blast management plan - pacificbluemetal.com.au 45 050 224 250. blast management plan. for the ....

ABN: 45 050 224 250

Blast Management Plan

for the

Possum Brush Quarry DA 283/97

Prepared in conjunction with:

January 2018

R.W. CORKERY & CO. PTY. LIMITED

ABN: 45 050 224 250

Blast Management Plan

for the

Possum Brush Quarry

DA 283/97

Prepared by:

Pacific Blue Metal Pty Ltd ABN: 45 050 224 250 PO Box 6 NABIAC NSW 2312

Telephone: (02) 6554 3206 Facsimile: (02) 6554 3250 Email: [email protected]

In conjunction with:

R.W. Corkery & Co. Pty. Limited Geological & Environmental Consultants ABN: 31 002 033 712

Brooklyn Office: 1st Floor, 12 Dangar Road PO Box 239 BROOKLYN NSW 2083

Orange Office: 62 Hill Street ORANGE NSW 2800

Brisbane Office: Suite 5, Building 3 Pine Rivers Office Park 205 Leitchs Road BRENDALE QLD 4500




Ref No. 484/28 January 2018

PACIFIC BLUE METAL PTY LTD BLAST MANAGEMENT PLAN Possum Brush Quarry Report No. 484/28 V2.00 January 2018

ii

Document Control Document Title Blast Management Plan Document Nbr. 484/28 Draft Version Date Distributed to Comments Rec’d from – Date

0.00 n/a Final Version Date Approved By Section Description 1.00 25/07/2016 Charlie Kennett

General Manager All Plan approved for

submission to DPE 1.01 04/10/2016 Charlie Kennett

General Manager All Plan amended to

address DPE comments received 12/09/16.

1.02 13/03/17 Charlie Kennett General Manager

All Minor corrective editing including pages numbers and labels.

2.00 03/01/18 Charlie Kennett General Manager

All Full review triggered by DA Condition 5(4).

This Copyright is included for the protection of this document

COPYRIGHT

© Pacific Blue Metal Pty Ltd 2016

and

© R.W. Corkery & Co. Pty Limited 2016

All intellectual property and copyright reserved.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1968, no part of this report may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or adapted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to R.W. Corkery & Co. Pty Limited.

BLAST MANAGEMENT PLAN PACIFIC BLUE METAL PTY LTD Report No. 484/28 V2.00 January 2018 Possum Brush Quarry

CONTENTS Page

iii

LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ V

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1

2. APPROVED ACTIVITIES AND STAGED OPERATIONS .............................................................. 3

2.1 APPROVED ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................... 3 2.2 STAGED OPERATIONS ........................................................................................................ 5

3. CONSULTATION ........................................................................................................................... 10

3.1 LANDHOLDER CONSULTATION ....................................................................................... 10

3.2 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION.......................................................................................... 10

4. BASELINE DATA .......................................................................................................................... 10

5. LEGAL AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................... 12

5.1 DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ............................................................................................... 12

5.2 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION LICENCE ......................................................................... 14

6. OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES .................................................................................................. 15

7. LOCAL SETTING .......................................................................................................................... 15

7.1 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS ..................................................................................................... 15

7.2 SURROUNDING RESIDENCES ......................................................................................... 16

8. POTENTIAL BLASTING IMPACTS AND RISKS ......................................................................... 18

9. BLASTING CRITERIA AND LIMITS ............................................................................................. 19

9.1 BLASTING CRITERIA ......................................................................................................... 19

9.2 OTHER LIMITS .................................................................................................................... 19 9.2.1 Blasting Hours of Operation .................................................................................... 19 9.2.2 Blasting Frequency ................................................................................................. 19

10. BLAST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ................................................................................................ 20

10.1 PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................. 20 10.1.1 Blasting Schedule Notification ................................................................................ 20 10.1.2 Meteorological Forecasting ..................................................................................... 20 10.1.3 Proactive Mitigation Measures ................................................................................ 20

10.2 REACTIVE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................ 21 10.2.1 Triggers ................................................................................................................... 21 10.2.2 Blasting Complaints ................................................................................................ 22 10.2.3 Blasting Monitoring Exceedance ............................................................................. 22 10.2.4 Request for an Inspection ....................................................................................... 23

11. MONITORING ................................................................................................................................ 24

11.1 METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING ................................................................................... 24

11.2 BLAST MONITORING LOCATIONS ................................................................................... 25


CONTENTS Page

iv

11.3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 25

12. INCIDENT MANAGEMENT, NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING ................................................ 27

12.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 27

12.2 POLLUTION INCIDENT ....................................................................................................... 27 12.2.1 Non-Compliance Incident ........................................................................................ 27

12.3 INCIDENT REPORTING ...................................................................................................... 28

13. EVALUATION OF COMPLIANCE ................................................................................................. 29

14. DOCUMENTATION AND PUBLICATION OF MONITORING INFORMATION AND REPORTING .................................................................................................................................. 30

15. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................................ 31

16. COMPETENCE TRAINING AND AWARENESS .......................................................................... 32

17. PLAN REVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 32

FIGURES Figure 1 Locality Plan ........................................................................................................................... 2

Figure 2 Existing Quarry Layout ........................................................................................................... 4

Figure 3 Stages 1, 2 and 3 ................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4 Stages 4, 5 and 6 ................................................................................................................... 7

Figure 5 Stage 2 Quarry Layout ........................................................................................................... 9

Figure 6 CALMET SEASONAL WIND ROSES – QUARRY SITE - 2014 ......................................... 16

Figure 7 Land Ownership and Residences ........................................................................................ 17

Figure 8 Blast Monitoring Locations ................................................................................................... 25

TABLES Table 1 Operating Hours ..................................................................................................................... 5 Table 2 Development Consent Requirements Relating to Blasting .................................................. 12

Table 3 Objectives and Key Performance Outcomes ....................................................................... 15

Table 4 Blasting Criteria .................................................................................................................... 19

Table 5 Meteorological Monitoring .................................................................................................... 24

Table 6 Roles and Responsibilities of Personnel with Respect to Management of Blasting ............ 31


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LIST OF ACRONYMS AHD Australian Height Datum

AS Australian Standard

BoM Bureau of Meteorology

CCC Community Consultation Committee

DA Development Application

DPE Department of Planning and Environment

EA Environmental Assessment

EP&A Act Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

EPA Environment Protection Authority

EPL Environment Protection Licence

ERM Environmental Resource Management Pty Ltd

GTCC Greater Taree City Council (now MidCoast Council as of 1 July 2016)

LEP Local Environmental Plan

MCC MidCoast Council

PBM Pacific Blue Metal Pty Ltd

POEO Act Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997

PPV Peak Particle Velocity

RPM Runge Pincock Minarco Ltd

SSD State Significant Development


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1

1. I N T RO D U C TI ON

This Blast Management Plan (the Plan) has been prepared by Pacific Blue Metal Pty Ltd (PBM) in conjunction with R.W. Corkery & Co. Pty Limited for the Possum Brush Quarry (the Quarry). The Quarry is located approximately 2km west of the Pacific Highway at Possum Brush, 4km northwest of Failford and 5km northeast of Nabiac (Figure 1).

This Plan has been prepared in satisfaction of DA Conditions 3(8) and 5(2) of Development Consent (DA) 283/971 and describes the following.

• The consultation undertaken during preparation of this Plan.

• The legal and other requirements associated with management of blasting within the Quarry.

• The objectives and key performance outcomes for this Plan and the Quarry.

• Roles and responsibilities.

• Competence training and awareness.

• Surrounding residences.

• Blast management measures that will be implemented during operation of the Quarry.

• Blast-related monitoring.

• Evaluation of compliance with blast criteria.

• Complaints handling and response procedures that will be implemented.

• Continual improvement actions that will be implemented should exceedance(s) of the relevant criteria be identified.

• Incident reporting procedures.

• Publication of monitoring information.

• Plan review.

The approved Quarry is fully described in the Environmental Assessment dated November 2015 to support a modification of Development Consent DA 283/97.

In addition, a range of other management plans have also been prepared to guide operations within the Quarry. These include the following.

• Noise Management Plan.

• Air Quality Management Plan.

• Water Management Plan.

• Transport Management Plan. • Environmental Management Strategy. • Landscape and Rehabilitation

Management Plan.

1 All conditions in Development Consent DA 283/97 are referred to as DA Condition …


2

Figure 1 Locality Plan

A4 / Colour

Figure dated 27/04/16 / inserted 29/04/16


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2. AP P R O V E D AC T I V I T I E S AN D S TAG E D O PE R AT I O NS

2.1 APPROVED ACTIVITIES

The activities approved at the Quarry (Figure 2) under Development Consent DA 283/97 comprise the following.

• Extraction operations within two defined areas, namely A and B.

• Crushing and screening operations within a fixed plant and blending operations with a pugmill / wetmix plant.

• Product stockpiling and despatch via PBM-owned trucks and subcontractors.

• Quarry administration, workforce amenities and quarry infrastructure.

• Progressive rehabilitation of sections of the Quarry Site no longer required for quarry operations.

In addition to the above activities, PBM has approval to:

• manufacturing a range of asphalt products (approved by GTCC on 25 July 2005); and

• import, process and blend up to 10 000t of waste materials with other quarry products (approved by Greater Taree City Council on 16 July 2014).

The relevant limitations upon the approved activities nominated in conditions within Schedule 2 of DA 283/97 are as follows.

“Quarrying Operations 6. The Applicant may carry out quarrying operations on the site until 31 March 2046.

Note: Under this consent, the Applicant is required to rehabilitate the site and perform additional undertakings to the satisfaction of the Secretary. Consequently, this consent will continue to apply in all other respects other than the right to conduct quarrying operations until the rehabilitation of the site and those undertakings have been carried out satisfactorily.

7. The Applicant shall not extract extractive materials below a level of 45 metres AHD.

8. The Applicant shall not extract more than 16.2 million tonnes of extractive material from the site under this consent.

9. The Applicant shall not transport more than 500,000 tonnes of quarry products from the site in any calendar year.

Note: Extractive material provided to Council free of charge for roads works on Possum Brush Road in accordance with condition 19 of Schedule 2 shall be excluded from the limit specified above (i.e. 500 000tpa).


4

Figure 2 Existing Quarry Layout



5

Quarry Product Transport 10. The Applicant shall ensure that:

(a) no more than 36 truck movements occur per hour; and

(b) no more than 420 truck movements occur per day.

Note: Truck movements mean heavy vehicle one-way trips, either entering or leaving the site, including trucks associated with the asphalt and recycling activities”.

The approved hours of operation are outlined in Table 1.

Table 1

Operating Hours

Activity Operating Hours Extraction and processing operations

6:30am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday. 7:00am to 3:00pm Saturday.

Maintenance operations 6:00am to 9:00pm Monday to Friday. 6:00am to 9:00pm Saturday.

Loading and dispatch of laden trucks

6:30 am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday. 7:00am to 3:00pm Saturday.

Blasting 9:00am and 3:00pm Monday to Friday. No blasting is allowed on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, or at any other time without the written approval of the Secretary.

2.2 STAGED OPERATIONS

Figures 3 and 4 display the proposed extraction sequence in 5 yearly stages.

Figure 3 Figure 4

• Stage 1 – Year 1 to 5.

• Stage 2– Year 6 to 10.

• Stage 3 – Year 11 to 15.




The 5 yearly staged extraction plans proposed by RPM reflect the concepts outlined in ERM (1997) which have been adopted by PBM to date.

Extraction activities will continue to occur separately within Areas A and B during the next 10 years (Stages 1 and 2) although both areas will have internal road access between them. A single combined extraction area will be created within Stages 3 to 6 as development of Area B will be required to enable extraction activities in Area A to progress below 75m AHD.


6

Figure 3 Stages 1, 2 and 3

A4 Colour



7

Figure 4 Stages 4, 5 and 6

A4 Colour



8

Area A The ongoing extraction of the resource within Area A will involve extraction generally below the current 90m AHD extraction floor to a nominated elevation of 45m AHD with active extraction floors (and benches) created at 75m AHD and 60m AHD.

Area B Area B was nominally split into two separate areas in ERM (1997), namely the northern and southern areas (see Figure 5), with the southern area now containing a product stockpile area and internal haul road connecting the processing plant area to the external road network via the Quarry Access Road.

To date, extraction operations have been undertaken only in the northern area, with parts of this area also utilised for product stockpiling, as required. The bulk of the extraction to be undertaken in Area B during Stage 2 will occur within the northern area. The fresh rock in Area B typically occurs below approximately the 135m AHD level. Weathered material remaining above this level will continue to be blended as required for road pavement products. Throughout Stage 2, PBM will progressively create active extraction floors (and benches) at 120m AHD, 105m AHD, 90m AHD, 75m AHD, 60m AHD and floor level at 45m AHD.

Area B has been fully stripped of its vegetation and requires no further preparatory works to allow the remaining weathered material to be extracted. It is envisaged that the bulk of the southern area will continue to be used as a stockpiling area and to continue to provide access to the processing plant and active extraction areas. Extraction of materials within the western side of the southern area will commence during Stage 6 near the end of Stage 2 (see Figure 4).


9

Figure 5 Stage 2 Quarry Layout

A4 Colour



10

3. C O N S U LTAT I O N

3.1 LANDHOLDER CONSULTATION

In preparation of Stage 2, the primary vehicle for landholder consultation was through an Open Day held at the quarry on 29 August 2015. The purpose of this Open Day was to openly discuss the Stage 2 Modification with our surrounding neighbours and to provide them with the opportunity to ask any questions or air any concerns they may have. Over 30 neighbours attended the Open Day, which include morning tea and a tour of the quarry and its facilities, to discuss the effect of the proposed modification.

PBM will continue to consult with surrounding landowners, throughout the life of the Quarry. In the event any exceedance of the blasting criteria is identified, PBM will notify potentially affected landowners in accordance with DA Condition 4(1), and provide monitoring results to those landowners.

3.2 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

PBM will maintain contact with the community through the Community Consultation Committee (CCC). This committee typically meets once a year.

4. B AS E L I N E D ATA Noise and vibration levels from blasting are assessable against criteria proposed by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) in their publication “Technical Basis for Guidelines to Minimise Annoyance due to Blasting Overpressure and Ground Vibration – September 1990”. These criteria are summarised as follows: • The recommended maximum overpressure level for blasting is 115 dB(Linear) or dB(L); • The level of 115 dB(L) may be exceeded for up to 5% of the total number of blasts over a

12-month period, but should not exceed 120 dB(L) at any time; • The recommended maximum vibration velocity for blasting is 5 mm/s Peak Vector Sum

(PVS); • The PVS level of 5 mm/s may be exceeded for up to 5% of the total number of blasts over a

12-month period, but should not exceed 10 mm/s at any time; • Blasting should generally only be permitted during the hours of 9 am to 3 pm Monday to

Friday, and should not take place on Sundays or Public Holidays; and


11

• Blasting should generally take place no more than once per day. The nearest residence to the extraction area where blasting is conducted is approximately 700m to the south and 1 000m to the north. Blasting at the quarry has been monitored since 1998. The majority of the monitoring was undertaken at a location within the quarry boundary. This is closer to the blasts than any residence. An analysis of the results of monitoring of 123 blasts showed the ground vibration exceedance was not exceeded at any time (worst case being 2.63mm/s). The airblast overpressure criterion was marginally exceeded on one occasion in 1998-1999. The measured airblast overpressure was 116.1dB. As described, this was measured at the quarry boundary and not at a residence. Since 1999, the noise criterion has not been exceeded. In 2013, six blasts were monitored at both 5 St. Peters Close and 175 Possum Brush Road. Neither the airblast or ground vibration criteria were exceeded for any of these blasts.


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5. L E G AL AN D O T H E R R EQ UI REM E N TS

5.1 DEVELOPMENT CONSENT

DA 283/97 was formally modified as Mod 4 by the Executive Director, Resource Assessments and Compliance as a delegate of the Minister of Planning on 1 April 2016 pursuant to Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Relevant blast-related conditions in DA 283/97 are reproduced in Table 2 together with a reference to the sections of the Plan where each condition is addressed.

Table 2

Development Consent Requirements Relating to Blasting

Schedule (Cond. No.) Condition Requirement Plan

Section 3(4) Blasting Impact Assessment Criteria

The Applicant shall ensure that blasting on site does not cause any exceedance of the criteria in Table 3. Table 3: Blasting criteria

Location Airblast overpressure

(dB(Lin Peak)) Ground vibration

(mm/s) Allowable

exceedance Any residence on privately owned land

120 10 0% 115 5 5% of the total

number of blasts over a period of 12 months

However, these criteria do not apply if the Applicant has a written agreement with the relevant owner to exceed the limits in Table 3, and the Applicant has advised the Department in writing of the terms of this agreement.

9

3(5) Blasting Frequency The Applicant may carry out a maximum of 2 blasts per calendar month, unless an additional blast is required following a blast misfire. This condition does not apply to blasts required to ensure the safety of the quarry or workers on site. Note: For the purposes of this condition a blast refers to a single blast event, which may involve a

number of individual blasts fired in quick succession in a discrete area of the quarry.

9

3(6) Operating Conditions During blasting operations, the Applicant shall:

a) implement best management practice to: − protect the safety of people and livestock in the areas surrounding

blasting operations; − protect public or private infrastructure/property in the surrounding area

from damage from blasting operations; and − minimise the dust and fume emissions of blasting;

10, 15

b) operate a suitable system to enable the local community to get up-to-date information on the proposed blasting schedule on site; and 10.1.1

c) carry out regular monitoring to determine whether the development is complying with the relevant conditions of this consent,

10.1.3

to the satisfaction of the Secretary.


13

Table 2 (Cont’d)



Section 3(7) Upon written request of the owner of any existing dwelling house located

within 1.25 kilometres of the development, the Applicant shall arrange at its own costs, for the inspection by a technically qualified person agreed to by both parties, to record the material condition of any existing dwelling house. The Applicant shall supply a copy of any inspection report, certified by the person who undertook the inspection, to the relevant property owner within fourteen days of receipt of the report.

10.2.4 Should the inspection report find that structural damage to the dwelling house

has occurred as a result of blasting at the quarry, the owner of that dwelling house may request the Applicant to carry out works to remedy or mitigate that damage. Such works shall be carried out at the Applicant’s expense and shall be agreed to by the owner of the dwelling house.

the requirements of this condition, the Applicant shall refer the matter for the consideration and decision of the Secretary.

3(8) Blast Management Plan The Applicant shall prepare a Blast Management Plan for the development to the satisfaction of the Secretary. In addition to the standard requirements for management plans (see Condition 2 of Schedule 5) this plan must:

This document

a) be submitted to the Secretary for approval within three months of the date of approval of Modification 4, unless otherwise agreed by the Secretary; n/a

b) describe the measures that would be implemented to ensure compliance with the blast criteria and operating conditions of this consent; 10

c) include a monitoring program for evaluating and reporting on compliance with the blasting criteria in this consent; 11

d) include community notification procedures for the blasting schedule; and 10.1.1 e) include a protocol for investigating and responding to complaints. The Applicant shall implement the management plan as approved from time to

time by the Secretary. 10.2.2

5(2) The Applicant shall ensure that the Management Plans required under this approval are prepared in accordance with any relevant guidelines, and include:

a) detailed baseline data; 4 b) a description of: − the relevant statutory requirements (including any relevant approval,

licence or lease conditions); 5

− any relevant limits or performance measures/criteria; and 5 − the specific performance indicators that are proposed to be used to

judge the performance of, or guide the implementation of, the project or any management measures;

6

c) a description of the measures that would be implemented to comply with the relevant statutory requirements, limits, or performance measures/criteria;

5, 10

d) a program to monitor and report on the: − impacts and environmental performance of the project; and 13 − effectiveness of any management measures (see (c) above);


14

Table 2 (Cont’d)



Section 5(2)

(Cont’d) e) a contingency plan to manage any unpredicted impacts and their

consequences; 12

f) a program to investigate and implement ways to improve the environmental performance of the project over time; 13

g) a protocol for managing and reporting any: − incidents;

− complaints; − non-compliances with statutory requirements; and

− exceedances of the impact assessment criteria and/or 10, 12

− performance criteria; and h) a protocol for periodic review of the plan. Note: The Secretary may waive some of these requirements if they are unnecessary or

unwarranted for particular management plans. 17

5(7) The Applicant shall notify, at the earliest opportunity, the Secretary and any other relevant agencies of any incident that has caused, or threatens to cause, material harm to the environment. For any other incident associated with the project, the Applicant shall notify the Secretary and any other relevant agencies as soon as practicable after the Applicant becomes aware of the incident. Within 7 days of the date of the incident, the Applicant shall provide the Secretary and any relevant agencies with a detailed report on the incident, and such further reports as may be requested.

12

5(8) The Applicant shall provide regular reporting on the environmental performance of the project on its website, in accordance with the reporting arrangements in any plans or programs approved under the conditions of this approval.

14

2(11) Blasting 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday. No blasting is allowed on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, or at any other time without the written approval of the Secretary.

9.2.1

5.2 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION LICENCE

It is noted that the blast limits in DA Condition 3(4) within DA 283/97 are consistent with those set out in Conditions L5.1 to L5.4. of EPL 3393. Blasting criteria are discussed in Section 8.


15

6. O B JE C TI VE S AN D O U T C OM E S

The primary objectives of blast management at the Quarry are to ensure that blasting activities are undertaken in a manner that minimises annoyance, amenity and any adverse impacts resulting from the impact of airblast overpressure and ground-borne vibration at surrounding rural residences or buildings. Table 3 details the objectives and outcomes with respect to blast management of the Quarry Site.

Table 3

Objectives and Key Performance Outcomes

Objectives Key Performance Outcomes a) To ensure compliance with the criteria of

DA 283/97, EPL 3393 and reasonable community expectations.

i) Compliance with all relevant criteria and reasonable community expectations, as determined in consultation with the relevant government agencies.

b) To implement blast management and mitigation measures during all stages of Quarry operation.

ii) All identified blast management and mitigation measures implemented.

c) To implement a blast monitoring program to establish compliance or otherwise with relevant criteria during all stages of Quarry operation.

iii) All identified monitoring undertaken in accordance with the Plan.

d) To implement a complaints handling and response protocol.

iv) Complaints (if any) are handled and responded to in an timely manner.

v) All complaints are recorded and reported in accordance with annual reporting requirements.

e) To implement corrective and preventative actions, if required.

vi) Corrective and preventative actions implemented, if required.

f) To implement an incident reporting program, if required.

vii) Incidents (if any) reported and recorded.

7. L O C AL S E T TI N G

7.1 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

The climatic conditions in the vicinity of the Quarry are presented in Section 5.4.2.4 of the Environmental Assessment. Wind may affect the transmission of noise and dust from a blast to surrounding receivers. A summary of the wind conditions relevant for blast management are presented in this subsection.

Wind On an annual basis, prevailing winds within the Quarry Site are from the northwest and west with significant winds also experienced from the north east and east-north east, especially during summer. Figure 6 presents the wind roses for the period of 2014 which are considered to be representative of the prevailing annual conditions of the local setting.

Calm conditions (<0.5m/s) are experienced approximately 6% of the time and the average wind speed is 2m/s.


16

(Source: 2015 Environmental Assessment Air Quality Assessment [Ramboll Environ Australia] – Figure A1.2)

Figure 6

CALMET SEASONAL WIND ROSES – QUARRY SITE - 2014

7.2 SURROUNDING RESIDENCES

Figure 7 displays the locations of residences surrounding the Quarry Site. It is noted that a total of seven (7) non-Quarry-related residences are located within 1.25km of the closest point of the approved extraction area. This distance is relevant to Condition 3(7) – see Table 2.


17

Figure 7 Land Ownership and Residences

A4 / Colour



18

8. P O TE N TI AL B L AS T I N G I M PAC T S AN D R I S K S

Potential blasting impacts include the following.

• Air blast overpressure affecting nearby residents or livestock.

• Excessive ground vibration resulting in structural damage to nearby residences or infrastructure or that affects livestock.

• Dust impact on nearby residents and livestock.

• Fume impact on nearby residents and livestock.

• Fly rock received at nearby residences, public roads or affecting livestock.

PBM’s experience over the past 25 years and its knowledge of potential risks provides a high degree of comfort that the above impacts and risks would not eventuate.


19

9. B L AS T I N G C RI T ER I A AN D L I M I TS

9.1 BLASTING CRITERIA

The criteria for all on-site blasting activities are presented in Table 4.

Table 4

Blasting Criteria

Location Air Blast Overpressure

(dB(Lin Peak)) Ground Vibration

(mm/s) Allowable Exceedance

Any residence on privately owned land

120 10 0% 115 5 5% of the total number of blasts

over a period of 12 months Source: DA Condition 3(4) – Table 3

In accordance with Condition 4 of Schedule 3 of DA 283/97, the criteria of Table 4 also do not apply if PBM has a written agreement with the owner of a residence to exceed the criteria in Table 4. Currently, no such agreements are held by PBM. If, however, any agreement is reached, the Department of Planning and Environment will be informed in writing of the terms of any such agreement.

9.2 OTHER LIMITS

9.2.1 Blasting Hours of Operation

Operational hours for blasting will be limited to 9:00am to 3:00pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). Blasting outside these hours may be undertaken with the written approval of the DPE Secretary.

9.2.2 Blasting Frequency

Blasting frequency will be limited to a maximum of two blast per calendar month, unless an additional blast is required following a misfire.

The nominated frequency limits do not apply to blasts required to ensure the safety of the Quarry or Quarry personnel and visitors.


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10. B L AS T M AN AG EM EN T SY S TEM

10.1 PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT

10.1.1 Blasting Schedule Notification

All site personnel will be informed of blast activity on site, at daily Toolbox Safety Meetings. Blast notifications include blast time, location and contact information and will be the responsibility of the Quarry Manager/ Site Supervisor and/or QSE Manager.

A blast notification board, nominating the blast time, location and contact information, will also be provided for the community on the PBM website once it is established. In the meantime, residents who have elected to do so will continue to be directly notified of each upcoming blast. Methods of notification are elected by the resident and include, mail phone, fax or email. Regular letter box drops to surrounding residents are conducted to invite people to opt in or out of the blast notification scheme.

Unless required for safety management reasons, blast notifications will be issued 24 hours prior to any blast.

10.1.2 Meteorological Forecasting

Regional weather forecasts are available from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). These data will be reviewed by the Quarry Manager and/or blasting contractor who will check weather conditions for coming blast events and plan accordingly for adverse weather.

Adverse weather in terms of blasting impacts relates to either: • winds in the direction of the closest sensitive receivers, i.e. from the northwest to

southwest quadrants; or

• conditions likely to be indicative of temperature inversion, i.e. fog or frost conditions.

Seasonal conditions will be reviewed annually with a view to modifying long-term forecasting and planning of blasts on the Quarry Site.

10.1.3 Proactive Mitigation Measures

PBM will implement the following additional blast impact mitigation measures to ensure the safety of people, equipment, vehicles and livestock in the surrounding areas.

• Long-term (annual) scheduling of activities to limit blasting activities during the daily periods when adverse conditions are most likely to occur for example in fog/frost in the morning or when significant North-Westers are common.

• Short-term modification of blasting activities in response to forecasting of adverse conditions in the short-term

• Blast contractors, in conjunction with the Quarry Manager, will review existing and previous blast monitoring records to enable continuous improvement and quality control, resulting in continual development of optimum blast parameters.


21

• Quality control practices are to be implemented on the ground to ensure blasts are kept within design tolerances.

• Adequate burden is to be maintained on all faces to prevent blowouts and blast anomalies.

• Blast energies are to be minimised as far as possible.

• Adequate exclusion / clearance zones are to be maintained to ensure that the safety of people, equipment, vehicles or livestock on nearby land will not be affected by blasting.

• Best practice methodology is used to ensure fly-rock and fumes as low as reasonably practicable levels.

• Blasts are only fired in favourable weather conditions. In the event that unfavourable meteorological conditions are identified, the shot-firer will liaise with the Quarry Manager to determine whether to postpone a blast.

• Each blast will be monitored to confirm compliance with air blast overpressure and ground vibration criteria.

• Training will be provided to all relevant personnel on environmental obligations in relation to blasting controls.

PBM will implement the following quality control measures to minimise the dust emissions during blasting.

• Monitoring of blast performance with improvements to be made in response to elevated ground vibration or air overpressure.

• Restricting blast firing to times of favourable weather conditions.

PBM blasting contractors will implement the following measures to minimise dust and or fume emissions generated from blasting.

• Use of high quality stemming products (dust).

• Minimising blast energies (dust).

• Monitoring and calibration of the explosive manufacturing unit to ensure explosive mixing is in the correct proportions. This will ensure that noxious fuming is kept to a minimum (fumes).

• Use of emulsion based explosive products, when necessary, thereby minimising the effects of wet holes on ammonium nitrate and thus reducing the potential for fuming (fumes).

10.2 REACTIVE MANAGEMENT

10.2.1 Triggers

Two triggers for reactive management will be applied.


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1. Blast Complaint. Any complaint received, either directly or via Council, EPA or other regulatory agency, will trigger the implementation of the response and corrective action measures described in Section 10.2.2.

2. Exceedance of blasting criteria established through monitoring. Any record of blasting exceeding the criteria nominated in Section 5 will trigger the response and corrective action measures described in Section 10.2.3.

10.2.2 Blasting Complaints

Following receipt of a complaint, action will be taken within two working days to determine the cause of the complaint and identify appropriate actions to remediate the cause of the complaint. The following details will be recorded following receipt of any blast-related complaint.

a) The date and time of the complaint and the subject blast.

b) The method by which the complaint was made.

c) Any personal details of the complainant which were provided by the complainant or, if no such details were provided, a note to that effect.

d) The nature of the complaint.

e) The action taken in relation to the complaint, including any follow-up contact with the complainant.

f) If no action was taken, the reasons why no action was taken.

All complaints will be investigated and an appropriate response provided to the complainant.

10.2.3 Blasting Monitoring Exceedance

If monitoring indicates that the recorded air blast overpressure or ground vibration exceeds criteria as a result of blasting, the following response and action plan will be implemented.

1. Immediately after obtaining exceedance information, the Quarry Manager (or his / her delegated representative) will review the monitoring results and, if necessary, make arrangements to alter the blasting schedule and / or blast design so that the airblast overpressure or ground vibration levels are reduced.

2. A confirmed exceedance of blast criteria will be notified, by email, to DPE and EPA by the Quarry Manager (or his / her delegated representative) together with the actions being taken to remediate the cause of the exceedance. This notification will occur within two (2) working days of receiving the blast exceedance information.

3. Within seven (7) days of obtaining any data showing an exceedance of blast criteria, the Quarry Manager (or his / her delegated representative) will provide a detailed report on the incident to DPE and EPA.


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4. Within two (2) weeks of obtaining any data showing an exceedance of blast criteria, the Quarry Manager (or his / her delegated representative) will notify in writing any affected landowners or tenants.

5. Any exceedance of the approved blast criteria will be reported in the Annual Return for EPL 3393 and within the Annual Review for the Quarry.

10.2.4 Request for an Inspection

Condition 3(7) provides for the owner of any residence within 1.25km of the approved extraction area (see Section 5.2) to request PBM to arrange an independent inspection of their residence to record the structural condition of their residence. In the event, the independent inspection determines that any structural damage is present, and that damage has occurred as a result of blasting at the Quarry, PBM would arrange (at its expense) for works / repairs to be carried out to remedy or mitigate that damage.


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11. M ONI TOR I N G

11.1 METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING

Condition 13 of Schedule 3 of DA 283/97 requires that a suitable meteorological station be operating in the vicinity of the Quarry Site in accordance with the requirements described in the Approved Methods for Sampling of Air Pollutants in New South Wales. A meteorological station has been established outside the PBM Main office and has been operational since 19 January 2017.. Condition M4.2 of EPL 3393 requires monitoring of the parameters, units of measure, averaging period and frequency specified in Table 5.

Table 5

Meteorological Monitoring

Parameter Units of Measure Frequency Averaging Period Rainfall mm Continuous 1 hour Sigma theta Continuous 15 minute Air Temperature @ 2m and 10m

°C Continuous 15 minute

Wind Direction @ 10m degrees Continuous 15 minute Wind Speed @ 10m m/s Continuous 15 minute

Meteorological monitoring will enable a quantitative record of weather conditions during the period before and after a blast together with a qualitative description of weather conditions, including cloud cover, fog, etc. This data will be used to record relevant environmental conditions during blasting events and derive any relevant relationship between air blast overpressure and ground vibration monitoring records.


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11.2 BLAST MONITORING LOCATIONS

Blast monitoring will continue to be undertaken at the two locations displayed on Figure 8.

Figure 8 Blast Monitoring Locations

Dated 2/05/16 / Inserted 2/05/16

11.3 METHODOLOGY

Monitoring will be used to capture and record all blast events. Permanent blast monitoring locations have been established at each of the blast monitoring residences.The following information will be recorded as part of the monitoring procedure.

• Blast noise overpressure (dBLpeak) and peak particle velocity (ppv) (mm/s) in a radial, vertical and transverse direction.

• The time and duration of monitoring for each location.

• Licence limits.

• Wind speed and direction, cloud cover and fog etc.

• The type of monitoring being undertaken.

• The monitoring location.

• Monitoring equipment type.

• Photographic evidence of the blast monitor in place


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Blast monitoring will be undertaken by the blasting contractor. All monitoring instrumentation, calibration and procedures, will be undertaken in accordance with AS 2187.2-2006 Explosive –Storage and use Part 2: Use of Explosives. Microphones used for airblast overpressure monitoring have a lower cut-off frequency of 2Hz or less.

The results of all blasts will be documented by the blasting contractor and records maintained by the Quarry Manager.


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12. I N CI DE N T M AN AG E M E N T, NO TI F I C AT I O N AN D R E PO R TI N G

12.1 INTRODUCTION

DPE defines an incident as “a set of circumstances that:

• causes or threatens to cause material harm to the environment; and/or

• breaches or exceeds the limits or performance measures/criteria.”

In accordance with the definition provided by Section 147 of the POEO Act, harm to the environment is deemed to be material if:

i) it involves actual or potential harm to the health or safety of human beings or to ecosystems that is not trivial; or

ii) it results in actual or potential loss or property damage of an amount, or amounts in aggregate, exceeding $10,000 (or such other amount as is prescribed by the regulations).

An incident which threatens to cause material harm to the environment (and may or may not result in an exceedance of blasting criteria) is referred to as a Pollution Incident.

An incident which is only as a result of an exceedance of blasting criterion, is referred to as a Non-compliance Incident.

12.2 POLLUTION INCIDENT

It is considered unlikely that a blast-related incident will classify as a Pollution Incident, that is, an incident that will cause or threaten material harm to the environment. However, in the event of a blast-related incident which is deemed a Pollution Incident, the Quarry Manager will be notified and the event will be reported via phone to the EPA and email to DPE at the first practical opportunity (and within 24 hours of the incident).

An investigation into the cause of the exceedance will be immediately commenced and once identified the Quarry Manager or delegate will implement one or more of the corrective measures identified in Section 10.

Within seven (7) days of the incident, the Company will submit a report to EPA and DPE outlining the cause(s) of the exceedance, actions taken and ongoing management to prevent future incidents.

12.2.1 Non-Compliance Incident

On identification of a non-compliance against blasting criteria, which may or may not follow receipt of a complaint, the Quarry Manager will be notified and an investigation into the cause of the non-compliance or complaint causing emissions commenced in accordance with the response and corrective actions described in Section 10.2.3. Both the DPE and EPA will be informed of the non-compliance in the manner described in Section 10.2.3


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12.3 INCIDENT REPORTING

Apart from the reporting outlined in Section 10.2.2 or 10.2.3, a summary of all incidents, including dates of occurrence, corrective measures taken and success of these measures will be compiled and reported in the Annual Review and Annual Return for EPL 3393.


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13. E VAL U AT I O N O F C OM PLI AN C E

PBM’s Compliance Manager will undertake an internal audit of all relevant approval conditions every six (6) months, the results of which will be included in the Annual Review. This scheduled monitoring and reporting program will allow for continual assessment and improvement of the environmental performance of the project.

PBM will collate the Annual Review as required under DA Condition 5(9) and include the following information.

• Any non-compliances with statutory requirements during the reporting period.

• A summary of any corrective actions and/or mitigation and management activities carried out during the reporting period.

• A summary of monitoring carried out during the reporting period, including identification of monitoring trends over the life of the development

• A summary of the development that was carried out in the reporting period.

• A summary of proposed activities to occur over the following reporting period.

DA Condition 5(10) requires that PBM commissions an independent audit of the Quarry:

• by 30 September 2016; and

• every three years thereafter

The results of the external independent environmental audit will be placed on PBM’s website and a summary will be included in the relevant Annual Review.


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14. D O C UM EN TAT I ON AN D P U BL I C AT I O N O F M ONI TOR I N G I N F O RM AT I O N AN D R E PO R TI N G

PBM will retain records of meteorological monitoring and blast monitoring for a minimum period of four (4) years. Monitoring records will be made available to relevant government authorities following a written request.

PBM will include a summary of blast monitoring results within each Annual Review. That document, once approved by the relevant government agencies, will be published on the Company’s website.

In accordance with the requirements of Section 66(6) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, PBM will publish a meaningful summary of all pollution monitoring data on the Company’s website within 14 days of the data being obtained. . The data will be compiled in a format that includes raw data values, is comprehensible by the general public and also includes all accompanying necessary information. These requirements are presented in detail in Requirements for Publishing Pollution Monitoring Data (EPA, 2013).


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15. R O L ES AN D R E SP O NSI B I L I T I ES

Table 6 outlines the roles and responsibilities of personnel with reference to management of blasting.

Table 6

Roles and Responsibilities of Personnel with Respect to Management of Blasting

Role Responsibilities Quarry Manager, or his/her nominee

• Ensure adequate resources are available to implement the Blast Management Plan. • Ensure correct implementation & compliance with the Blast Management Plan • Ensure suitably trained personnel are available to implement the responsibilities of

the Quarry Manager during any time of the Quarry Manager’s absence from site. • Ensure blast monitoring results are regularly reviewed/evaluated and entered into the

environmental database. • Ensure reviews of meteorological forecasts are undertaken on a daily basis prior to

the commencement of operations. • Relocate or postpone blasting activities in the event of adverse weather conditions,

where practical. • Ensure employees are competent through training and awareness programs.

Blasting Engineer / Contractor

• Ensure employees are competent through training and awareness programs • Design all blasts to ensure compliance. • Review any reports of anomalous ground conditions or unaccounted for events and

postpone the blast, modify the design or liaise with the Quarry Manager, as necessary.

• Review monitoring data following each blast. • Advise the Quarry Manager of estimated causes for blasting incidents.

Compliance Manager

• Complaints handling and incident reporting. • Prepare a report to government agencies or neighbours following a notifiable

pollution incident. • Coordinate publishing of data. • Review of the Plan.

All On-site Personnel

• Operate in manner that minimises risks of incidents to themselves, fellow workers or the surrounding environment.

• Follow any instructions provided by the Quarry Manager.


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16. C OM PE T E NC E T R AI N I NG AN D AWAR E N E S S

All PBM personnel and contractors working at the Quarry undergo Site Induction which includes blast management awareness training. This induction includes information on blasting protocols and management while working on site.

Daily toolbox meetings are held to discuss whole-of-site production, management, safety and environmental issues. Matters relating to blasting are raised during these meetings, when necessary.

17. P L AN R E VI E W

This Plan will be reviewed, and amended if necessary, following the receipt of any modification of EPL 3393.

In accordance with DA Condition 5(4), this Blast Management Plan will be reviewed and, if required, revised within 3 months of:

• the submission of an annual review under DA Condition 5(9);

• the submission of an incident report under DA Condition 5(7);

• the submission of an audit report under DA Condition 5(10); and

• any modification to the conditions of DA 283/97.

The Compliance Manager will be responsible for the review of this Plan.

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