November 2004 (PDF 11.6 MB) - Barrick Gold Corporation

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ures. In this context feasibility relates to engineeringconsiderations and what can practically be built,and reasonableness relates to the application ofjudgement in arriving at a decision, taking intoaccount the following factors:• noise mitigation benefits—amount of noisereduction provided, number of peopleprotected• cost of mitigation—cost of mitigation versusbenefit provided• community views—aesthetic impacts andcommunity wishes• noise levels for affected land uses—existingand future levels, and changes in noise levels.A range of mitigation measures is described inSection 7.1.4.6 Negotiating noise impactsIf, after all feasible and reasonable mitigationmeasures are applied, the resultant noise emissionsexceed the project-specific noise levels, then theresidual level of impact needs to be balancedagainst any social and economic benefits derivedfrom the source of the noise. Negotiation betweenthe regulatory/consent authority, the communityand the proponent to establish achievable noiselimits is described in Section 8. This negotiationprocess is in addition to the direct consultation thatnormally occurs throughout the impact assessmentprocess between the proponent and the community.1.4.7 Setting noise limits in consent andlicence conditionsIn setting noise limits, the regulatory/consentauthorities need to consider the technical practicalitiesof mitigation, the amount of noise reductionprovided, community views, benefits arising fromthe development and cost of achieving the projectspecificnoise levels recommended here, along withthe environmental consequences of exceeding theproject-specific noise levels. It is important that theproject-specific noise levels are not automaticallyinterpreted as conditions for consent, withoutconsideration of the other factors. In many instances,it may be appropriate to set noise limits fora development above the project-specific noise levelsrecommended in this document (Section 9).1.4.8 Land acquisitionLicences issued by the EPA do not contain conditionsrelated to land acquisition.The noise criteria contained in this document havenot been derived for the purpose of land acquisition.As previously stated they are designed to protectagainst intrusiveness and to preserve amenity, anddrive a process of applying all feasible and economicallyreasonable avoidance and mitigationmeasures. To meet these purposes the noise criteriahave been based around identifying the upper(rather than the average) level of impact. They seekto restrict the risk of people being highly annoyed toless than 10 per cent, and to meet this for at least 90per cent of the time.Resolving noise problems through land acquisitionis viewed as an option of last resort. Where landacquisition is applied, this is done via the developmentconsent process, which is administered by therelevant planning authority. The developmentconsent may contain conditions related to landacquisition.The determination of when projected noise levelsare so high and intractable that circumstanceswarrant land acquisition will depend on a range offactors. Noise is only one of those. In some instances,disadvantages in one area may be tradedagainst benefits in another area. The weighing-up ofall of the relevant factors is the role of the planningsystem.It is important to reiterate there is no single identifiablenoise level that all people will find acceptableor unacceptable. Annoyance increases with increasingnoise, but at any given noise level there will be awide variation in the range of individual reactionsto noise. In extreme cases health can be affected, butgenerally it appears that annoyance can occur wellbefore there is a question of health impact.The various assessed levels of impact around anindustrial noise source could be described as a zoneof affectation, characterised by annoyance. Withinthis zone could lie a much smaller zone closer in tothe source where impacts were greater and justifiedacquisition of residences. The border between theannoyance and acquisition zones would be representedby a noise level well above both the backgroundlevel and the EPA’s criteria. If the noise fromNSW industrial noise policy6
industry were sufficient to alter the character of thearea substantially and/or cause health impacts,then land acquisition might be an option. Landacquisition is rarely a practical approach in heavilydeveloped areas.1.4.9 Monitoring of noise levels againstconsent or licence conditionsMonitoring of environmental noise levels from adevelopment to determine compliance with thelimits set in consent/licence conditions is essentialfor proper management of noise sources. Proceduresto manage non-compliance with consent/licenceconditions are also provided (Section 11).1.5 Summary of approachFigure 1.1 provides an overview of the main processesinvolved in applying the policy. The flowcharts in Figures 1.2 to 1.6 present a step-by-stepguide to how the policy works, with references torelevant sections in the policy.Worked case studies outlining the assessmentprocess are set out in Appendix A.NSW industrial noise policy7
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Cowal Gold ProjectNoiseManagement P
Page 3 and 4: Cowal Gold Project - Noise Manageme
Page 47 and 48: For technical information about thi
Page 49 and 50: 1 Policy framework1.1 Overview of t
Page 51 and 52: 2. Measuring and determining existi
Page 53: Assessing intrusivenessFor assessin
Page 57 and 58: Figure 1.2.The overall process of a
Page 59 and 60: Figure 1.4.Predicting source noise
Page 61 and 62: Figure 1.6.Negotiation process and
Page 63 and 64: has shown that it is a reasonable a
Page 65 and 66: Table 2.2. Modification to acceptab
Page 67 and 68: egory for the amenity criteria will
Page 69 and 70: activities, they also increase envi
Page 71 and 72: Table 3.1. Methods for determining
Page 73 and 74: Table 3.2. Determining the existing
Page 75 and 76: ambient noise levels can affect the
Page 77 and 78: Table 4.1.Modifying factor correcti
Page 79 and 80: 5 Meteorological conditions5.1 Intr
Page 81 and 82: which is from 10 pm to 7 am.) Winte
Page 83 and 84: around structures. At higher wind s
Page 85 and 86: eing used for a particular project.
Page 87 and 88: • employing ‘quiet’ practices
Page 89 and 90: 3. Control in transmission—the ne
Page 91 and 92: 8 Negotiation process8.1 The proces
Page 93 and 94: Features of a negotiated agreementp
Page 95 and 96: 9 Consent/licence conditionsThe pro
Page 97 and 98: 10 Applying the policy to existingi
Page 99 and 100: 11 Reviewing performanceMonitoring
Page 101 and 102: • the noise instrumentation used.
Page 103 and 104: ReferencesBerglund B. & Lindvall T.
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activities may include construction
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Spectral characteristics: The frequ
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Table A1. Assessment steps1. Do a p
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In this case, the amenity criterion
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any assessment period in any season
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In this case the intrusive criterio
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able to show that the wind-induced
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Take the background noise measureme
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Appendix C Procedure for assessing
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The sections below outline the proc
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Appendix D Estimating noise increas
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Table E2. Step procedure for determ
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• hourly or three-hourly cloud ce
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Table E7. Aerodynamic roughness of
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Appendix FPercentage occurrence of
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282000 1354000 20-25284000 1354000
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394000 1362000 45-50256000 1364000
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366000 1372000 45-50368000 1372000
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338000 1382000 25-30340000 1382000
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310000 1392000 20-25312000 1392000
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282000 1402000 25-30284000 1402000
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394000 1410000 20-25256000 1412000
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366000 1420000 20-25368000 1420000
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338000 1430000 15-20340000 1430000
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310000 1440000 20-25312000 1440000
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282000 1450000 20-25284000 1450000
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Cowal Gold Project - Noise Manageme
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November 2004 (PDF 11.6 MB) - Barrick Gold Corporation

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