Identification and Assessment of Environmental and Heritage Concerns for Mining Exploration Industry

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Identification and Assessment of Environmental
and Heritage Concerns for Mining Exploration
Industry
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Seminar Outline

• Relevant Departments/agencies for administration
  of environmental and heritage legislation.
• Roles and responsibilities
• Your obligations
• A selection of real world matters in the
  environment and heritage
• A closer look at the topical area of CSG

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So, I hope youre feeling enthused and interested
by all that
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Australian/Federal/Commonwealth Departments and
Legislation

• Department of Sustainability, Water, Population
  and Communities
• Key legislation is the Environment Protection
  and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,
  sometimes called the EPBC Act.
• Commonwealth Role and EPBC Act Objectives
• Also responsible for many other Acts relating to
  Antarctica, Environment Protection, Reservoirs of
  National Significance, Water, Sewerage, Hazardous
  Waste, Meteorology, Sea Installations, Ozone
  Protection and Greenhouse Gasses to name a few.

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Australian/Federal/Commonwealth Departments and
Legislation

• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
  (DAFF).
• Deal with legislation regarding agricultural and
  veterinary chemicals, animal health, dairy
  control, farming households, fisheries, forestry,
  imported foods, cattle diseases, natural
  resources management, plant health, quarantine,
  exporting and primary industries research and
  development.

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South Australian Departments/agencies with some
interest in Environmental Concerns

• Department of Environment, Water and Natural
  Resources (DEWNR) http//www.environment.sa.gov.au
  /About_Us/Legislation
• Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC)
• Department of Planning Transport and
  Infrastructure (DPTI)
• Environment Protection Authority (EPA)
• Primary Industry and Regions SA (PIRSA)
• Natural Resources Management Boards (NRMB)
• Natural Resources Management Council (NRMC)

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South Australian Departments/agencies with some
interest in Heritage Concerns

• DEWNR and the South Australian Heritage
  Council are responsible for protecting and
  conserving non-Aboriginal cultural heritage of
  state significance, with a focus on built and
  maritime heritage under
• Heritage Places Act 1993 
• Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981 (state) 
• Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 (Commonwealth).
• Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division of
  the Department of Premier and Cabinet manages
  Aboriginal heritage under
• Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.

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Departments that Administer Environmental
Legislation in Other States

• NSW Department of Natural Resources
• NSW Department of Primary Industries
• VIC Department of Environment and Primary
  Industries
• WA Department of Environment and Conservation
• QLD Department of Environment and Heritage
  Protection
• QLD Department of Natural Resources and Mines
• QLD Department of Energy and Water Supply
• Most States also have Environment Protection
  Authorities/Agencies

Note This is not a complete listing of
relevant Departments
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Legislation

• All Legislation at State or Federal Level can be
  accessed from the Australasian Legal Information
  Institute - AUSTLii site.
• http//www.austlii.edu.au/
• South Australian Legislation can be accessed at
  the Government of South Australia
  Attorney-Generals Department.
• http//www.legislation.sa.gov.au/index.aspx

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General Environmental Duty

• YOU have a duty of care to the environment this
  regulatory instrument is found in a range of
  State and Federal legislation
• Do NO harm where possible
• MINIMISE harm where unavoidable
• NOTIFY of concerns on common sense matters.

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Oh My God! Are we there yet? Sigh!
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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What would you report to your field supervisor on
matters of environment and heritage?
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Natural Resources Management
Jurisdiction Activity Commonwealth State Region (i.e. Catchment Management Authority) Local govern-ment Individuals / corpor-ations
Adherence to international / national conventions
Leadership and catalysing change
Administer land and water legislation and regulation - -
Undertake regional and local planning
Support for research and development -
Development of national NRM policy
NRM extension and community capacity building
On-ground management (except for crown lands) - -
On-ground management of crown lands -
Typical division of responsibilities for natural
resource management in Australia Levels of
responsibility- Not relevant Low Medium
High
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Natural Resources Management

• NRM timeline and institutional responsibilities
  in relation to the South Australian context.

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Sorry, did I snore too loudly!?
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Selected Water Resources of Significance, Eastern
Australia, where mining occurs

• Great Artesian Basin 1 700 000 Km2 Largest and
  deepest in the world, underlies 23 of Australia.
  Surat Basin and Bowen Basin are Sub-Basins of the
  GAB and often referred to in relation to CSG
  mining.
• Lake Eyre Basin 1 200 000 Km2 One of the largest
  inland draining basins in the world, covers 16
  of Australia.
• Murray Darling Basin 1 061 469 Km2 . Of the
  approximately 13,000 gigalitres of flow in the
  basin, 11,500 gigalitres are removed for
  irrigation, industrial use, and domestic supply.
  Agricultural irrigation accounts for about 95 of
  this. Covers about 14 of Australia.

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Murray Darling Basin
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Lake Eyre Basin
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Great Artesian Basin
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Great Artesian Basin Profile
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So, Groundwater Stuff, What does it all mean?
and, whats it got to do with mining?

• Artesian, Confined, under pressure
• Sub-Artesian, under pressure but land surface is
  higher than pressure head to which water can be
  raised.
• Non-Artesian, Unconfined, not under pressure
• Aquifer, Groundwater resource
• Aquitard, Confining Layer for an aquifer

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Artesian Aquifers and Basins
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Surat and Bowen Basins
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CSG Wells in the Surat and Bowen Basins in
Relation to QLD Town Localities
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Liverpool Plains
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The Extent of Environmental Issues

• Climate change Global warming, Fossil fuels ,
  Sea level rise, Greenhouse gas, Ocean
  acidification, Environmental impact of the coal
  industry Urban Heat Islands.
• Conservation Species extinction, Pollinator
  decline, Coral bleaching, Holocene extinction,
  Invasive species, Poaching, Endangered species.
• Energy Energy conservation, Renewable energy,
  Efficient energy use, Renewable energy
  commercialization, Environmental impact of the
  coal industry, Environmental impact of hydraulic
  fracturing.
• Environmental degradation Eutrophication,
  Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Soda lake.
• Environmental health Air quality, Asthma,
  Environmental impact of the coal industry,
  Electromagnetic fields, Electromagnetic radiation
  and health, Indoor air quality, Lead poisoning,
  Sick Building Syndrome, Environmental impact of
  hydraulic fracturing
• Genetic engineering Genetic pollution,
  Genetically modified food controversies

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The Extent of Environmental Issues

• Intensive farming Overgrazing, Irrigation,
  Monoculture, Environmental effects of meat
  production, Slash and burn, Pesticide drift,
  Plasticulture
• Land degradation Land pollution,
  Desertification
• Soil Soil conservation, Soil erosion, Soil
  contamination, Soil salination, Alkali soils
• Land use Urban sprawl, Habitat fragmentation,
  Habitat destruction
• Nanotechnology Nanotoxicology, Nanopollution
• Nuclear issues Nuclear fallout, Nuclear
  meltdown, Nuclear power, Nuclear weapons ,
  Nuclear and radiation accidents, Nuclear safety ,
  High-level radioactive waste management
• Overpopulation Burial, Water crisis,
  Overpopulation in companion animals, Tragedy of
  the commons, Gender Imbalance in Developing
  Countries , Sub-replacement fertility levels in
  developed countries

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The Extent of Environmental Issues

• Ozone depletion CFC , Biological effects of UV
  exposure
• Pollution Environmental impact of the coal
  industry , Nonpoint source pollution , Point
  source pollution , Light pollution, Noise
  pollution , Visual pollution
• Water pollution Environmental impact of the
  coal industry , Acid rain, Eutrophication, Marine
  pollution, Ocean dumping , Oil spills , Thermal
  pollution , Urban runoff, Water crisis, Marine
  debris, Microplastics , Ocean acidification ,
  Ship pollution, Wastewater, Fish kill, Algal
  bloom, Mercury in fish, Environmental impact of
  hydraulic fracturing
• Air pollution Environmental impact of the coal
  industry, Smog, Tropospheric ozone, Indoor air
  quality, Volatile organic compound, Atmospheric
  particulate matter, Environmental impact of
  hydraulic fracturing
• Reservoirs Environmental impacts of reservoirs
• Resource depletion Exploitation of natural
  resources, Overdrafting

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The Extent of Environmental Issues

• Consumerism Consumer capitalism, Planned
  obsolescence , Over-consumption
• Fishing Blast fishing, Bottom trawling, Cyanide
  fishing, Ghost nets, Illegal, unreported and
  unregulated fishing, Overfishing, Shark finning,
  Whaling
• Logging Clearcutting, Deforestation, Illegal
  logging
• Mining Acid mine drainage, Environmental impact
  of hydraulic fracturing, Mountaintop removal
  mining, Slurry impoundments
• Toxins Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), DDT,
  Endocrine disruptors, Dioxin, Toxic heavy metals,
  Environmental impact of the coal industry,
  Herbicides, Pesticides, Toxic waste, PCB,
  Bioaccumulation, Biomagnification, Environmental
  impact of hydraulic fracturing
• Waste Electronic waste, Litter, Waste disposal
  incidents, Marine debris, Medical waste,
  Landfill, Leachate, Environmental impact of the
  coal industry, Incineration, Great Pacific
  Garbage Patch, Exporting of hazardous waste,
  Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing

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Im soooo pleased its all over!
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