

Depa

rtmen

t of

Envir

onmen

tRe

gulatio

n(DER

)lice

nce

cond

ition

s.

Unlikely

Mod

erat

eM

oder

ate

Thed

escriptio

nofth

erisk

inth

etop

(red

)versio

nisqu

itelim

ited.The

bottomve

rsion(green

)describesin

mored

etailthe

spec

ifice

nviro

nmen

talelem

entsofthe

risk.T

hism

akesitea

sier

fora

revie

wertode

term

inew

hetherallt

heen

viron

men

talrisk

sforth

eprojec

thaveb

eeniden

tified

inth

erisk

assessm

ent,an

dtoen

sureth

etreatmen

tsapp

eara

ppropriate.

Adding

aco

lumnfor‘im

pact’can

beu

sedtoclea

rlydifferen

tiateth

eimpa

ctfrom

ther

iskpathw

ay.F

orth

eabo

veex

ample,ther

iskpathw

ayis‘disc

hargeo

fdew

aterfrom

Blackad

derC

reek’

andtheimpa

ctis‘in

crea

sedsa

linity,turbidityand

hea

vym

etalsw

ithinth

ecreekand

broad

erca

tchm

ent’.The

risktrea

tmen

tsho

uldad

dresst

heca

usesofthe

riskev

ent.Re

fertotheb

elow.

Proj

ect P

hase

Activ

ityRi

sk P

athw

ayIm

pact

Like

lihoo

dCo

nseq

uenc

eRa

w Ri

skTr

eatm

ent

Like

lihoo

dCo

nseq

uenc

eTr

eate

d Ri

sk

Operation

Pitd

ewatering.

Disc

harg

e of

dewa

terinto

Blac

kadd

er

Cree

k.

Incr

ease

d sa

linity

, tu

rbid

ity

and

heav

y m

etal

leve

ls

with

in cr

eek

and

broa

der

catc

hmen

t.

Likely

Mod

erat

eHi

ghAd

herenc

eto

Depa

rtmen

t of

Envir

onmen

tRe

gulatio

n(DER

)lice

nce

cond

ition

s.

Unlikely

Mod

erat

eM

oder

ate

7


Exam

ple

3: U

sing

the

ALAR

P pr

inci

ple

Proj

ect P

hase

Activ

ityRi

sk P

athw

ayLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Raw

Risk

Trea

tmen

tLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Trea

ted

Risk

Operation,

Care

and

Mainten

ance

,Cl

osur

e

Incid

ental

min

ing

and

expo

sure

of

PASS

2 mat

eria

l withinth

emine

void

.

Oxidationof

PASS

material

caus

ing

lowe

ringofpH

and

relea

se

of m

etal

s to

thes

oilp

rofile,

grou

ndwa

ter,

and

surfa

ce

water.

Poss

ible

Maj

orHi

ghPlac

eany

mined

PA

SSm

aterial

withinalin

ed

and

bund

ed

area

prio

r to

backfillin

gwithin

the m

ine v

oid.

Grou

ndwa

ter

quality

m

onito

ring

todetec

tany

redu

ctions

inpH

or el

evat

ions

in

heavym

etals.

Unlikely

Maj

orM

oder

ate

Proj

ect P

hase

Activ

ityRi

sk P

athw

ayLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Raw

Risk

Trea

tmen

tLi

kelih

ood

Cons

eque

nce

Trea

ted

Risk

Operation,

Care

and

Mainten

ance

,Cl

osur

e

Incid

ental

min

ing

and

expo

sure

of

PASS

material

withinth

emine

void

.

Oxidationof

PASS

material

caus

ing

lowe

ringofpH

and

relea

se

of m

etal

s to

thes

oilp

rofile,

grou

ndwa

ter,

and

surfa

ce

water.

Poss

ible

Maj

orHi

ghM

inin

g le

vels

set t

o av

oid

PASS

; 5m

buf

fer

mai

ntai

ned

abov

e m

appe

d PA

SS la

yer.

Grou

ndwa

ter

quality

m

onito

ring

todetec

tany

redu

ctions

inpH

or el

evat

ions

in

heavym

etals.

Rare

Mod

erat

eLo

w

Thet

opta

bleh

asnotdem

onstratedthatth

erisk

has

beentre

ated

toALA

RPin

compa

rison

toth

ebottomta

ble.Th

ebottomta

bleh

asapp

liedan

avo

idan

cest

rategy

toavo

idth

erisk

,as

oppo

sed

to ju

st co

ntro

l and

miti

gatio

n st

rate

gies

.

NB–DMIRSac

know

ledge

stha

tavo

idan

cem

aynotalwaysb

epos

sibleinev

eryc

ircum

stan

ce,how

everth

isscen

arioisprovid

edasa

nexam

ple.

2PAS

S–Poten

tiallyAcid

Sulph

ateS

oils

8


Exam

ple

4: P

rovi

ding

ade

quat

e in

form

atio

n on

trea

tmen

ts fo

r hig

her r

isk

issu

es

Phas

eAc

tivity

Risk

Pat

hway

Like

lihoo

dCo

nseq

uenc

eRa

w Ri

skTr

eatm

ent

Like

lihoo

dCo

nseq

uenc

eTr

eate

d Ri

sk

Operation,

Care

and

Mainten

ance

,Cl

osur

e

Storag

eof

potentially

host

ile m

ater

ials

inth

ewas

te

land

form

.

Expo

sureof

theh

ighly

reac

tive b

lack

sh

ale c

ausin

g ac

id a

nd/o

r m

etal

lifer

ous

draina

ge,

cont

amin

atin

g th

e soi

l and

grou

ndwa

ter

and

prev

entin

g re

vege

tatio

n ofth

ewas

te

land

form

.

Likely

Maj

orVe

ry H

igh

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

XY

Proj

ect

Blac

k Sh

ale

Man

agem

ent

Plan

(App

endi

x X)

to e

nsur

e:•AllP

oten

tially

Ac

id F

orm

ing

(PAF

) m

ater

ial i

s iden

tified

as

it is

min

ed.

•AllP

AF

mat

eria

l is

tem

pora

rily

stor

ed o

n th

e PA

F ho

ldin

g pa

d.•Th

ematerial

is d

umpe

d wi

thin

the

PAF

cell.

Enca

psul

atio

n of

all

PAF

mat

eria

l with

in

an e

ngin

eere

d co

ntai

nmen

t in

acc

orda

nce

with

the

desi

gn re

port

(App

endi

x X).

Unlikely

Maj

orM

oder

ate

Ther

aw(u

ntreated

)risk

inth

isexam

pleisv

eryh

ighan

drequ

iress

pecifi

cand

detailed

trea

tmen

tsto

lowe

rthe

riskto

mod

erate.Th

ereforea

ddition

aldetailsrega

rdingtheset

reatmen

tswillbe

su

pplie

d as

tech

nica

l app

endi

ces t

o th

e Min

ing

Prop

osal

and

/or M

ine C

losu

re P

lan.

DMIRSSEP17_4972