❓ Hon Paul Llewellyn questions the Minister for the Environment regarding the Nimbus Gold Mine, specifically concerning pipeline bunding, water table data reliability, and the depth of monitoring bores. The Minister defends the department's assessment and monitoring practices.
AnsweredQoN 3217Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to question on notice No. 2581 of September 1 2005, and the answers provided concerning the Nimbus Gold Mine -
(1) In relation to the answer for part 3, can the Minister explain how pipeline bunding minimise the impact of spills for any fauna?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Given that the Minister has stated that the water table prior to the deposition of tailings was 75 metres below ground surface and these levels were determined through exploration undertaken prior to constructing the tailings storage facility, can the Minister state is this data and information considered by the Department to be reliable and accurate?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Will the Department investigate to clearly get more reliable and accurate information on water levels?
(6) If yes to (3), why and for what reasons?
(7) Can the Minister explain why the monitoring bores have only been installed to a depth of 30 metres below the surface and not to depth greater than 75 metres below the surface where the water table was determined prior to the construction of the tailings dam?
(8) If no to (6), why not?
(1) In relation to the answer for part 3, can the Minister explain how pipeline bunding minimise the impact of spills for any fauna?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Given that the Minister has stated that the water table prior to the deposition of tailings was 75 metres below ground surface and these levels were determined through exploration undertaken prior to constructing the tailings storage facility, can the Minister state is this data and information considered by the Department to be reliable and accurate?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Will the Department investigate to clearly get more reliable and accurate information on water levels?
(6) If yes to (3), why and for what reasons?
(7) Can the Minister explain why the monitoring bores have only been installed to a depth of 30 metres below the surface and not to depth greater than 75 metres below the surface where the water table was determined prior to the construction of the tailings dam?
(8) If no to (6), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 March 2006
Responded by
Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for the Environment
Response time
103 days
(1) By containing any spill to a limited area a bund protects the habitat (ie native vegetation) of native fauna and the fauna itself is less likely to be impacted by direct contact with spilt material. (2) Not applicable. (3) Yes. The data was provided by the company for assessment of a works approval application. There was no reason to doubt the veracity of that data. (4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(2) Not applicable. (3) Yes. The data was provided by the company for assessment of a works approval application. There was no reason to doubt the veracity of that data. (4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(3) Yes. The data was provided by the company for assessment of a works approval application. There was no reason to doubt the veracity of that data. (4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(8) Not applicable.
(2) Not applicable. (3) Yes. The data was provided by the company for assessment of a works approval application. There was no reason to doubt the veracity of that data. (4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(3) Yes. The data was provided by the company for assessment of a works approval application. There was no reason to doubt the veracity of that data. (4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(4) Not applicable. (5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(5) No. As per (3). (6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(6) Not applicable. (7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(7) The 30m depth of the bores is sufficient to detect any rise of groundwater levels well before they reach the root depth of the local flora. (8) Not applicable.
(8) Not applicable.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.