Decision Document Environmental Protection Act 1986

Contents Licence 1 Contents 2 Introduction 2 Licence conditions 5 1 General 5 2 Emissions 9 3 Monitoring 10 4 Improvements 12 5 Information 13 Schedule 1: Maps 15 Schedule 2: Reporting & notification forms 18 Introduction This Introduction is not part of the Licence conditions. DER’s industry licensing role The Department of Environment Regulation (DER) is a government department for the state of Western Australia in the portfolio of the Minister for Environment. DER’s purpose is to advise on and implement strategies for a healthy environment for the benefit of all current and future Western Australians. DER has responsibilities under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) (the Act) for the licensing of prescribed premises. Through this process DER works with the business owners, community, consultants, industry and other representatives to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm to conserve and protect the environment. DER also monitors and audits compliance with works approvals and licence conditions, takes enforcement action as appropriate and develops and implements licensing and industry regulation policy. Licence requirements This Licence is issued under Part V of the Act. Conditions contained within the Licence relate to the prevention, reduction or control of emissions and discharges to the environment and to the monitoring and reporting of them. Where other statutory instruments impose obligations on the Premises/Licensee the intention is not to replicate them in the Licence conditions. You should therefore ensure that you are aware of all your statutory obligations under the Act and any other statutory instrument. Legislation can be accessed through the State Law Publisher website using the following link: http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/default.html For your Premises relevant statutory instruments include but are not limited to obligations under the: Environmental Protection (Unauthorised Discharges) Regulations 2004 – these Regulations make it an offence to discharge certain materials such as contaminated stormwater into the environment other than in the circumstances set out in the Regulations. Environmental Protection (Controlled Waste) Regulations 2004 - these Regulations place obligations on you if you produce, accept, transport or dispose of controlled waste. Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997 – these Regulations require noise emissions from the Premises to comply with the assigned noise levels set out in the Regulations. You must comply with your Licence. Non-compliance with your Licence is an offence and strict penalties exist for those who do not comply. Licence holders are also reminded of the requirements of section 53 of the Act which places restrictions on making certain changes to prescribed premises unless the changes are in accordance with a works approval, licence, closure notice or environmental protection notice. Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) Page 2 of 23 Licence: L8779/2013/1 Amendment date: Thursday, 12 February 2015 File Number: 2013/002270 IRLB_TI0701 v2.8 Other Guidelines which you should be aware of include: Western Australian Guidelines for Biosolids Management, Department of Environment and Conservation, December 2012 (as amended from time to time). A licence under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) has been granted for the above premises. The Department of Environment Regulation will advertise the issuing of this licence in the public notices sections of ‘The Islander’ newsletter. If you are concerned about, or object to any aspect of the Licence, you may lodge an appeal within 21 days from the date on which this licence is received. To lodge an appeal please direct all correspondence to: The Hon Jamie Briggs MP Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development M1 26 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Licence fees If you have a licence that is issued for more than one year, you may be required to pay an annual licence fee prior to the anniversary date of issue of your licence. Non-payment of annual licence fees will result in your licence ceasing to have effect meaning that it will no longer be valid and you will need to apply for a new licence for your Premises. Ministerial conditions If your Premises has been assessed under Part IV of the Act you may have had conditions imposed by the Minister for Environment. You are required to comply with any conditions imposed by the Minister. Premises description and Licence summary Soft Star Pty Ltd owns the Christmas Island Resort (which houses up to 300 people) and the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The resort is approximately 500m south of the facility’s sewage treatment facility, approximately 1.4km north of the Lily Beach recreational boat ramp and scuba diving entry point and approximately 1.8-2.9km from the airport and Phosphate Hill detention centre (see Figure 1). The WWTP exists within part of Lot 3051 and 3052 on Plan 46328 which is leased by Soft Star Pty Ltd from the Commonwealth of Australia. The resort utilises an Intermittent Decanted Extended Aeration (IDEA) sewage system at the WWTP to manage the effluent from the resort prior to discharge via an ocean outfall pipe to the Indian Ocean, off Christmas Island. The facility has a maximum treatment capacity of 125 cubic metres per day (m3/day), however the volume currently being treated is closer to 90m3/day. The facility consists of a single IDEA (Process) tank, six sludge drying beds, leachate tank and pump, waste water pipework, Programmable Logic Controller, Alum dosing unit, static mixer, chlorine dosing unit and ocean outfall pipeline. The recent works completed at the Premises (W5591/2014/1) has included a tertiary treatment facility taking the form of a decant/clarifying tank, variable particle microfiltration unit (VPMU) and chlorine contact tank. The clarifying tank has a maximum capacity of 25m3 and has been placed in line after the IDEA (Process) tank to capture the supernatant whilst the secondary treated waters are fed through the microfiltration unit. Wastewater during the decant events will be captured in the poly urethane covered holding tank prior to filtration. The decant wastewater will be slowly pumped through the microfiltration unit (which will address any elevated levels of Total Suspended Solids at the Premises). Water is pushed through a 0.5 micron filter comprising micro fibres made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Nylon, which is compressed by inlet flow pressure. Following filtration the wastewater is sent to a 2m3 chlorine (30 minute) contact tank in order for adequate chlorination of the wastewater and killing of microbes. Backwashing of the filter occurs every three – five minutes and lasts for 60 seconds. The backwash is directed back into the IDEA tank at the start of the process. The management of the waste facility is conducted by resort staff and an operation and maintenance manual has been developed by Treatwater Pty Ltd to assist with the daily running and maintenance schedules. The main emission from the facility is wastewater discharged to the Indian Ocean. Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) Page 3 of 23 Licence: L8779/2013/1 Amendment date: Thursday, 12 February 2015 File Number: 2013/002270 IRLB_TI0701 v2.8 Figure 1: Premises proximity to other receptors on Christmas Island This Licence is as a result of an amendment sought by DER to update the Licence due to the completion of a recent upgrade at the Premises (W5591/2014/1) and includes additional monitoring parameters in accordance with monitoring standards and guidelines for marine waters as well as to update the conditions within the Licence to REFIRE version 2.8. Other administrative changes have also been included. The licences and works approvals issued for the Premises since 24/02/2012 are: Instrument log Instrument Issued Description CI1/2010/1 25/03/2010 New licence L8779/2013/1 04/04/2014 Licence issue in REFIRE format W5591/2014/1 02/05/2014 Works approval L8779/2013/1 12/02/2015 Licence amendment due to completion of premises upgrade Severance It is the intent of these Licence conditions that they shall operate so that, if a condition or a part of a condition is beyond the power of this Licence to impose, or is otherwise ultra vires or invalid, that condition or part of a condition shall be severed and the remainder of these conditions shall nevertheless be valid to the extent that they are within the power of this Licence to impose and are not otherwise ultra vires or invalid. END OF INTRODUCTION Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) Page 4 of 23 Licence: L8779/2013/1 Amendment date: Thursday, 12 February 2015 File Number: 2013/002270 IRLB_TI0701 v2.8 Licence conditions 1 General 1.1 Interpretation 1.1.1 In the Licence, definitions from the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI) apply unless the contrary intention appears. 1.1.2 For the purposes of this Licence, unless the contrary intention appears: ‘Act’ means the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)(CI); ‘AHD’ means the Australian height datum; ‘annual period’ means the inclusive period from 1 January until 31 December in the following year; ‘AS/NZS 2031’ means the Australian Standard AS/NZS 2031 Selection of containers and preservation of water samples for microbiological analysis; ‘AS/NZS 2927’ means the Australian Standard AS/ NZS 2927-1987 Storage and handling of liquefied chlorine gas; ‘AS/NZS 5667.1’ means the Australian Standard AS/NZS 5667.1 Water Quality – Sampling

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