Blakefield South Mine MANAGEMENT PLAN 1. COMMITMENT AND POLICY 1.1 Purpose The purpose of the Construction Noise Management Plan (CNMP) is to provide a structured process for managing, monitoring and reporting noise caused by the construction of gas drainage infrastructure at the Blakefield North Mine. The Blakefield North Mine (BFN) is in early development as a continuation of the Bulga Underground Operations (BUO), which itself is a part of the Bulga Coal Complex (BCC). The location of the proposed Blakefield North Mine, and the area covered by this plan is shown in Figure 1. 1.2 Scope This CNMP applies to all gas drainage construction activities at the commencement ends of BFN longwalls 1 to 7. Current operational noise from mining activities, including gas drainage, that occur in the Blakefield South Mine area is managed under the current approved Bulga Coal Complex Noise Management Plan (NMP). Both the CNMP and NMP apply to all BCC employees and contractors in any capacity, and form part of the Bulga Coal Complex Environmental Management System (EMS). 2. BACKGROUND 2.1 Development Consent Requirements The most recent modification to the BUO development consent (Mod 5 Oct 2013) introduced the need for a Construction Noise Management Plan for gas drainage activities in the BFN area. The Blakefield North Underground Project EA (Nov 2012) (EA) noise impact assessment (NIA), undertaken by Global Acoustics (16 Nov 2012), stated that noise levels from all aspects of the modification would comply with the BCC s operational noise limits, except for potential impacts on up to 28 sensitive receivers from the installation of 19 vertical gas wells, and from 1 surface to in-seam gas well. When reviewing the Noise Impact Assessment the DoPI recognised that there was a gap in coverage between the Industrial Noise Policy (INP) and the Interim Construction Noise Guidelines (ICNG), which meant that neither policy explicitly dealt with construction noise for mining or quarry proposals, as opposed to operational noise. To assist with the review of the EA, a further detailed assessment of construction noise was undertaken by Global Acoustics (17 June 2013). Global Acoustics revised this detailed assessment (5 September 2014) in support of BSM SD PLN 0132 Blakefield North Gas Drainage Management Plan. Global Acoustics revised this detailed assessment (11 March 2015) in support of changes to BSM SD PLN 0132 Blakefield North Gas Drainage Management Plan, specifically the revised location of HDD009 The predictions from that revised assessment are used in this plan and included in Appendix A. Page 1 of 18
Approval for the development consent modification was granted on the 13 th of Oct 2013 with several amendments to noise conditions, including the requirement for this plan to be developed because of the gap between the INP and ICNG. The requirement was added as a sub-condition of the Noise Management Plan Condition 32C, namely; Condition 32C In addition, noise caused by constructing gas drainage infrastructure has been treated separate to operational noise by the exclusion from the following impact and acquisition criteria tables in the development consent; Page 2 of 18
The NMP and the procedure to implement the underground commitments in that plan cover all forms of operational noise. As the CNMP is specifically about gas well construction the Page 3 of 18
commitments and procedural details are all contained within this document and there is no accompanying procedure. Page 4 of 18
Blakefield South Mine Page 5 of 18
Blakefield South Mine 3. IMPLEMENTATION 3.1 Sensitive receptor locations and predicted noise impact The sensitive receptors modelled in the NIA (16 Nov 2012), and in the subsequent detailed assessment of construction noise (Global Acoustics, 11 March 2015, Appendix A) are shown in Figure 2. The predicted drilling and construction noise results for each receptor are shown in the extracted Tables 3.3 and 3.4 from the report in Appendix A. 3.2 Consultation 3.21 Sites where predicted noise impacts are within day time construction criteria; The following actions will be undertaken with these potentially affected noise sensitive receptors (NSR): two weeks prior to start of works contact them to present the planned construction activities, duration of works, and discuss what the potential noise impacts may be; explain what monitoring will be performed, and what modifications will be made to the operations if readings go above the predictions in Table 6.3 and 6.4. 3.22 Sites where predicted noise impacts exceed day time construction criteria; The following actions will be undertaken with these potentially affected noise sensitive receptors (NSR): two weeks prior to start of works visit them to present the planned construction activities, duration of works, and discuss what the potential noise impacts may be; explain what monitoring will be performed, and what modifications will be made to the operations if readings go above the daytime construction criteria; and offer compensation for noise impacts. The sites in this category Receptor ID Location 195 Cobcroft Rd 217 Cobcroft Rd AA AB AD Fordwich Rd Fordwich Rd Cobcroft Rd Page 6 of 18
3.3 Commitment for reasonable and feasible noise mitigation 3.31 Hours of work (exclusive of ERD drilling) Construction hours will be limited to: 7:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday; 8:00am to 1:00pm Saturdays, and No gas drainage construction activities during Sundays or public holidays. 3.32 Noise Attenuation acoustic barriers of height 3.0m will be used for the three most exposed sides of all drill sites; quietest available equipment will be selected for use on drill sites; noise sources on drill sites will be placed as close as practically possible to acoustic barriers; broadband (white sound) reversing sirens will be used on earthmoving equipment where possible; and equipment will be inspected and maintained on a regular basis to confirm noise attenuation components are in good working order. 3.33 Traffic Management delivery of gravel during civil construction will be managed in accordance with Section 6.6 of the Blakefield North Gas Draiange Management Plan. Trucks will be fully loaded to reduce frequency of deliveries and will only operate during the hours of work in Section 4.31. Page 7 of 18
The tables below are from Global Acoustics, 11 March 2015. Blakefield South Mine Page 8 of 18
Blakefield South Mine Page 9 of 18
Blakefield South Mine 4. MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION 4.1 Monitoring & Evaluating noise emissions Gas drainage construction noise is monitored by conducting monthly attended noise monitoring. Attended noise monitoring of construction activities is separate from attended noise monitoring of operations prescribed in the Noise Management Plan. Monthly gas drainage attended noise monitoring will be scheduled and undertaken according to: Target timing of potentially noisy operations based on the busiest periods in the construction programme; The location of the nearest sensitive receptor at the most noise affected point on or within the residential boundary, or at the most affected point within 30 metres of the dwelling where the dwelling is more than 30 metres from the boundary (permission pending); Australian Standard 1055.1 1997, Acoustics Description and measurement of environmental noise, Part 1: General procedures; and Where possible the monitoring will be unannounced. Attended noise monitoring will be evaluated as follows. Discernment of contribution of construction activities using the LA10(15min) noise descriptor or logarithmic subtraction; If attended noise monitoring indicates construction activities are exceeding criteria at a SNR (>50dB LA eq 15 min), then E&C Staff, Gas Drainage Staff and contract supervisors will be notified, operations modified and construction noise re-assessed; If modifification of operations fails to reduce noise within criteria (due to weather conditions), operations will cease; A noise enquiry or complaint will be treated the same as a failed attended monitoring assessment; and Recording at a minimum the following: Type of monitoring undertaken and measurement method; Description of instrumentation used; Description of construction works being undertaken at the time of measurements; Weather conditions at the time of measurements; Locations, time and duration of monitoring; Comparison of measured results to compliance noise goals; Where results are found to exceed compliance noise goals, a summary of steps taken to achieve compliance; and Reported to the Singleton Compliance Office. Page 10 of 18
All enquiries, complaints, attended monitoring and responses will be recorded and reported in the Bulga Coal Complex Annual Environmental Management Report. 4.2 Response protocol for specific exceedences - Condition 32C(c) The last part of Condition 32C(c) specifies the need for response protocols to particular noise emissions, namely: The response protocol for 50dB LA eq 15 min is addressed above in Section 4.1. The response protocol for receiver 160 is no longer valid as this property has been purchased since the condition was set. Modelling undertaken by Global Acoustics (11 March 2015), predicts that the evening or night noise caused by construction is below the 39dB LA eq 15 min trigger in Condition 32C at all recievers with the exception of 1 mine owned property during during drilling of HDD009. Evening and night noise emissions will be monitored, evaluated and responded to in accordance with the Bulga Coal Complex Noise Mangement Plan. The mine owned receiver, M, will be offered a rent free period for the duration of HDD009 drilling. Sleep disturbance modelling undertaken by Global Acoustics (11 March 2015), predicts that noise caused by ERD during the evening and night is below the LAeq 1 min 51 db criteria trigger in Condition 32C at all recievers with the exception of 1 mine owned property during during drilling of HDD009. The mine owned receiver, M, will be offered a rent free period for the duration of HDD009 drilling. 5. TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION The Environment and Community Manager is responsible for communicating the commitments and protocols contained in this plan to site staff and contractors. The Environment and Community Manager is also responsible for informing the Gas Drainage Manager and Gas Drainage Planner about the outcomes from consultation and monitoring results required under this plan. 6. REVIEW AND IMPROVEMENT This CNMP will be reviewed, and revised if required, in accordance with DA376-8-2003 Condition 6.3, or if the schedule for the construction of pre-drainage gas wells is substantially modified. Role Operations Manager Accountabilities Provide appropriate resources to meet the commitments made in the CNMP. Page 11 of 18
Gas Drainage Manager Gas Drainage Planner Provide appropriate resources to meet the commitments made in the CNMP. Responsible for the design and incorporation of the noise mitigation commitments into the mine plan. Assist with the response protocols described in Section 4. Implement a procedure for halting or reducing activities as required in response to any trigger contained in this Plan. Environment and Community Coordinator Provide that this plan is current, accurate and approved by relevant government authorities. Provide appropriate resources to undertake the monitoring and consultation requirements of this plan. Initiate the response protocols described in Section 4. Responsible for the recording and reporting of all complaints received from the community and for commencing the complaint investigation within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. All Personnel and Contractors Report any unusually noisy equipment, activity and damage to or the removal of noise attenuation or mitigation equipment to their supervisor for investigation and if necessary remedial action. 7. REFERENCES 7.1 Global Acoustics Pty Ltd Blakefield North: Development Consent Noise Modification Environmental Noise Assessment. 16 th November 2012 Blakefield North Modification 5 Construction Noise Assessment. 17 th June 2013. Gas Drainage Management Plan - Environment Noise Assessment. 12 th February 2015 Page 12 of 18
7.2 Legislation NSW Industrial Noise Policy (2000) NSW Interim Construction Noise Guidelines (2009) 7.3 Bulga Coal Complex BUL SD PLN 0005 Bulga Complex Environmental Management Strategy BUL SD PRO 0094 Bulga Surface Operations Noise management Procedure BSM SD PRO 0068 Bulga Underground Operations Noise Management Procedure BSM SD PLN 0032 Bulga Coal Complex Noise Management Plan BSM SD PLN 0132 Blakefield North Gas Drainage Management Plan 8. APPENDICES 8.1 Appendix A Gas Drainage Management Plan Environmental Noise Assessment. Global Acoustics, February 15 Link to site Intranet 8.2 Appendix B Parsons Brinkerhoff Letter of Response Protocol Advice 19 September 2014 Martin Salm Environment and Community Officer Bulga Underground Operations Dear Martin Blakefield North Mine Construction Noise Management Pla - LW1 & 2 #BSM SD PLN 0126 Introduction Parsons Brinckerhoff has been commissioned to undertake a review of the current construction Page 13 of 18
noise management plan for the Blakefield North Mine (BFN) LW1 & 2. The current noise management plan utilises real time monitors in three locations with a trigger value of 50 db(a)leq(30min). There have been concerns around an excessive amount of false positive readings not attributable to construction operations and cost concerns have arisen in utilising this approach which has led to this review. The purpose of this letter is to examine the real time monitoring approach and to recommend a more streamlined approach which will demonstrate compliance with condition 32C (c) of DA 376-8-2003. Current Plan The most recent modification to the BUO development consent (Mod 5 Oct 2013) introduced the need for a Construction Noise Management Plan for gas drainage activities in the BFN area. The current plan applies to all gas drainage construction activities at the commencement ends of BFN longwalls 1& 2. Consultation has been ongoing since before works commenced in January 2014. Hours of work are limited to: 7:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday; 8:00am to 1:00pm Saturdays, and No gas drainage construction activities during Sundays or Public holidays. Noise attenuation measures and traffic management are also outlined in Section 3.3. Section 4 outlines the procedure for noise monitoring and evaluation. The current plan utilises continuous noise monitors to record cumulative noise levels near NSR s and the monitors are moved to reflect work areas. The noise recordings are monitored by site E&C staff with warning text and email notifications sent when noise levels have reached 50dB(A) Leq30min. Operations are modified to restrict noise emissions to levels below 50dB(A) if the trigger was found to be due to construction noise. Section 4.2 outlines the procedure for evaluating noise emissions which includes: At a level of 50dB(A) L eq30min the sound recording for that period will be assessed; If that assessment finds the construction activities are a major contribution to the noise trigger, then the gas drainage planner and contractor supervisor will be notified and the area will be assessed for noise emissions; If there is uncertainty about the noise sources during the field inspections then attended monitoring is to be conducted at the nearest sensitive noise receptors and compared to previous predictions for that location. If the measurements are above predicted values then operations are modified until they are below the predictions and meet consent criteria. Recommendations Cost and time saving improvements to the above method could be achieved through the implementation of an attended monitoring programme and remove the real time monitors in the CNMP. Accuracy would also be improved. The real time monitors measure for magnitude and trigger false positive readings as they are programmed to send alarms at 50dB(A) L eq30min. Staff is then assigned to listen to the data and attempt to decipher if the exceedance was due to construction noise activity. All of this leads to excessive Page 14 of 18
money being spent on hiring equipment and time analysing data when attended monitoring could accurately ascertain the real noise contribution from construction activities as it happens. Therefore the following or a similar approach is recommended and could be implemented in the existing CNMP: As real time monitoring has been undertaken to date with minimal 50dB(A) L eq30min triggers being attributed to construction activities, it is proposed that monthly operated attended noise monitoring take place. BUO staff should liaise with Gas Drainage staff concerning particularly noisy activities or operations in close proximity to potentially sensitive residences that may necessitate additional noise monitoring. Undertake attended noise monitoring at the nearest sensitive locations before or after and during construction works to ascertain actual construction noise contribution to the ambient noise environment. Noise monitoring should be conducted at the most noise affected point on or within the residential boundary, or at the most affected point within 30 metres of the dwelling where the dwelling is more than 30 metres from the boundary. Measurements should be undertaken with consideration to Australian Standard 1055.1 1997, Acoustics Description and measurement of environmental noise, Part 1: General procedures. The L A10(15min) noise descriptor may also be a useful indicator of construction activity depending on the situation for use in compliance monitoring where the measured L Aeq(15min) are higher than the identified trigger level. Additionally, logarithmic subtraction could also be utilised when comparing L Aeq(15min) before and during construction operations. Attended monitoring should record at a minimum the following: Type of monitoring undertaken and measurement method; Description of instrumentation used; Description of construction works being undertaken at the time of measurements; Weather conditions at the time of measurements; Locations, time and duration of monitoring; Comparison of measured results to compliance noise goals; Where results are found to exceed compliance noise goals, a summary of steps taken to achieve compliance. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on 02 4924 2904 or collinsg@pbworld.com. Kind regards Page 15 of 18
Greg Collins Environment and Water Executive - Resources Page 16 of 18
Blakefield South Mine 9. CONTROL AND REVISION HISTORY 9.1 Document information Property Approved by Document Owner Value <<Type name of document approver>> <<Type name of document owner>> Effective Date 22/11/2013 Keywords <<Type list of keywords>> For a complete list of document properties, select View Properties from the document s context menu on the intranet. 9.2 Revisions Version Date reviewed Review team (consultation) Nature of the amendment 1 22/11/13 N Stephenson Doc creation 2 19/03/2014 N Stephenson Changed alarm duration before response 3 10/04/14 N Stephenson, M Salm Changed alarm configuration, added response form. 4 19/06/2014 M Salm Updated after purchase of sensitive receiver 160 (See Figure 2) 5 10/12/2014 N Stephenson, M Salm Updated response and evaluation protocol as per advice received from Parsons Brinkerhoff (Appendix C). Minor changes as requested by DP&E. 6 20/02/2015 M Salm Updated to reflect revised location, modelling and response protocol of HDD009 Page 17 of 18
Page 18 of 18