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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 2206 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 June 2019 by Hon Dr Steve Thomas

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1


Question

I refer to the dust issues impacting on the town of Port Hedland, and I ask:
(a) what is the current level of dust particulate matter pollution allowable in the West End section of Port Hedland, under existing licences and regulations;
(b) under what licences and or regulations are those limits set;
(c) are there State Agreement Acts that impact on the setting or enforcement of those limits; and
(d) if yes to (c), what are those State Agreement Acts and in what way do they impact?

Answered on 13 August 2019

(a) The current regulatory approach to manage dust concentrations in the West End of Port Hedland is based on the information and recommendations in the health risk assessment (HRA) undertaken by the Department of Health (DoH, 2016). For the West End, the HRA proposed a 24 hour PM10 interim guideline of 70 μg/m3 on the basis that it provided a similar level of protection for the current population of Port Hedland as the National Environment Protection Measure and the World Health Organisation guideline level. Compliance with the interim guideline is currently assessed using dust concentrations measured at the Taplin Street monitoring station, with an allowance for ten exceedance days per year to account for regional dust events and non-industry local dust sources.

(b) The following port operations licences specify management and reporting requirements based on the exceedance of the interim guideline at Taplin Street:

  • BHP Billiton Iron Ore, Port Hedland Port Operations L4513/1969/18;
  • Fortescue Metals Group, Anderson Point Materials Handling Facility L8194/2007/3;
  • Roy Hill Infrastructure, Roy Hill Port Bulk Handling Facility and Screening Plant L8967/2016/1;
  • Pilbara Ports Authority, Utah Point Multi-User Facility Bulk Handling Facility L8937/2015/1;
  • Pilbara Ports Authority, Eastern Operations L4432/1989/14;

(c) No, State Agreement Acts do not impact on the conditions mandated through regulatory instruments issued according to the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

(d) Not applicable