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Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing

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Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing Weston Aluminium Pty Ltd 10 May 2012 Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing AECOM Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing Prepared for Weston Aluminium Pty Ltd Prepared by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd 17 Warabrook Boulevarde, Warabrook NSW 2304, PO Box 73, Hunter Region MC NSW 2310, Australia T +61 2 4911 4900 F +61 2 4911 4999 www.aecom.com ABN 20 093 846 925 10 May 2012 60250487 AECOM in Australia and New Zealand is certified to the latest version of ISO9001 and ISO14001. © AECOM Australia Pty Ltd (AECOM). All rights reserved. AECOM has prepared this document for the sole use of the Client and for a specific purpose, each as expressly stated in the document. No other party should rely on this document without the prior written consent of AECOM. AECOM undertakes no duty, nor accepts any responsibility, to any third party who may rely upon or use this document. This document has been prepared based on the Client’s description of its requirements and AECOM’s experience, having regard to assumptions that AECOM can reasonably be expected to make in accordance with sound professional principles. AECOM may also have relied upon information provided by the Client and other third parties to prepare this document, some of which may not have been verified. Subject to the above conditions, this document may be transmitted, reproduced or disseminated only in its entirety. 10 May 2012 AECOM Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing Table of Contents Executive Summary i 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose of this Document 1 1.2 Facility Background 1 1.2.1 Site Location 1 1.2.2 Proponent 1 1.2.3 Facility History 1 1.3 Project Background 1 1.3.1 Background 1 1.3.2 Spent Potlining 2 1.3.3 SPL Trials and Validation 2 1.3.4 Product Market 3 1.3.5 Staged Approval 3 2.0 Description of the Project 5 2.1 Project Location 5 2.2 Interaction with Existing Operations 5 2.3 Proposed Project 5 2.3.1 Process Description 5 2.3.2 Raw Materials 6 2.3.3 Operational Facilities 6 2.3.4 Transport Requirements 6 2.3.5 Workforce 6 2.3.6 Hours of Operation 6 2.3.7 Capital Investment Required 6 2.3.8 Construction Details 6 2.3.9 Environmental Controls 6 2.4 Need for the Project 7 2.5 Alternatives Considered 7 3.0 Statutory Planning 11 3.1 Overview 11 3.2 Commonwealth Legislative Requirements 11 3.2.1 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 11 3.2.2 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 11 3.3 NSW Legislative Requirements 11 3.3.1 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 11 3.3.2 Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 12 3.4 Environmental Planning Instruments 12 3.4.1 State Environmental Planning Policy No.33 – Hazardous and Offensive Development 12 3.4.2 Cessnock Local Environmental Plan 2011 13 3.5 Basel Convention 13 3.6 NSW 2021: A Plan to Make NSW Number One 13 4.0 Stakeholder Consultation 15 4.1 Consultation Undertaken to Date 15 4.2 Stakeholder Engagement Strategy 15 5.0 Prioritisation of Issues 17 5.1 Risk Matrix 17 5.2 Risk Analysis 17 5.3 Key Issues 18 6.0 Environmental Impact Assessment 19 6.1 Air Quality 19 6.1.1 Existing Environment 19 6.1.2 Potential Impacts 19 6.1.3 Mitigation Measures 20 6.2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 20 10 May 2012 AECOM Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing 6.2.1 Existing Environment 20 6.2.2 Potential Impacts 21 6.2.3 Mitigation Measures 21 6.3 Waste Management 21 6.3.1 Existing Environment 21 6.3.2 Potential Impacts 22 6.3.3 Mitigation Measures 22 6.4 Hazard and Risk 22 6.4.1 Existing Environment 22 6.4.2 Potential Impacts 23 6.4.3 Mitigation Measures 24 6.5 Soil and Water 24 6.5.1 Existing Environment 24 6.5.2 Potential Impacts 25 6.5.3 Mitigation Measures 25 6.6 Transport 26 6.6.1 Existing Environment 26 6.6.2 Potential Impacts 26 6.6.3 Mitigation Measures 26 6.7 Other Environmental Issues 26 7.0 Statement of Commitments 27 8.0 Conclusion 29 9.0 References 31 Appendix A Director-General's Requirements A Appendix B Stakeholder Information Session: Documentation B Appendix C Air Quality Impact Assessment C Appendix D Preliminary Hazard Analysis D List of Tables Table 1 Fee based activity under EPL 6423 12 Table 2 Risk Matrix 17 Table 3 Risk Assessment 18 Table 4 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Use, 2009 - 2011 20 Table 5 NSW Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector, 2009 21 Table 6 Statement of Commitments 27 List of Figures Figure 1 Site Location 4 Figure 2 Proposed SPL Processing Schematic 8 Figure 3 Plant Layout 9 10 May 2012 AECOM Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing i Executive Summary Introduction This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared for Weston Aluminium Pty Ltd (Weston Aluminium) to accompany an application under Section 75W of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) to modify existing Development Consent DA 86-04-01 and LEC 10397 of 1995 (as modified) to allow for the commercial processing of Spent Potlining (SPL) at the Kurri Kurri facility. Weston Aluminium proposes to diversify its service provision to the aluminium smelting industry beyond the reprocessing of aluminium drosses and other aluminium-bearing by-products to secure future sustainability and growth. The proposed project, which is the subject of this application, is to treat and process Second Cut SPL on a commercial scale. The current development consent authorises Weston Aluminium to process up to 40,000 tonnes of aluminium dross and process up to 35,000 tonnes of scrap aluminium metal per year on site. Dross inputs are currently in the order of 10,000-15,000 tonnes per annum, which is well below the approved capacity. Under the proposed project, it is envisaged that (ultimately) 15,000-25,000 tonnes per annum of SPL processing will be undertaken on the premises. As such, the combined dross and SPL processing tonnage will comply with the existing approval conditions. Since 2005, Weston Aluminium representatives have undertaken extensive research, both domestically and overseas, investigating available technologies for the treatment of SPL from primary aluminium smelters. Weston Aluminium’s objective is to offer a sustainable solution to domestic smelters, enabling the cost-effective treatment of SPL and, in conjunction with other treated industrial by-products, formulate the manufacture of a value added substitute for manufacturing sector raw material inputs. Description of the Project SPL will be received either pre-crushed or uncrushed from various domestic aluminium smelters, and stored on the premises in accordance with the Australian Dangerous Goods Code. The proposed SPL processing chain is identical to that of dross treatment and the same facilities, plant and equipment will be used for the recycling of both materials. However, as the recycling of dross and SPL produce different end products, the treatment of both materials will be conducted independently as dedicated campaigns. Weston Aluminium proposes a treatment process of SPL based on the following elements: - Primary crushing (where necessary); - Controlled blending with other propriety additives, as required; - Fine milling; - Thermal treatment; and - Crushing and mixing (as required) and subsequent distribution to end markets. The objective of the process is to thermally oxidise the cyanide within the SPL and modify the mineralogical composition so that the material is declassified and able to be transported as a non-hazardous goods product. Previous trials conducted by Weston Aluminium demonstrated that the proposed process will allow Weston Aluminium to remain within its existing regulatory compliance limits in terms of both cyanide concentrations and atmospheric emissions. Consequently, no change to Weston Aluminium’s existing Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) limits will be required for the project. Environmental Impact Assessment Air Quality An air quality impact assessment was prepared for the proposed processing of SPL at the Weston Aluminium facility. The objective of the investigation was to assess the potential change in pollutant concentrations experienced at sensitive receptors as a result of the modification to the facility’s operations. The Ausplume model was run using representative stack emissions data from both dross and SPL processing operations. Dispersion modelling predicted only minor changes to ground level pollutant concentrations as a result of the change to the processing activities at the Weston facility. With the exception of fluoride and cumulative 10 May 2012 AECOM Environmental Assessment Spent Potlining Processing ii PM10, all predicted pollutant concentrations complied with the relevant impact assessment criteria. Further analysis (through receptor-specific modelling) demonstrated that the exceedances of the fluoride criteria were confined to the site, and that acceptable levels were predicted at sensitive receptor locations. The exceedances of the 24 hour PM10 criterion were demonstrated to be solely attributable to elevated background concentrations; no additional exceedances were predicted to result from the operation of the facility processing either dross or SPL. On the basis of the dispersion modelling undertaken for this project, processing of SPL processing at the facility is not expected to result in an unacceptable change to the expected emissions from the facility, and ground level pollutant concentrations at all sensitive receptors should be within acceptable levels. Greenhouse Gas Emissions The proposed processing of SPL would bring the facility back up to its typical rotary furnace inputs of 40,000 tonnes per annum (current approved limit). The estimated Scope 2 emissions (indirect GHG emissions generated from electricity consumption) associated with full-scale operation of the facility would be approximately 19 % higher than those reported in 2010-11, or equivalent to approximately 5,874 t CO2-e per year.
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