A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

conditions are appropriate. In NSW, for example, some projects are subject to public
hearings by expert panels that make technical comment and recommendations
for government consideration in the final decision. An example is the process that
was invoked for the assessment of the Anvil Hill (now Mangoola) coal mine project
in the Hunter Valley. A key aspect of this process was the way in which decisions
about private property acquisition were made in the light of uncertainties about
the accuracy of model predictions of air and noise impacts in the surrounding
community.
To compensate for noise impacts, and given the very low background noise
conditions of the locality, noise conditions be placed on the project are significantly
more stringent than the standard approach to noise management. These included
requirements on the proponent to:
undertake (with landowners consent) architectural noise
treatments at all residences where operational noise levels
meet or exceed a noise criterion of 35dB(A).
undertake (with landowners consent) architectural noise
treatments at all residences where traffic and rail noise levels
exceed the relevant road and rail noise criteria.
purchase (with landowners consent) any private property that
experiences operational noise levels at or above 40dB(A), and
establish and implement a comprehensive noise monitoring program,
which includes real-time monitoring of noise impacts with the view to
modifying mining operations as appropriate to reduce noise impacts.
Approval condition 27 for the project requires an Air Quality Monitoring Program
that includes a combination of real-time monitors, high volume samplers and dust
deposition gauges to monitor the dust emissions of the project, and an air quality
monitoring protocol for evaluating compliance with the air quality impact assessment
and land acquisition criteria in the approval. Condition 26 requires the operator to
regularly assess real-time air quality monitoring and meteorological monitoring and
to relocate, modify or stop mining operations as required to ensure compliance with
the air quality criteria (see LP ACNV p.26).
A GUIDE TO LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING 27