❓ Hon Robin Chapple questions the Minister for the Environment and Heritage regarding KCGM's licence conditions, specifically concerning cyanide contamination from tailings dams and the adequacy of existing safeguards. The Minister responds by detailing the relevant licence conditions and asserting their adequacy.
AnsweredQoN 664Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to question on notice No. 532 of March 11 2003 and answers provided -
(1) Can the Minister state what is the specific text of Condition W1 under the heading of ‘Liquid Chemical Storage’ on KCGM’s Licence?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Can the Minister explain how the potential contamination from cyanide in the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams contaminating surface waters, contaminating underground waters, damaging vegetation or causing pollution can be adequately covered under condition W1 given that this condition is specifically concerned with the Liquid Chemical Storage of cyanide and not the Holding Facilities, the tailings dams themselves?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Is KCGM the operator of these premises specifically with the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams currently permitted under its licence conditions to contaminate surface or underground waters or with cyanide?
(6) If yes to (7), why has the Department of Environmental Protection given KCGM this special privilege of being able to do this?
(7) If no to (5), can the Minister state the specific text of the current licence which clearly prevents or stops KCGM from contaminating surface or underground waters with cyanide from the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams at these premises?
(1) Can the Minister state what is the specific text of Condition W1 under the heading of ‘Liquid Chemical Storage’ on KCGM’s Licence?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Can the Minister explain how the potential contamination from cyanide in the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams contaminating surface waters, contaminating underground waters, damaging vegetation or causing pollution can be adequately covered under condition W1 given that this condition is specifically concerned with the Liquid Chemical Storage of cyanide and not the Holding Facilities, the tailings dams themselves?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Is KCGM the operator of these premises specifically with the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams currently permitted under its licence conditions to contaminate surface or underground waters or with cyanide?
(6) If yes to (7), why has the Department of Environmental Protection given KCGM this special privilege of being able to do this?
(7) If no to (5), can the Minister state the specific text of the current licence which clearly prevents or stops KCGM from contaminating surface or underground waters with cyanide from the Fimiston I and Fimiston II tailings dams at these premises?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 May 2003
Responded by
Minister for Housing and Works representing the Minister for the Environment and Heritage
Response time
37 days
The Minister for the Environment and Heritage has provided the following response.
(1) Yes, the specific text of condition W1 is as follows:
W1(a) The licensee shall store environmentally hazardous chemicals including, but not limited to, acids, cyanide, fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons (where the total volume of each substance stored on the premises exceeds 250 litres) within low permeability (10-9 metres per second or less) compound(s) designed to contain not less than 110% of the volume of the largest storage vessel or inter-connected system, and at least 25% of the total volume of substances stored in the compound.
W1(b) The compound(s) described in part (a) to this condition shall:
(i) be graded or include a sump to allow recovery of liquid;
(ii) be chemically resistant to the substances stored;
(iii) include valves, pumps and meters associated with transfer operations wherever practical. Otherwise the equipment shall be adequately protected (eg. bollards) and contained in an area designed to permit recovery of chemicals released following accidents or vandalism;
(iv) be designed such that jetting from any storage vessel or fitting will be captured within the bunded area [see for example Australian Standard 1940-1993 Section 5.9.3 (g)];
(v) be designed such that chemicals which may react dangerously if they come into contact, are in separate bunds in the same compound or in different compounds; and
(vi) be controlled such that the capacity of the bund is maintained at all times (eg. regular inspection and pumping of trapped uncontaminated rain water).
W1(c) The licensee shall immediately recover, or remove and dispose of, any liquid resulting from spills or leaks of chemicals including fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons, whether inside or outside the low permeability compound(s), in a manner approved by the Director.
W1(d) The licensee shall keep a record of any incident that included the loss of chemicals to the environment, including fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons, and provide a summary of each incident in the Annual Report required by condition G4 of this licence.
(2) Answered by (1).
(3) Yes, the potential contamination from cyanide at KCGM’s Fimiston operation is adequately covered by conditions W1, W3 W4 (a), W4 (b), W5, W11 (a),
W11 (b), W11 (c) and W12 (a) in the current licence.
(4) Answered by (3).
(5) No, KCGM is allowed to discharge tailings into Fimiston 1 and Fimiston 11 tailings dams under its licence conditions. Wastewater from the dams is recycled in the processing plant.
(6) Answered by (5).
(7) The specific text of the current licence conditions relating to tailings dams and tailings delivery pipelines are as follows:
W3 The licensee shall maintain a minimum operational freeboard of 300 mm within all holding facilities containing saline water, alkaline or cyanide constituents. This includes but is not limited to tailings storage facilities, return water dams and raw water dams.
W4(a) The licensee shall ensure that all pipelines containing saline, alkaline or cyanide constituents are either buried or sited within appropriately bunded facilities. This includes but not limited to tailings delivery lines, return water lines and saline water lines.
W4(b) Where pipelines are situated above ground, the licensee shall ensure that catch pits are sited at appropriate low points along the pipeline route to enable the containment of spills.
W5 The licensee shall undertake visual inspections of the tailings storage facilities (TSF) at least every six hours. As a minimum, the following areas shall be inspected:
(i) tailings delivery lines;
(ii) return water lines;
(iii) tailings deposition;
(iv) ponding on the surface of the tailings storage facilities;
(v) internal embankment freeboard; and
(vi) the external wall of the TSF.
A log book shall be filled in after every inspection. The log book shall be signed by the person conducting the inspection and shall be kept in the plant control room.
W11(a) The licensee shall take representative water samples from the bores, at the frequencies stated, and have them analysed for the parameters listed in the Attachment 1.
W11(b) The licensee shall provide a copy of the results of the above sampling program to the Department of Environmental Protection’s Regional office in Kalgoorlie. The reports shall be submitted to the DEP within 6 weeks of the end of each sampling period.
W11(c) The samples identified by condition W11(a) shall be collected and preserved as described in Australian Standard 5667.1-1998, then submitted to an approved laboratory for analysis in accordance with "Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater-APHA-AWWA-WEF", or in accordance with a method and by a laboratory approved by the Director.
W12(a) The licensee shall undertake a vegetation monitoring program in the vicinity of Fimiston Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) which shall include photographic monitoring of the vegetation along transects near Fimiston TSF (Attachment 2). The program shall be in the following schedule:
(i) transects shall link between monitor bores or identifiable field markers (Attachment 3);
(ii) photographs shall be taken at intervals to record key vegetation features along each transect;
(iii) photographs shall be taken annually in early spring, at a fixed focal length, and away from the facility to standardise the information gained; and
(iv) a professional photographer or technician skilled in plant identification and sampling shall be engaged in this work.
(1) Yes, the specific text of condition W1 is as follows:
W1(a) The licensee shall store environmentally hazardous chemicals including, but not limited to, acids, cyanide, fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons (where the total volume of each substance stored on the premises exceeds 250 litres) within low permeability (10-9 metres per second or less) compound(s) designed to contain not less than 110% of the volume of the largest storage vessel or inter-connected system, and at least 25% of the total volume of substances stored in the compound.
W1(b) The compound(s) described in part (a) to this condition shall:
(i) be graded or include a sump to allow recovery of liquid;
(ii) be chemically resistant to the substances stored;
(iii) include valves, pumps and meters associated with transfer operations wherever practical. Otherwise the equipment shall be adequately protected (eg. bollards) and contained in an area designed to permit recovery of chemicals released following accidents or vandalism;
(iv) be designed such that jetting from any storage vessel or fitting will be captured within the bunded area [see for example Australian Standard 1940-1993 Section 5.9.3 (g)];
(v) be designed such that chemicals which may react dangerously if they come into contact, are in separate bunds in the same compound or in different compounds; and
(vi) be controlled such that the capacity of the bund is maintained at all times (eg. regular inspection and pumping of trapped uncontaminated rain water).
W1(c) The licensee shall immediately recover, or remove and dispose of, any liquid resulting from spills or leaks of chemicals including fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons, whether inside or outside the low permeability compound(s), in a manner approved by the Director.
W1(d) The licensee shall keep a record of any incident that included the loss of chemicals to the environment, including fuel, oil or other hydrocarbons, and provide a summary of each incident in the Annual Report required by condition G4 of this licence.
(2) Answered by (1).
(3) Yes, the potential contamination from cyanide at KCGM’s Fimiston operation is adequately covered by conditions W1, W3 W4 (a), W4 (b), W5, W11 (a),
W11 (b), W11 (c) and W12 (a) in the current licence.
(4) Answered by (3).
(5) No, KCGM is allowed to discharge tailings into Fimiston 1 and Fimiston 11 tailings dams under its licence conditions. Wastewater from the dams is recycled in the processing plant.
(6) Answered by (5).
(7) The specific text of the current licence conditions relating to tailings dams and tailings delivery pipelines are as follows:
W3 The licensee shall maintain a minimum operational freeboard of 300 mm within all holding facilities containing saline water, alkaline or cyanide constituents. This includes but is not limited to tailings storage facilities, return water dams and raw water dams.
W4(a) The licensee shall ensure that all pipelines containing saline, alkaline or cyanide constituents are either buried or sited within appropriately bunded facilities. This includes but not limited to tailings delivery lines, return water lines and saline water lines.
W4(b) Where pipelines are situated above ground, the licensee shall ensure that catch pits are sited at appropriate low points along the pipeline route to enable the containment of spills.
W5 The licensee shall undertake visual inspections of the tailings storage facilities (TSF) at least every six hours. As a minimum, the following areas shall be inspected:
(i) tailings delivery lines;
(ii) return water lines;
(iii) tailings deposition;
(iv) ponding on the surface of the tailings storage facilities;
(v) internal embankment freeboard; and
(vi) the external wall of the TSF.
A log book shall be filled in after every inspection. The log book shall be signed by the person conducting the inspection and shall be kept in the plant control room.
W11(a) The licensee shall take representative water samples from the bores, at the frequencies stated, and have them analysed for the parameters listed in the Attachment 1.
W11(b) The licensee shall provide a copy of the results of the above sampling program to the Department of Environmental Protection’s Regional office in Kalgoorlie. The reports shall be submitted to the DEP within 6 weeks of the end of each sampling period.
W11(c) The samples identified by condition W11(a) shall be collected and preserved as described in Australian Standard 5667.1-1998, then submitted to an approved laboratory for analysis in accordance with "Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater-APHA-AWWA-WEF", or in accordance with a method and by a laboratory approved by the Director.
W12(a) The licensee shall undertake a vegetation monitoring program in the vicinity of Fimiston Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) which shall include photographic monitoring of the vegetation along transects near Fimiston TSF (Attachment 2). The program shall be in the following schedule:
(i) transects shall link between monitor bores or identifiable field markers (Attachment 3);
(ii) photographs shall be taken at intervals to record key vegetation features along each transect;
(iii) photographs shall be taken annually in early spring, at a fixed focal length, and away from the facility to standardise the information gained; and
(iv) a professional photographer or technician skilled in plant identification and sampling shall be engaged in this work.
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