Pollution Incident Response Management Plan

Ben Furney Flour Mills Pty Ltd holds an Environment Protection Licence 4979 with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for 101-105 Brisbane St Dubbo NSW 2830

1. Purpose

The Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP) for Dubbo site has been prepared in accordance with NSW Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2014.

The objectives of the PIRMP are to:

• ensure comprehensive and timely communication about a pollution incident to staff at the site, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), other relevant authorities and people outside the site who may be affected by the impacts of the pollution incident
• minimise and control the risk of a pollution incident at the site by requiring identification of risks and the development of planned actions to minimise and manage those risks
• Ensure that the PIRMP is properly implemented by trained staff, identifying persons responsible for implementing it, and ensuring that the PIRMP is regularly tested for accuracy, currency and suitability

2. Site Implementation

A copy of this PIRMP is kept at 101-105 Brisbane St, Dubbo NSW at all times, and must be made available to an authorised officer (being a person appointed under Part 7.2 of the Act by an appropriate regulatory authority) on request and to any person who makes a written request for a copy.

This PIRMP is tested on an annual basis to ensure that the information included in the PIRMP is up to date and the PIRMP is capable of being implemented in a workable and effective manner. A record is to be kept of the annual tests.

This PIRMP is tested within one month of any pollution incident occurring so as to assess, in the light of that incident, whether the information included in the PIRMP is accurate and up to date and the PIRMP is still capable of being implemented in a workable and effective manner.

As soon as a person becomes aware of a pollution incident, it must be immediately reported it to a Site Supervisor/Manager whether it causes or threatens material harm to the environment so that the issue can be promptly considered and determined by the relevant Site Supervisor/Manager.

3. Responsibilities

Site Management shall ensure: A copy of this PIRMP is kept at 101-105 Brisbane St, Dubbo NSW at all times, and must be made available to an authorised officer (being a person appointed under Part 7.2 of the Act by an appropriate regulatory authority) on request and to any person who makes a written request for a copy.

This PIRMP is tested on an annual basis, and no later than 1 September each year, to ensure that the information included in the PIRMP is up to date and the PIRMP is capable of being implemented in a workable and effective manner. A record is to be kept of the annual tests.

This PIRMP is tested within one month of any pollution incident occurring so as to assess, in the light of that incident, whether the information included in the PIRMP is accurate and up to date and the PIRMP is still capable of being implemented in a workable and effective manner.

As soon as a person becomes aware of a pollution incident, it must be immediately reported it to a Site Supervisor/Manager whether or not it causes or threatens material harm to the environment so that the issue can be promptly considered and determined by the relevant Site Supervisor/Manager.

The Operations Leader must report all incidents to CEO & COO if they can be promptly contacted. If anyone in one particular level of authority cannot be promptly reached, contact should be made with the next level of authority. All workers must report any environmental issues identified and to ensure the prevention of any environmental issues

4.0 Method

4.1 What is “the Environment”?

The environment means components of the earth, including:

• Land, air and water
• Any layer of the atmosphere
• Any organic or inorganic matter and any living organism
• Human-made or modified structures and areas

4.2 Harm to the environment

Harm to the environment includes any direct or indirect alteration of the environment that has the effect of degrading the environment and, without limiting the generality of the above, includes any act or omission that results in pollution.

It is important to remember that the “environment” is very broadly defined and an incident that only results in harm to a person or manmade structures could nevertheless be an environmental incident.

Harm to the environment is material if:

a) It involves actual or potential harm to the health or safety of human beings or to an ecosystem that is not trivial; or
b) It results in actual or potential loss or property damage, or amounts in aggregate, exceeding $10,000(or such other amount as is prescribed by state regulations)

This is a very low threshold:

1. No actual harm is required, only threatened harm
2. The harm does not need to be significant, but only non-trivial
3. The $10,000 measure (which includes any clean-up costs) is a separate and independent test for materiality and an incident may be reportable under (a) even if it does not meet (b).

4.3 Pollution incidents and the requirements to report

A pollution incident means an incident or set of circumstances during, or as a consequence of which there is, or is likely, to be a leak, spill or other escape or deposit of a substance, as a result of which pollution has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.

It includes an incident or set of circumstances in which a substance has been placed or disposed of on site.

Any pollution incident causing or threatening material harm must be immediately reported to all relevant authorities.

4.4 Relevant Authorities

The relevant authority means any of the following:

a) The appropriate state regulatory authority
b) If the EPA is not the appropriate regulatory authority – the EPA NSW
c) If the EPA is not the appropriate regulatory authority – the local authority for the area in which the pollution incident occurs
d) Ministry of Health
e) Worksafe Authority
f) Fire and Rescue
g) Local Council

4.5 Relevant information

The relevant information about a pollution incident required must be provided to the relevant authority consists of the following:

• The time, date, nature, duration, and location of the incident
• The location of the place where pollution is occurring or is likely to occur
• The nature, the estimated quantity or volume and the concentration of any pollutants involved, if known
• The circumstances in which the incident occurred (including the cause of the incident, if known) and
• The action taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the incident and any resulting pollution or threatened pollution, if known

If any of the relevant information is not known when the initial notification is made to the relevant authority, but becomes known afterwards, that information must be notified immediately after it becomes known.

4.6 Assessing whether an incident must be reported, and how to report

As soon as a person becomes aware of a pollution incident, it must be immediately reported if it causes or threatens material harm to the environment.

In considering whether or not an incident must be reported, a person must consider the likely impacts from the incident for example:

Are they trivial only, with no real risk of becoming anything more than trivial and not expected to result in $10,000 of property damage or clean-up costs? E.g. a spill of 1 tonne of flour in the premises car park, which can be cleaned up quickly and cheaply.

Are they trivial at the moment, but with the potential to become more than trivial? E.g. a spill of 20 tonnes of flour onto a dry riverbed that could take a day for site staff to clean up, when wet weather is imminently expected which could cause the river to fill and to carry the flour downstream.

Has any property damage been caused by the incident? What is the likely cost of the damage, combined with anticipated clean-up cost – is it expected to be $10,000 or more?

How should the incident be cleaned up and what are the likely costs of the clean-up (are they likely to be $10,000 or more?).

Where workers are unsure about whether or not an incident involves material harm to the environment, they must immediately report it to the relevant Site management so that this issue can be promptly considered and determined by the relevant Site management.

Contractors and site workers are not required to form a view about whether any environmental incident is a reportable pollution incident and should notify site management of all environmental incidents so that this issue can be considered at a higher level.

The Operations Leader will have authority to report all incidents on behalf of Ben Furney Flour Mills, after attempting to first discuss with the CEO & COO, if they can be promptly contacted.

In the event of uncertainty as to whether or not the incident is causing or threatening material harm to the environment, contact should be made with the CEO and the issue should be considered at this level.

If the uncertainty cannot be resolved, the incident should be treated as a reportable incident.

In the unlikely event that no one within senior management is able to be contacted with reasonable promptness, the Operations Leader must report any incident causing or threatening material harm to the environment to the relevant authorities themselves.

4.7 Contact Details – Relevant Authority

If the pollution incident presents an immediate threat to human health or property, call Triple Zero (000).

If the incident does not require an initial combat agency, or once Triple Zero has been contacted, notify the relevant authorities in the following order:

4.8. Contact Details – Site

The following individuals must be contacted immediately in the event of a pollution incident and are responsible for activating the PIRMP and managing the response

4.9 Contact with Neighbours and the Local Community

After raising an alarm and ensure that the emergency services are notified if required, the Site Manager or Designated person, if required, will contact the neighbouring properties of the incident by phone or in person.

The immediate neighbours to the site are:

Advise neighbours to standby for further instructions by NSW Police or Fire Brigade Officers if required. Also, advise neighbours to close windows and doors and remain inside for incidents involving the emission of air pollutants or chemical leaks.

Any person with concern re an incident or threat of an incident can contact Ben Furney Flour Mills on 1800 684 343. The receptionist will direct your call to the Operations Manager or COO.