anglesea river understanding our local river system alcoa anglesea 2010 environment report october ANGLESEA ENVIRONMENT REPORT OCTOBER 2010 air Air Monitoring Stack Monitors Average Maximum Opacity g/min 10-minute average 0.062 0.117 Stack SO2 kg/min 1-hour average Licence limit 100kg/min 75.81 89.34 Ambient Monitors SO2 1 hour ppb Average Maximum Community Centre 2 113 Primary School 1 80 Mt Ingoldsby 1 95 Scout Camp 1 133 Camp Wilkin 3 145 Camp Road 3 144 Ambient Monitors SO2 Maximum 1 hour averages (ppb) Date 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Comm Centre 7 3 40 69 6 69 1 2 1 2 84 2 2 79 2 1 1 2 1 9 22 113 2 1 4 1 3 4 36 0 1 Primary School 6 3 0 26 1 21 0 0 0 0 80 72 0 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 37 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 Mt Ingoldsby 2 3 95 1 0 33 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 14 0 0 0 0 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 0 0 Scout Camp 5 4 1 3 7 5 133 78 14 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 2 18 0 10 1 41 9 0 0 75 0 1 3 0 0 Camp Wilkin 5 5 58 71 3 46 0 1 2 1 145 2 1 75 3 3 3 1 3 12 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 6 110 4 3 Camp Road 7 4 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 0 2 63 0 66 0 0 0 0 3 15 77 144 2 3 4 12 3 5 14 2 3 EPA Air Quality Objective 200 Alcoa Local Standard 170 ANGLESEA ENVIRONMENT REPORT OCTOBER 2010 water Water Storage Barwon Water storage levels for the Geelong system at 72.9% capacity. Stage 1 water restrictions apply. Water discharge ML October Total Ashponds (SP1) 128.5 1134.6 Mine (SP4) 0 0 Water Monitoring 13/10/2010 SP1 Ashpond SP4 Mine SP3 EPA Limit Lab Result 4 - 10 7.1 Susp Solids 100 4 100 discharge 30 <4 Colour 50 4 50 at 50 7 Aluminium 10 0.22 10 time 5.5 14* Iron 10 0.19 20 of 4.0 0.14 Zinc 0.4 0.24 2.0 sampling 0.3 0.43* pH EPA Limit 3 Lab Result Final 9 EPA Limit No 5 Lab Result 9 4.6* * NB: The results at SP3 appear to be outside EPA limits, but this is due to the pH levels in the natural tributaries to the Anglesea River impacting on our licenced discharge point. Alcoa Anglesea’s EPA licence includes provision for such conditions. This is a natural phenomenon that has generated much interest locally, to learn more visit: www.ccma.vic.gov.au/documents/AngleseaRiverFAQ.pdf . WATER WATER USE PER MONTH (ML) JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT Town Water 1.2 1.0 2.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.9 0.6 0.7 Bore Water 284 258 283 244 237 210 203 155 181 190 Mine Water 112 52 98 72 102 76 85 97 90 101 NOV DEC ANGLESEA ENVIRONMENT REPORT OCTOBER 2010 anglesea river This spring has been an unusual time for water in and around Anglesea. Heavy rain has been a rare occurrence locally in the past few years due to drought. However heavy spring rains this year have caused some unfortunate natural occurrences in Salt and Marshy Creeks, and subsequently in the Anglesea River. Salt and Marshy Creeks are tributaries to the Anglesea River, and actually converge and join together in a wetland we call the Mixing Zone within our operations and then proceed as the Anglesea River and discharge to the ocean. Upstream of Alcoa Anglesea, and all throughout the Anglesea Heath, the soils are called acid sulphate soils. DSE can provide more information on acid sulphate soils to interested readers. After a prolonged dry period followed by heavy rains, this type of soil can release sulphuric acid which then lowers the pH of local waterways. The pH can decrease to as low as 3. Records held since 1966 have shown that similar low pH levels have occurred periodically in the local catchment. Regular monthly water sampling conducted in September and October confirmed that pH readings were unusual. Whilst the discharge from our Ash Ponds (at SP1) was normal, the result seen where the The table following shows the results of water samples taken at SP1, SP3, Marshy Creek and Salt Creeks. Due to the results seen at Salt Creek, the results at SP3 are within our EPA licence requirements due to the previous clauses. Water Monitoring Marshy Creek Salt Creek SP1 SP3 Lab Result Lab Result Lab Result Lab Result pH 3.5 3.9 7.1 4.6 Susp Solids <4 <4 4 <4 Colour 4 35 4 7 Aluminium 2.7 81 0.22 14 Iron 0.72 1.4 0.19 0.14 Zinc 0.036 1.8 0.24 0.43 13/10/2010 The effect on the Anglesea River leave our site (SP3 Licence Point) was abnormal. As the table following shows, the pH at SP1 was 7.1 but the pH at SP3 was 4.6 this is very rare. However, because this has occurred in the past, our EPA licence does include provision for these conditions. It includes a clause which states that if the background levels measured at Marshy Creek or Salt Creek are outside of the limits specified in the licence, then water can only be discharged from Alcoa premises if: the pH at the SP3 licence point is not lower than the pH measured at Marshy Creek/Salt Creek; and the other measured values (ie aluminium, iron and zinc) at SP3 licence point do not exceed the values measured at Marshy Creek/Salt Creek. PLANTS OF THE ANGLESEA HEATH SOUTH AFRICAN WEED ORCHID (Disa bracteata) Size: Distribution: Habitat: Form: Foliage: Flowers: Did you know: 30 - 50cm native to South Africa, first found in Albany Western Australia in 1944, first recorded in Victoria in 1991, now ten infestation sites in Victoria grows readily with a wide range of flora, invades bushland and pastures and is attracted to disturbed sites perennial terrestrial orchid lower leaves 5 – 15 cm long 15 - 30 on a cylindrical spike 5 20cm long, resembles a greenishbrown asparagus spear October - December A new population discovered at Fraser Avenue is a significant threat to native orchids in the area. More than 100 orchid species are found in the Anglesea Heath representing half of the State’s orchid flora. The low pH of the water in Salt and Marshy Creeks resulted in fish deaths in the Anglesea River. The gills of the fish are damaged by contact with the acidic water. The phenomenon of fish deaths has occurred several times before locally and each instance has occurred after heavy rainfall events. A range of government agencies are investigating the most recent event in Anglesea and confirmed the natural phenomenon as the cause of the fish deaths. Alcoa has and will to continue to participate in this process. More information on this event can be found at: http://www.ccma.vic.gov.au/documents/101105_Anglesea_FAQs9Nov 2010No2.pdf SOUTH AFRICAN WEED ORCHID ANGLESEA ENVIRONMENT REPORT OCTOBER 2010 LAND RAINFALL (mm) Long Term Average 2010 Rainfall JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT 42.9 41.6 40.2 51.9 59.9 59.1 63.0 65.8 66.9 68.9 5.0 67.0 63.0 57.0 30.2 71.8 47.4 121.2 56.8 141.1 OCT NOV DEC WATER TOWN WATER USE (ML) 2000 2009 2010 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT Amenity Water Use 1.0 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 Process Water use 2.0 1.1 0.6 1.1 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.8 0.4 0.6 NOV DEC AIR GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) TOTAL (Mt) & GHG EMISSION EFFICIENCY (t/mwH) GHG t GHG t/MWh 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 f orecast 1227846 1265103 1504860 1448793 1468098 1309674 1491486 1396713 1452351 1361632 1447777 1.24 1.19 1.21 1.21 1.20 1.21 1.20 1.18 1.23 1.22 1.19 ANGLESEA ENVIRONMENT REPORT OCTOBER 2010 environmental improvement Environmental Management Targets October 2010 Total 2010 Forecast 2010 Target Reportable Environmental Incidents 0 0 0 0 Env Near Miss vs Env Incident Run Rate (ratio) 3 4.3 4.3 2.5 100 100 100 90 October 2010 Total 2010 Forecast 2010 Target Ambient SO2 (no. readings > 200ppb) 0 0 0 0 Stack SO2 (no. hrs > 100kg/min) 0 0 0 0 SO2 Load Reductions (lost MWh) 24 170 204 NA 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.20 0 0 0 0 October 2010 Total 2010 Forecast 2010 Target Town Water (ML) 0.7 11.2 13.4 14.2 Bore Water (ML) 190 2245 2693 4000 Waste Targets October 2010 Total 2010 Forecast 2010 Target Waste to Landfill (t) 0 3.32 4.0 8 Solid Prescribed Waste to Landfill (t) 0 0 0 0 Monthly EHS ASAT Audit Completion (%) Air Emission Targets GHG Efficiency (t CO2 e/MWh) Opacity (10 min av > 0.25g/m3 norm ops) Water Targets Mine Rehabilitation Targets 2010 Total 2010 Target 2010 Area to Clear (ha) 3.1 3.1 2010 Area to Rehabilitate (ha) 5.4 > 3.1 OUR ENVIRONMENT AND OUR EMPLOYEE Hi Nicci! How do you interact with the EPA at work? Most of my interactions with the Authority are in regard to ensuring compliance with the site’s EPA Licence. I report monitoring results and how we comply with policies, in addition to ensuring open communication with our client manager. Why did you notify the EPA of low local pH readings recently even though Alcoa remained in compliance with its licence? During our routine surface water testing at site, we noted high water flow in both Salt and Marshy Creeks, which we haven’t seen for some time. Testing of the water in these creeks upstream of the power station indicated very low pH levels, due to the naturally occurring acid sulphate soils. Whilst testing of our discharge water confirmed compliance with our EPA Licence, we notified the EPA as we have seen fish deaths previously in the Anglesea River when low pH levels are detected in the natural tributaries. Do we do this sort of proactive communication in any other instances/circumstances? Yes we do. Whenever we observe, measure or detect changes in our environment that may impact on the quality of local air, water, land, visual amenity, fauna, flora or the community, we proactively report to EPA. This assists the Authority by alerting them to potential incidents and provides background information should they receive any enquiries.