Fremantle Port Inner Harbour and Channel ... - Fremantle Ports

2. Environmental Values and Objectives
As applicable to Fremantle Ports Inner Harbour and Channel Deepening Project and listed in
Table 2.1 below, four Environmental Values (EVs) have been identified as relevant to Perth’s
coastal waters, together with six Environmental Quality Objectives (EQOs) or management
goals to protect those values (EPA 2000, 2009), and will also be applied to the Swan River
Estuary.
Table 2.1
Perth’s Coastal Waters Environmental Values (EVs) and Environmental Quality
Objectives (EQOs) (EPA 2000, 2009)
Environmental
Value (EV)
Ecosystem Health
Fishing and
Aquaculture
Recreation and
Aesthetics
Industrial Water
Supply*
Environmental Quality Objectives (EQOs)
EQO1: Maintenance of Ecosystem Integrity
Ecosystem integrity, considered in terms of structure and function, will be maintained
throughout Perth’s coastal waters. The level of protection of ecosystem integrity shall
be high (E2) throughout Perth’s coastal waters, except in areas designated E3
(moderate protection) and E4 (low protection).
EQO2: Maintenance of Aquatic life for human consumption
Seafood will be safe for human consumption when collected or grown in all of Perth’s
coastal waters except areas designated S2.
EQO3: Maintenance of primary contact recreation values
Primary contact recreation (e.g. Swimming) is safe in all of Perth’s coastal waters
except areas designated S3.
EQO4: Maintenance of secondary contact recreation values
Secondary contact recreation (e.g. Boating) is safe in all of Perth’s coastal waters
except areas designated S4.
EQO5: Maintenance of aesthetic values
The aesthetic values of Perth’s coastal waters will be protected except in those areas
designated S5.
EQO6: Maintenance of industrial water supply values
Perth’s coastal waters will be of suitable quality for industrial water supply purposes
except in areas designated S6.
* - No industrial water supply uses are known to occur within the immediate vicinity of project activities.
Management of water quality for EQO1 will also address EQO6.
With respect to spatial definition of the designated areas described in Table 2.1 (i.e. E2 to E4
- areas with defined levels of ecological protection; S2 to S6 – areas and exclusion zones with
defined social values), the only relevant areas in proximity to the proposed project area are
the Moderate Ecological Protection Areas (MEPAs; E3) and High Ecological Protection Area
(HEPA; E2) shown in Figure 2.1. In addition, a temporary MEPA of 75 m radius surrounding
the point of return water discharge from the reclamation area will be enacted for the duration
of the Project implementation, also shown in Figure 2.1. Upon completion of the dredging
campaign, the temporary MEPA will revert to a HEPA classification.
The estuarine waters upstream of the Inner Harbour MEPA are not encompassed by the EPA
(2000) classification, but will be managed as a MEPA for this Project. In the absence of
formal classification of the appropriate level of protection for Swan River estuarine waters,
the EPA (2005a) approach has been followed, whereby the waters along the eastern margin
of Cockburn Sound were designated as being highly disturbed and having a moderate level of
ecosystem protection. This area of the Swan River contains yacht clubs, boating facilties and
has a history of industrial contamination and human disturbance and therefore for the
purposes of this WQMP, values will be compared to those triggers for a moderate level of
ecological protection (MEPA). Exceedances of these MEPA triggers will then instigate further
investigation.
Oceanica: Fremantle Ports: Inner Harbour and Channel Deepening - Water Quality Monitoring Program 3