From: eNews, LTA ANZ
Sent: Tuesday, 26 May 2015 1:42 PM
To: Jones, Helen (Legal)
Subject: Environmental Manager 1002: Oil & gas leak rise 'serious';
Hunt's dredging back flip; Vic EPA review
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Rise
in offshore oil leaks 'a serious concern', NOPSEMA CEO says
A 25% increase in
uncontrolled hydrocarbon leaks in Australian waters over the past two years
was a "serious concern" and a fall in the oil price no excuse,
head of the national offshore oil & gas watchdog says. The National Offshore
Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority's (NOPSEMA) latest
offshore performance report
showed most leaks in Commonwealth waters were in the lower category
(1-300kg). But the jump from 20
leaks in 2013 to 25 in 2014 was a "serious concern due to the risk of
ignition and potential safety and environment consequences", NOPSEMA
CEO Stuart Smith said. "Anecdotal
evidence from other jurisdictions internationally suggests industry
maintenance performance often drops around four to six months after a large
fall in the oil price," he said. There was no evidence "of a
correlation in Australia with the current downturn in prices" but
"duty holders should keep in mind that any changes in processes made
as a result of reduced budgets should not compromise safety and
environmental outcomes in any way", Smith said. NOPSEMA would continue
to monitor the issue, he said. While most
uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases were in the lowest mass category, the
rate per 100m barrels of oil equivalent was consistently higher than the
reported international regulators forum (IRF) average, the report said.
Most occurred at fixed platform facilities. Of the 25 releases, 13
were at normally attended platforms, six were from floating production,
storage and offloading vessels, four were at "not normally
attended" platforms and two were from pipelines. Six hydrocarbon vapour
releases were due to flares being extinguished. Other causes included a
crude oil leak from a subsea pipeline, well fluids leaking from a subsea
control module and leaks of petroleum-based liquids or gas from topside
equipment. The report said while environmental impacts from the releases
were not significant, they showed a need to improve prevention measures. 'Ageing
facilities need robust management'
The data suggested
"a significant number of unplanned events occurred on ageing
facilities", Smith said. Deficient preventive maintenance, the second
largest cause of occupational health and safety (OHS) incidents in 2014,
also had "the potential to create environmental impacts, as has been
seen with unplanned hydrocarbon releases from ageing pipeline
infrastructure". Ageing facilities
placed an increased burden on project resources and often required more
maintenance and repair, he said. "It is crucial that operators of aged
or ageing facilities ensure that integrity management systems and processes
are applied robustly together with regular audits to ensure their continued
quality and effectiveness," Smith said. In 2014, NOPSEMA did
146 inspections covering 202 facilities, titles, wells and petroleum
activities. Its environmental assessment time frames were reduced by 40%
due to higher quality titleholder submissions and regulatory amendments,
the report said. Smith said environmental management inspections would
increase in 2015. A total of 119
petroleum activities were authorised through accepted environment plans in
2014, 38% down from the 192 authorised in 2013, the report said. Of those approved last
year, 42% were production facilities or pipelines, 19% were activities like
repairs to subsea installations, production cessation and non-production
phases before decommissioning, 16% were drilling activities, 14% were
seismic surveys, 7% were geophysical or geotechnical surveys and 2% were
construction activities. In December 2014
the Federal Government tabled a Bill to dramatically expand NOPSEMA's
jurisdiction to streamline regulatory arrangements. (EM
09/12/14). Quarry
directors 'more culpable'
A NSW north-coast rock
quarry company's capacity to pay fines ordered by the Land and Environment
Court (LEC) is "questionable" as it has "no assets",
has multiple creditors and "is no longer a going concern". At the Corinda
quarry's height of production Wyanga Holdings Pty Ltd extracted 368,363
tonnes of gravel and/or rock from February 1, 2012,
to January 31, 2013. However, that was more than seven times its
environmental protection licence's (EPL) annual limit of 50,000 tonnes.
Wyanga delivered almost all the extracted material to Leighton Contractors
Pty Ltd and Fulton Hogan Pty Ltd's Pacific Highway upgrade for the then NSW
Roads and Traffic Authority. Some tonnage was supplied to Coffs Harbour
City Council. The highway upgrade between Sapphire and Woolgoolga finished
in late 2013. On May 15,
NSW LEC Justice Terry Sheahan fined Wyanga and its two directors a
total of $106,500. Wyanga and directors Joseph and Louise Cauchi
pleaded guilty to nine of 12 charges and agreed to pay $90,000 for the
Environment Protection Authority's (EPA) legal costs. Justice Sheahan
sentenced Wyanga and the Cauchis on all 12 matters after they exceeded the
EPL annual extraction limit over 2.5 successive licence years and gave
misleading information to the EPA (EM
17/06/14). Justice Sheahan
held Joseph Cauchi "more culpable" than Louise for the EPL
exceedances, fining him a total of $76,000 for four breaches of the
Protection of the Environment Operations (PEO) Act 1997. He fined Louise
Cauchi a total of $27,000 and found her "primarily culpable" for
supplying "false and misleading" information in a 2012 annual
return to the EPA. He was satisfied the failure to disclose the exceedance
was "at least negligent, and really quite reckless". He noted the
prosecutor conceded it couldn't establish the "criminal onus"
that Wyanga and its directors "deliberately misled" the EPA and
it remained a "rational hypothesis" the breach was
"inadvertent". However, the prosecutor submitted there was
"no satisfactory explanation" for the omission because the
defendants disclosed other breaches in the return. Those were unrelated to
the proceedings before Justice Sheahan. The judge
said Joseph and Louise were Wyanga's "directing mind and
will". He ordered Wyanga to pay a total $3,500 for its four PEO Act
breaches. Justice Sheahan apportioned the fines among the three
defendants to avoid "possible triple" punishment. Outside the court
on May 21, EPA north branch director Gary Davey said
Wyanga's EPL was revoked after the court case. Earlier,
in August 2013, the EPA had suspended the licence after issuing
repeated warnings about the exceedances, "which the company continued
to ignore", Davey said. (Environment
Protection Authority v Wyanga Holdings Pty Ltd; Environment Protection
Authority v Cauchi [2015], NSWLEC 78,
15/05/2015) Vic
EPA review starts June
The Vic Environment
Protection Authority's powers to ensure environmental justice principles
are adhered to and "the environment is protected for the benefit of
the community" will come under scrutiny in a new review. Vic environment,
climate change and water minister Lisa Neville announced the inquiry last
week, saying the relevant legislation was almost 46 years old and the
regulator needed to "keep up with the times". The review would
start in June and report in March 2016, she said. Former state justice
department secretary Penny Armytage will chair the review. Former 2009
Bushfires Royal Commission CEO Jane Brockington and NT EPA
non-executive director Janice Van Reyk will join the review committee.
Its terms of reference
include examining the scope and adequacy of the EPA's statutory powers; the
EPA's role in public health issues; community and industry expectations;
and its "appropriate" role in protecting the environment. Whether
the EPA's governance and funding allow it to "effectively and
efficiently" discharge its powers and perform its duties would be
studied. Tas EPA leadership changes
The Tas Government has
appointed a new Environment Protection Authority (EPA) director and three
new board members, including a new chair and deputy chair. Former resources
director at the state Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and
Environment (DPIPWE) Wes Ford
has been appointed as EPA director to replace retiring director Alex
Schaap. Ford has held several senior govt positions, most recently
AgriGrowth acting deputy secretary. Warren Jones has
been elevated to EPA chair after serving as deputy chair since
2012. Jones was DPIPWE's environment/EPA division GM. The new board
deputy chair is Anthony Ferrier, Kingborough Council's current deputy GM.
Professor Colin Buxton, a former director of the University of Tas's
Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre was appointed to the EPA board. He
joins new member Catherine Murdoch, Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd
environment manager. Hunt go-ahead for Abbot Point EIS
Federal environment
minister Greg Hunt has asked the Qld Government to produce an environmental
impact statement (EIS) to support its plan to dump dredge material from its
Abbot Point Port's expansion proposal on industrial land next to an
existing coal terminal (EM
31/03/15, 29/04/14). Renamed the
"Abbot Point growth gateway project", the new Qld Govt wants to
dispose of project dredge material on unused industrial land instead of on
nearby protected wetlands or undersea within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)
marine park, as the former state govt had proposed and the Federal Govt had
approved. Hunt
on May 14 decided
he would assess the proposal by an EIS under the federal Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. That was despite a new
bilateral agreement with Qld under s45 of the EPBC Act allowing the state
govt to assess development projects on the Federal Govt's behalf. The new Qld Govt's
coal terminal expansion project would dredge about 61ha of seabed within
the port's limits, outside the GBR park, it said. It would increase the
port's capacity to handle coal exports from 50m to 120m tonnes a year to
cater for planned Galilee Basin coal exports, including Adani Mining Pty
Ltd's proposed $16.5m Carmichael Mine. "The full cost of
the EIS will be paid for by mine proponent, Adani, not taxpayers, under an
agreement with the govt," Qld state development minister Dr Anthony
Lynham said. Meantime, the legality of Hunt's 2014 approval for the
Carmichael mine is being challenged for a third time in the Qld Land Court (EM
20/01/15). In a statement
of reasons, Hunt said he'd reviewed Qld Govt advice and found the project
"was not eligible" to be assessed under the bilateral agreement.
Given that, plus a lack of detail on the project's final design and
mitigation measures, and uncertainty about "the nature and scale"
of its impact on matters of national environmental significance (the GBR
world heritage protected area) Hunt said he'd accepted advice he assess it
with an EIS. He agreed, "in particular" with his
"department's view assessment by EIS would provide a robust and
thorough assessment … and the opportunity for public engagement" to
help him make an informed decision on whether to allow the port's expansion
to proceed. GBR
reg change to formalise dredge backflip
Hunt's decision (above) was a backflip
on his October 2014 decision to not require an EIS for dredge
material to be disposed on Canley Vale wetlands next to the GBR marine
park. It triggered a Federal Court challenge during which Hunt promised the
court he would provide one days' warning to the Qld Environment Defenders
Office of any decision on the former Qld Govt's project application. (EM
20/01/15). But
on May 17, Hunt said he'd "formally approved" an
amendment to GBR regulations to prevent any dredge material being disposed
"in the entire 344,400km2 park". "This covers
100% of the area under Commonwealth legislative control and 99% of the
world heritage area." The Qld Govt had committed to a dredge disposal
ban in the remaining 3,000km2 area under its jurisdiction which
included port areas, he said. The regulatory change has yet to be
registered. Hunt's GBR protection
decisions precede a UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) decision on
whether to list the GBR world heritage area as "in danger" at a
meeting in June. Coral Sea protection increased
Roughly 12% of the
Coral Sea will be covered if the Federal Government expands the Great
Barrier Reef (GBR) and Torres Strait "particularly sensitive sea
area" (PSSA). The International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) had agreed to the proposal to protect the
south-west Coral Sea, which expanded the PSSA from 403,000km2 to
958,000km2, the govt said. Designation as a PSSA covered areas
with "significant ecological, socio-economic or scientific attributes
[that] may be vulnerable to damage by international
shipping", the govt said. The GBR was declared the world's first PSSA
in 1990. About 430 ships
navigate the PSSA waters annually, with certain areas deemed challenging
because of reefs, cays, islets, sandbars and shoal patches. There are 341
species listed for conservation in the area. There will also be
three new associated protective measures (APM) to support the PSSA, a new
area ships must avoid and with supporting two-way routes. They would
enhance ship safety, reduce the risk of groundings and allow more time for
intervention in developing situations like a ship suffering a mechanical
breakdown. Deputy Prime Minister
and infrastructure and regional development minister Warren Truss said the
move showed the govt was implementing measures outlined in the north-east
shipping management plan released in October 2014. It's expected
the PSSA measures will come into effect in June and the APMs
in January 2016. $US45m
to retire Alcoa site
Alcoa of Australia Ltd
says closing and rehabilitating its Anglesea coal mine and power station
on August 31 will cost up to $US45m. In February 2014
Alcoa put the plant up for sale but when it didn't sell the company decided
to close the entire operation in August. The Anglesea power station had
previously supplied 40% of power for the Port Henry aluminium smelter in
Geelong which closed on August 1, 2014. An Alcoa spokesperson
told EM
discussions with the Vic Government on rehabilitating the site were
ongoing. The company expected restructuring-related charges for asset
retirement obligations and environmental remediation would be about
$US40-45m, he said. Vic energy and
resources minister Lily D'Ambrosio told EM
"Alcoa is responsible for the rehabilitation of the site and there are
a number of regulatory measures that ensure this". Alcoa would prepare
a mine rehabilitation plan for the govt's "earth resources
regulator" within Vic's new economic development, jobs, transport and
resources department. The Vic Environment Protection Authority would
regulate the power station site's remediation. Rehabilitation was "not
a quick process", D'Ambrosio said. "Work is expected to take a
number of years to complete, following closure at the end
of August 2015." Alcoa's spokesperson
said the company didn't have any long-term plans for the site. "We
will work through the details of the decommissioning and rehabilitation
plan over the coming months in consultation with the relevant govt
authorities." Draft
CFI to ERF intentions released
It's been proposed
nine carbon farming initiative (CFI) determinations covering agriculture,
vegetation management & landfill and alternative waste treatment be
updated and shifted to the emissions reduction fund (ERF)
from July 1. Methodology
determinations on using covered anaerobic ponds and engineered biodigesters
to destruct methane generated from dairy cow manure and piggeries are among
those targeted. So too are determinations on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, managing regrowth of native forests, measurement-based methods
for new farm forestry plantations, sequestering carbon in soils and using
environmental or mallee plantings for reforestation. The federal
environment department last week sought
submissions by June 2 on its proposals to update CFI
"transitioning methods". It would ensure all transitions methods
"are consistent with the ERF legislation, easy to use and more
streamlined", the dept said. The proposals were foreshadowed in an
energy white paper before the Federal Government's first auction of
Australian carbon credit units in April. A draft explanatory statement
issued under environment minister Greg Hunt's authority said the carbon
credits (CFI-ERF) methodology determination variation
2015 would make "minor" amendments. The dept consulted the Clean
Energy Regulator in developing the variation. Proposed amendments
were "primarily" to ensure CFI determinations continued to
operate as "originally intended" in light of changes made to the
Carbon Credits (CFI) Act 2011, the statement said. They were also aimed at
ensuring there were "no unintended consequences for eligible offsets
projects wanting to apply the determinations". It's proposed 17 other
CFI determinations will be revoked
because new methods covering the same activities have
"superseded" them. The dept said existing projects "will not
be affected or disadvantaged". Projects could continue to use methods
in place when they were registered or transition to a new method "if
more advantageous". Water
commission abolished
A year after the
Federal Government moved to abolish the National Water Commission by axing
its funding in the 2014-15 budget, a National Water Commission (Abolition) Bill
was passed by Parliament on May 14. The Bill transferred the
commission's key responsibilities to the Productivity Commission (PC). Editorial
team
Editor: Deborah Nesbitt. Email: deborah.nesbitt@thomsonreuters.comJournalist: Kim Berry. Managing Editor: Helen Jones. Twitter: @EnviroManagerTR
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