FOI 170107 attachment C Redacted.pdf

FOI 170107
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FOI 170107
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FOI 170107
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s22
Assessment Officer
South West Section
West Assessment Branch
Department of the Environment
GPO Box 787 Canberra, ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6275 s22
s22
@environment.gov.au
http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/index.html

FOI 170107
Document 3a

FOI 170107
Document 3b

EPBC Referral 2015/7416

2 February 2015

s22
West Assessment Branch
Department of the Environment
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601
s22
environment.gov.au

Dears22
I refer to your letter of 12 January 2015 to the Minister for Health, the Hon Peter Dutton MP,
inviting comment on referral (EPBC 2015/7416) - Olympic Dam - increasing wall height of
tailings storage facility (TSF4), as lodged by BHP Billiton Olympic Dam Corporation
Pty Ltd. This matter falls within the portfolio responsibility of the Assistant Minister for
Health, Senator the Hon Fiona Nash. The Assistant Minister has asked me to reply on her
behalf.
The purpose of this communication is to provide information relevant to the assessment as to
whether the proposed action is likely to have significant impact on any matters protected
under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).
The existing operation at Olympic Dam, comprising of an underground mine, mineral
processing plant, tailings storage facilities and associated infrastructure, is considered a
“nuclear action” under Section 22(1) of the EPBC Act 1. The proposed action by the
proponent will be incorporated into this existing controlled operation.
The proposed action is to increase the tailings storage capacity of the existing tailings cell,
Tailings Storage Facility number 4 (TSF4), for an additional five years. TSF4 is expected to
reach its current design height of 30 metres by December 2017. The proposed action would
increase the wall height to 40 metres for the continued storage of tailings produced from the
existing process plant.
The proponent has determined that the increase in the wall height of TSF4 is not expected to
result in any change to the level of environmental radiological emissions or to individual
occupational exposure. However, in the referral documentation, the proponent does not
provide clear evidence on how it has derived these conclusions.
The proponent states that it has well established processes in place to monitor environmental
risks, including radioactive waste. Control of these risks is defined in a Tailings Retention
System Management Plan and a Tailings Retention System Operation, maintenance and

1 Section 22(1) of the EPBC Act defines a “nuclear action” as involving the “mining or milling of uranium ore;”
and/or the establishment of or significant modifications to a “large-scale disposal facility for radioactive waste”
E-mail: xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx

PO Box 655, MIRANDA   NSW   1490
Web: www.arpansa.gov.au
Phone:  +61 2  9541 8333,  Fax:  +61 2  9541 8314
Freecall: 1800 022 333 (a free call from fixed phones in Australia)
619 Lower Plenty Road, YALLAMBIE   VIC   3085
Phone :  +61 3  9433 2211,  Fax: +61 3  9432 1835
3-5 National Circuit, BARTON  ACT  2600
Phone:  +61 2  6141 4891

surveillance manual. The proponent states that it applies independent annual auditing to
ensure that the required controls are being implemented correctly and regular monitoring will
track any changes in the embankments of TSF4.
In addition the proponent states that its Rehabilitation and Closure Plan for the Olympic Dam
Operation will be updated to reflect the changes (if any) required by an increase in the height
of TSF4.
As the TSF4 wall raise is a continuation of existing operational procedures and contained
within the existing Olympic Dam site, measures to avoid or reduce impacts are based on
those that have already been successfully implemented and managed by the proponent since
operations began.
The proponent has discussed several alternatives to raising the wall of TSF4. One of these is
a new tailings cell. The reasons for rejecting this alternative are given as:
•  increased environmental impacts resulting from land clearing and greater surface area
of tailings; and
•  significant capital cost.
However, the proponent then asserts that increasing the design height of TSF4 delays the
requirement for an additional tailings cell by approximately five years. At this time these
problems will have to be overcome anyway.
There is no mention in the referral of proposed measures to mitigate the effects of overflow
resulting from heavy rainfall events.
An operation of this type always has the potential to have a significant impact on the
environment. The documentation provided to us does not contain enough quantitative
information to advise definitively on the likelihood of significant impact on the environment.
Please contact s22
on (03) 943 s22or
arpansa.gov.au if you have any
s22
questions regarding this matter.

Yours sincerely

Professor Peter Johnston
Acting CEO of ARPANSA
Page 2 of 2

FOI 170107
Document 4
From:
s22
To:
Subject:
FW: Invitation to comment on Referral - (EPBC 2015/7416) Increasing the wall height of Tailings Storage
Facility 4 (TSF4) Olympic Dam, SA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Date:
Monday, 19 January 2015 1:59:18 PM

From:s22
@defence.gov.au]
Sent: Monday, 19 January 2015 1:40 PM
To: s22
Cc:
Subject: RE: Invitation to comment on Referral - (EPBC 2015/7416) Increasing the wall height of
Tailings Storage Facility 4 (TSF4) Olympic Dam, SA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED
Hi s22

No comment from Defence about this referral.

Regards

s22
Environment Protection and Assessment
Environment and Engineering Branch
Defence Support Group
_____________
_____
______________
Phone: 02 6266s22 Email
@defence.gov.au
s22
P Please consider the environment before printing

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence and is subject to the
jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. If you have received this email in error, you are
requested to contact the sender and delete the email.
From: EPBC Referrals [mailto:xxxx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Friday, 9 January 2015 16:46
To:s22
Subject: Invitation to comment on Referral - (EPBC 2015/7416) Increasing the wall height of
Tailings Storage Facility 4 (TSF4) Olympic Dam, SA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Good afternoon

We are sending you the attached link to a referral received for consideration under the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) for your comments, as it falls within
your area of interest: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/epbc/epbc_ap.pl?
name=current_referral_detail&proposal_id=7416

Proposal is within 10 kilometres of Woomera Weapons Range

Any comment should be sent by 23 January 2015 via:

by letter s22

s22
  South West Assessment Branch
  Department of the Environment
  GPO Box 787
  CANBERRA  ACT 2601

by email    s22
environment.gov.au
by fax    (02) 6274 1620

Formal notification has been sent in the postal mail.

Regards
s22
Referrals Gateway Section
Queensland & Sea Dumping Assessment Branch
Department of the Environment

FOI 170107
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