EPA Monitor

The strong message from those presenting at the Summit was that small-to-medium-sized businesses and industries need to plan now to mitigate the impacts posed by climate change – including likely business discontinuity and damage to business operations, as well as the considerable financial risk.

Keynote speaker Sarah Barker, a corporate lawyer with MinterEllison, said climate change poses a material and accelerating financial risk and also an opportunity for small-to-medium-sized businesses. She also warned that past experience does not represent the future likely risk to business.

Ms Barker encouraged business to look ahead, assess and plan for risks and to talk to their bankers and supply chains to consider how they should respond to climate change risks.

Speaker Tennant Reed from Australian Industry Group (AIG), advised Summit attendees to look at AIG website to view the sectors most at risk from climate change.

Mr Tennant said more than half the businesses polled by AIG last year had experienced difficulty obtaining insurance, and of those, more than half had faced increased premiums. He also noted how global climate disasters had increased reinsurance costs and how that was impacting locally.

Dr Graham Green, Climate Change Science Adviser at the SA Department for Environment and Water, focused on the physical changes happening in South Australia.

He said the average temperature in SA is increasing at a rate higher than the Australian and global average, and is projected to increase even further.

Dr Green advised extreme heat has a significant impact on human health and productivity, particularly for industries where people are required to work outside.

He said the reduction in rainfall in South Australia will also be significant and this will influence crop choices in the agricultural sector, as well as the need to purchase additional water allocations and to invest in water recycling.

Dr Green also touched on rising sea levels and said businesses would need to reassess their flood risk profile and insurance to incorporate the risk from coastal flooding.

He pointed attendees to the significant amount of climate change data and information already available on the Bureau of Meteorology and other national and state government websites.

The Summit then heard case studies from Elizabeth Molyneaux and Michelle English (from AGL and Adelaide City Council respectively), about how their businesses are responding to climate change.

They emphasised that climate change is a cross-organisational issue and organisations must adequately resource those charged with managing the organisation’s response. She also stressed the importance of collaboration between businesses when planning and managing risks associated with climate change.

EPA CE Tony Circelli wrapped up the Summit saying the EPA wants to support and assist businesses to adapt and innovate in response to climate change and to realise the opportunities that exist.

Post-event materials will be available shortly for those who were unable able to attend the Summit.

The publication highlights businesses and companies which are implementing innovative solutions to achieve environmentally sustainable outcomes.

The stories are designed to inspire and encourage others to consider how they might innovate to lighten their footprint, to improve environmental, community and business outcomes.

This year’s publication features Teys Australia’s Naracoorte beef processing facility, Australian Naval Infrastructure’s state-of-the-art infrastructure at Osborne, SA Water’s Murray Bridge Wastewater Network and Korvest Galvanisers at Kilburn.

The Teys Australia story is published in this edition of the Monitor and the remaining stories will be published in subsequent issues of the Monitor.

Hard copies of Good for Environment, Good for Business can be requested by email. Please also email the same inbox if you believe you know a suitable EPA-licenced business worthy of being featured in the publication next year.

For more than two decades the team at Teys processing facility at Naracoorte, which employs more than 500 people, has focused on having a positive impact on the local community as well as supporting change across the industry.

                    The covered anaerobic lagoon at Teys Australia’s Naracoorte facility.

Teys has set clear targets to demonstrate this sustainability focus. By 2023, Teys will reduce water intensity by 10 per cent, reduce carbon intensity by 20 per cent, and source 30 per cent of its energy via renewables, with a view to achieving industry carbon neutrality by 2030.

Teys meat processing operations at Naracoorte generate more than 360 ML of wastewater each year and, in recent years, Teys has made a substantial effort to upgrade its wastewater treatment infrastructure. The appointment of a local dedicated environmental officer, along with investment in industry leading technologies, supports the company’s sustainability vision at Naracoorte.

Teys’ Group Environmental Manager Jacob Welch said this involved upgrading the facility’s primary and secondary wastewater treatment systems.

“The primary wastewater treatment system was upgraded with a dissolved air floatation system for fat, oils and grease removal, as well as the addition of two fan press units to improve paunch solids removal prior to discharge to the secondary wastewater treatment system. The fan presses also significantly dewater the paunch product, reducing the moisture content prior to composting.”

A Covered Anaerobic Lagoon (CAL) was also installed to improve wastewater treatment performance while capturing renewable energy rich biogas for electricity generation.

“The biogas is combusted in a cogeneration engine to produce renewable electricity, substantially reducing the facility’s reliance on grid electricity and reducing CO2 emissions by about 22,000 tonnes a year,” Mr Welch said.

“Teys has similar systems in place at its other processing facilities across Australia, but Naracoorte is our first plant to supply biogas into a cogeneration system for electricity generation, rather than a boiler for steam generation. The project will serve as a model for future implementation at our other facilities.”

Continuity of electricity supply is critical to the meat processing sector, and to ensure long-term energy security, Teys was able to access funding to support the project through the State Government Energy Productivity Program.

The multi-million dollar improvements were recognised with a win in the Energy Sector: Innovation and Productivity Improvement Award at the SA Premier’s Energy and Mining Awards in 2019.

“Recognition for our sustainability efforts is a great reward and it gives our customers and consumers confidence that Teys is taking real action to address the sustainability challenges of the future,” Mr Welch said.

“We also have a more resilient business, which gives the local community and our employees confidence that Teys is in Naracoorte for the long-term.”

EPA Environmental ​Scientist Shiloh Gerrity has been providing odour sensitivity testing and training to EPA ‘authorised officers’ for more than a decade to see which staff may be suitable for investigating odour complaints in the community and determining odour sources.

EPA Environmental Scientist Shiloh Gerrity testing colleague Andre Ortis’ sensitivity to odour to see if he has a suitable odour sensitivity range to investigate odours in the community.

“The odour sensitivity test is designed to identify staff with the right range of sensitivity,” Shiloh said.

“One person may be 300 times more sensitive to odour than another, and I’m intent on identifying staff who fall within the right sensitivity range.

“People who are too sensitive can get nasal fatigue which is when their brain interrupts their sense of smell so they don’t become overwhelmed.

“You may have experienced this when you’ve been somewhere with a really offensive odour, and then find after a while that you can no longer smell it.

“People who are not sensitive enough can find it difficult to tell the difference between similar smells, so their sense of smell can be unreliable. 

“The olfactometer we use, (a piece of equipment which measures odour dilution) has an odour sensitivity test to identify people who fall within the right sensitivity range.

“These staff can then be used to check out odour complaints in the community and we can have a degree of confidence that field observations will be consistent between different staff.

“To determine if staff are suitable, they are blindfolded and invited to sniff up to 14 different textas, or felt pens, which contain differing concentrations of n-butanol - a colourless liquid with a banana-like smell.

“In this way we are able to determine a baseline odour reading and work out a score for each individual. Anyone who scores between 4 and 12 falls within the right range.

​​“How the human nose detects odour is a bit of a mystery. As there is no reliable way of replacing a human nose with a chemical or electronic test, we find the most consistent method of testing the intensity of odours in the community is to use suitable staff who are trained to use our ‘Nasal Ranger’ olfactometers.”

EPA principal air quality scientist Dr Pushan Shah said so far 15 Marino residents have been accepted to join the dust study working group and several have offered to host a dust monitor on their property.

                 Marino residents have reported concerns about dust to the EPA for some time.

The community working group’s first meeting will be held at Marino on May 24 and this group will work with the EPA to investigate the best locations for the three community dust monitors.

Once the locations are determined, the monitors will be installed and a fourth monitor will also be positioned to act as an EPA control location.

The dust monitors will be in place for 12 months and real-time air quality data will be collected and published on the EPA Engage website.

The monitors are designed to capture smaller dust particles, which have the potential to enter lungs and impact health.

The EPA will collaborate with SA Health to determine if dust poses a potential human health risk, based on the findings during the 12 months.

The study will also determine if the dust experienced by the community exceeds relevant public health-based national standards and if the dust in Marino differs from that in other Adelaide suburbs.

The study findings will be presented to the community in July or August 2022.

In August 2014 Environment Protection Authority (EPA) officers identified a pollutant in Deep Creek and traced it to a wastewater treatment plant at Ashton Valley Fresh Pty Ltd.

The company was charged with discharging a pollutant in the form of wastewater from its site at Lobethal Road, Ashton into the waters of Deep Creek in contravention of the Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy.

In August 2020 Ashton Valley Fresh was convicted on two counts of contravening an environmental protection policy contrary to the Environment Protection Act 1993 after a trial lasting eight days in the Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Court.

The company appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court arguing on appeal that it had taken all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent environmental harm and that an employee may have opened a tap attached to the plant, which treated wastewater from an apple juicing process.

Justice Lovell of the Supreme Court upheld the original convictions, stating Ashton Valley Fresh could have taken other reasonable and practicable steps to have prevented the discharge and that it was not established that an employee had operated the tap to discharge the wastewater.

Costs associated with the Appeal are yet to be determined.

The fire burnt for several hours, fuelled by bundles of plastic and cardboard and sent smoke billowing over the local area.

Firefighters were initially called to the EPA licensed recycling facility on Johansson Road about 3:30 am after a smoke alarm was activated and a triple-0 call was made.

The EPA attended the site shortly after 7 am and confirmed that fire had destroyed the facility. EPA staff also monitored the situation to ensure that fire water was contained on the site and didn’t enter the stormwater system.

The Wingfield facility had been used to store and sort waste from 11 Adelaide councils and the site had been processing about 250 tonnes of recycling a day.

In the short term VISY has arranged for kerbside recyclable material to be baled locally and transported to VISY facilities in NSW and Victoria for processing.

These alternative arrangements will stay in place until an alternative materials recovery facility becomes available in South Australia.

More than 100 firefighters battled a blaze at Visy’s Wingfield recycling facility which broke out in the early hours of the morning on 8 April.  

The RAP highlights the EPA’s commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to maintain, protect and celebrate their culture, language, land and heritage in South Australia.

The EPA recognises the Original Custodians of South Australia’s lands, water, plants and animals, and that Country is central to the social, cultural, spiritual lives and identify of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The EPA Reconciliation Working Group with guest Ian Liddy (3^rd from left), EPA Chief Executive Tony Circelli and guest Isaac Hannam, at the launch of the EPA Reconciliation Action Plan

The EPA is committed to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to implement the RAP, which outlines 14 actions that work towards achieving the EPA’s unique vision for reconciliation over the next two years.

The Innovate RAP is guided by three key pillars – Relationships, Respect, and Opportunities – and will assist in promoting a positive culture internally which celebrates reconciliation within the EPA, further drive positive organisational change, and strengthen the frequency and quality of the EPA’s engagement with Aboriginal communities.

The RAP builds on the EPA’s existing work with Aboriginal communities developed as part of the previous Reconciliation Action Plan and identifies future opportunities to engage and work with Aboriginal peoples to protect and restore our environment for future generations.

Photo: “Caring for Country” artwork by Scott Rathman which was commissioned to illustrate the EPA Reconciliation Action Plan. It depicts land, air and water with the centre representing the coming together of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to share knowledge about country which contributes to the building of new relationships and strengthens old ones.

The new webpage allows users to identify the location of air quality monitors on an interactive map as well as provide access to air quality information including data on concentrations of pollutants.

EPA CE Executive Tony Circelli said the new webpage will make it easier for people to access and interpret real-time air quality data, particularly during major events impacting air quality such as bushfires, dust events, or photochemical smog events.

EPA scientific officer Sam Rice checking data at the Netley Air Quality Monitoring Station

“The new interactive webpage is a big improvement on the table-based format we previously presented air quality data in online and follows an extensive review of how we could improve air quality reporting to meet the needs of the South Australian community.

“The initiative also follows an EPA commitment to make our operations more open and transparent and provide more timely information on environmental incidents to communities and the public.

“Since making that commitment the EPA has revamped its website, released radiation licence data on its Public Register and released online groundwater contamination records in map form.

“The new air quality webpage will be much easier for people to navigate as by simply hovering their mouse over an interactive map they will be able to read and interpret air quality readings at nine different monitoring stations in Adelaide and around the state.

“Providing faster and easier access to air quality data during events such as bushfires, industrial fires, dust and smog events is vitally important for people who are managing respiratory and other conditions. 

“The design of the new webpage also adopts nationally consistent air quality categories and associated public health messages.”

The EPA welcomes public feedback on the new air quality webpage. Email or contact the call centre on 8204 2004. 

This requirement brings the poultry industry into line with other intensive farming industries such as cattle feedlots and piggeries, which have similar potential environmental impacts.

EPA Director Regulation Peter Dolan said licensing of poultry farms enables the EPA to set conditions and regulate potential environmental impacts such as odour, waste, wastewater or contaminated stormwater run-off, and noise pollution.

“The EPA advised poultry farm operators in April 2020 that they would require a licence once poultry farms were added to the list of activities of environmental significance requiring EPA authorisation – and this occurred in December,” Mr Dolan said.

“Poultry farm (broiler) operators who grow poultry meat where the total area of the sheds or structures used to keep the poultry is 13,500 square metres or more will require an EPA licence.

“Poultry includes chicken, turkey, guinea fowl, duck, geese, pheasants, quail, squab (pigeons), muttonbirds or other avian species.

“Holding an EPA licence will give the poultry industry regulatory certainty and clarity about their obligations.

“Licensing fees have been set to reflect the amount of effort required by the EPA to regulate potential environmental impacts.”

Poultry farmers will be able to apply for a licence online from 1 April 2021. Licences will be issued for a period of five years, after which time the licence will be renewed.

In most circumstances, standard licence conditions will be set for poultry farm licensees who are ensuring that all reasonable practices are being taken to minimise risk to the environment. The EPA will focus its attention according to risk, which will promote a more level playing-field for environmental management for the sector.

Further information is available on the EPA website or contact 8204 2004.

Groundwater in these areas is contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, PFAS, heavy metals and cyanide from past industrial activities.

The GPA will come into effect on April 8 and will prohibit people from drawing and using bore water from shallow aquifers less than 25 metres deep.

Deeper uncontaminated aquifers, such as those used by councils, are exempt from this prohibition.

The EPA has written to impacted residents and landowners to advise them that the GPA will be established, and this follows a 90-day community consultation period.

EPA Director Regulation, Peter Dolan said using contaminated bore water for drinking, showering, washing, filling swimming pools, watering lawns or irrigating edible produce over a long period of time would be a health risk for people in the affected area.

“Tonsley and surrounding suburbs have had significant commercial, industrial and manufacturing activities in the past, and unfortunately chemicals were disposed of by tipping them onto the ground.

“At the time it was thought the chemicals would evaporate, but we now know they migrate through the ground and contaminate groundwater.”

From 8 April 2021, extracting groundwater (bore water) from the Pooraka Formation aquifer (5–6 m below ground level) and Upper Hindmarsh Clay Quaternary aquifer (8–23 m below ground level) will be prohibited. A maximum fine of $8,000 may be issued if bore water is extracted from these aquifers.

Further information, including a map of the impacted area is available at: www.engage.epa.sa.gov.au/Tonsley

The work along the metropolitan coast is carried out twice every season over a 12 month period, (once at high tide and once at low tide each season), with seston traps deployed at Largs Bay, Grange, Brighton and Moana, in both vegetated and non-vegetated habitat.

The data from this study will better inform the limitations to seagrass recovery along the metropolitan Adelaide coastline and potentially demonstrate the role seagrass meadows play in reducing resuspension of sediments.

EPA Water Quality Scientist Matt Nelson said seagrasses are an important indicator of coastal health but have been greatly degraded along the Adelaide coastline by nutrient and sediment discharges from wastewater treatment plants and industry, as well as stormwater.

“Seagrass meadows play a number of important roles; they are nursery grounds for both commercially and recreationally important fish and crustacean species, sediment stabilisers and carbon sinks.

EPA scientific officer Natan Noel retrieving seston traps from Adelaide’s metro coastline.

“Over the last 20 years there has been a substantial reduction in nutrients discharged to nearshore environments from wastewater and industry, and now we believe the biggest factor potentially impacting nearshore habitats is fine sediment discharged from land-based sources, primarily through urban stormwater, that are constantly being re-suspended with wind and wave action.

“The joint research being undertaken by EPA and SA Water scientists will help us identify the land-use sources contributing most to sediment exports, and how these may be better managed.

“Ultimately we want to improve the water quality conditions that are required to best protect and provide for the restoration of seagrasses.”

The State Government has installed additional pumps to accelerate the movement of hyper-saline water away from the mangroves adjacent to the Dry Creek salt fields. This will complement activity being undertaken by Buckland Dry Creek (BDC), following directions previously issued by the Department for Energy and Mining.

Water regression in one of the salt ponds at the Dry Creek Saltfields. Photo courtesy of DEM.

The additional pumping activity has been made possible through a Clean Up Authorisation (CUA) under the Environment Protection Act 1993.

The CUA follows successful government trials of new pumping equipment at the site and enables Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Authorised Officers to undertake water pumping on the salt field site and to recover costs from BDC.

The additional pumps will accelerate the movement of water away from the western side of the highest risk ponds closest to the mangrove environment, moving water southwards to relieve pressure on the more severely impacted areas of vegetation.

Government remains focused on stopping further impact on the mangroves, promoting conditions for recovery of the affected areas, and establishing long-term environmental stability for the mangrove and wider ecosystem.

The inquiry will consider how to make the development of regulations and regulator behaviour more efficient, effective and future oriented.

The inquiry is part of SAPC Modern Regulation Project that also includes a program of regulatory reviews into specific areas of regulation affecting key economic processes or sectors.

The Commission received the terms of reference from the government on Friday, 29 January 2021.

For further information, regarding the SAPC or if you wish to join the mailing list to be kept informed of the progress of the inquiry, please visit the SAPC website.

The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) has issued 3 environmental directions to Buckland Dry Creek (BDC), the company which occupies the site.
Buckland Dry Creek has been directed to stop further pumping of new water to the affected area, to address a seepage issue at the Little Para River, and to remove the water from 7 km of pond south of St Kilda.

DEM reports that millions of litres of brine is being pumped out of the hyper-saline salt ponds and that the ponds at St Kilda are expected to be drained within weeks.

        Removing hyper-saline water from the salt fields

DEM continues to work with BDC to see how the company can remove water at a faster rate.

The 30-km, 4,000-hectare site is complex and areas are interrelated. Managing all sections, including the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, will be an important aspect of future remediation.

Community groups are providing useful input and DEM continues to provide public updates on the issue on their website.

The EPA continues to provide DEM with scientific support and expert advice.
DEM regulates the site under the Mining Act 1971 through the mining lease it holds with BDC.

BDC also has a licence under the Environment Protection Act 1993 for chemical storage and warehousing facilities, chemical works (salt production) and discharges to marine or inland waters, which is overseen by the EPA.

The Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Act 2020 passed Parliament on 9 September 2020.

South Australia was also the first state to introduce deposits on beverage containers, and the first to ban lightweight plastic bags.

By avoiding waste and shifting to reusable or other more sustainable options, the ban on single-use plastics continues to demonstrate SA’s leadership in this space.

From Monday 1 March 2021 single-use plastic straws, cutlery and stirrers will be prohibited from sale, supply or distribution in South Australia. These single-use items can be replaced with reusable and compostable alternatives that do not contain plastic.

The ban applies to single-use plastic straws, cutlery and stirrers made from, or comprising, fossil fuel derived plastic or compostable plastic, which is designed to be used once, or a limited number of times, before being thrown away.
Exemptions will apply for single-use straws for people with a disability or medical need.

Oxo-degradable plastic products will also be banned from manufacture and production in South Australia. Oxo-degradable plastic products have additives which enable the plastic to break down into tiny fragments (or microplastics) rather than completely breaking down.

Green Industries SA and the EPA are working on activities to support implementation of the single-use plastics ban. This includes developing and consulting on regulations to implement exemptions, preparing guidance on the assessment of single-use prohibited plastic products and the ‘Replace the Waste’ education campaign.

The EPA is responsible for enforcing the single-use plastics ban and will respond to non-compliance by taking an educational approach initially, followed up, if necessary, with verbal and written warnings, expiations and prosecution.

From March 1, 2022 expanded polystyrene cups, bowls, plates and clamshell containers will also be banned.

Visit the Replace the Waste website and sign up for updates on South Australia’s single use plastic ban.

The new Act implements national commitments made at the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference and the Council of Australian Governments to introduce a uniform national framework for radiation protection.

The Act will replace the 1982 act, and will continue to regulate activities involving radiation sources to ensure that people and the environment are protected from the harmful effects of radiation.

The Act introduces a general duty of care, a risk-based harms approach and establishes the offence of causing radiation harm. It introduces tools such as orders and expiations to enable more effective regulation.

It also reduces the administrative burden on small business through streamlining 7 separate licence categories down to 2 – a radiation use licence and a radiation management licence.

New Regulations will now be drafted to include a more risk-based approach to improve the EPA’s regulatory framework for the safe use of radiation.

The Radiation Protection Committee will provide advice on the Regulations. Once the Regulations are well progressed a decision on when the new Act will commence will be made.

The EPA regulates hospitals, dentists, veterinarians, soil analysis companies, mining companies, radiographers, radiologists, and ports under the legislation.

The EPA suspended Port Adelaide Salvage Pty’s transport licence for 3 years following a series of non-compliances with its licence conditions and breaches of the Environment Protection Act 1993.

EPA spokesperson Stephen Barry said the company’s authority to transport waste was suspended in October 2019 after it and its director Maurizio Corsaro operated an illegal waste depot at Highbury in 2012, and after its director operated an illegal waste depot at Houghton in 2015.

Mr Barry said the company was transporting asbestos that was not “appropriately wrapped or sealed”, putting the public’s health at risk.

“It was necessary to suspend Port Adelaide Salvage’s transport licence given the circumstances of previous and ongoing offending to protect the public and the environment,” he explained.

The suspension means Port Adelaide Salvage is not permitted to transport listed waste including asbestos during the suspension period which remains in place until 30 September 2022.

The EPA is currently investigating Port Adelaide Salvage over the alleged unlawful disposal of waste at two locations in Sedan, 100 km east of Adelaide.

The EPA’s Emergency Response Team attended the site on several occasions along with staff from the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) who placed a boom and absorbent pads around the vessel to contain pollutants.

The EPA liaised with the marina management company and the vessel owner during the incident and reminded them of their environmental obligations.

Vessel owners have a responsibility under the Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy 2015 not to discharge pollutants, and where this has occurred must take all reasonable and proactive measures to resolve the matter promptly in an environmentally responsible manner.

The marina management company was required to provide evidence (including photographs) to the EPA of the salvage in progress and upon completion, confirming that containment measures had been effective.

The EPA was satisfied that contaminants were contained throughout the salvage operation and while odours were present, they are not severe.