Port Options: KwinanaEnvironmental Considerations
Environmental myth busting and the outer harbour. A discussion about the
Causeway, Cockburn Sound Water Circulation, Island and Landbacked berths,
Seagrass and dredging
Michelle Rhodes: June 2017
Content Cockburn Sound Land Uses and Regulatory Environment Port Options
Land Backed Wharf Island Port – outer harbor
Environmental considerations key risks and benefits environmental approval requirements key considerations of a land-backed wharf option versus
an island-port option. Management considerations Myths, risks and opportunities
Cockburn Sound is the most intensively used marine embayment in Western Australia.History of nutrient inputs.
The report card for 2015-16 found:• Chlorophyll-a concentrations met the environmental quality guidelines (EQG) in
2015-16 (first time since 2007-2008);• Over the last few years seagrass density has increased at 8 monitoring sites in
Cockburn Sound but decreased at Garden Island, Kwinana and Woodman Point;• Dissolved oxygen concentrations fell below the EQG at the majority of monitoring
sites on several occasions;• Elevated salinity levels were recorded in proximity to the desalination plant.
Overview of Cockburn Sound
Social Surrounds
Multiple uses of Cockburn Sound: Recreational and commercial industrial natural and cultural Conflicting management objectives requires close management with stakeholders and the community.
Mangles Bay Tourist Precinct Approved 2014
Blue Swimmer Crab Managed Fishery –(60-70% recreational) Johnston et al. (2011);
Mussel Farming (southern end); Fish net Managed Fishery (Garfish and
Australian Herring); Octopus using unbaited, passive pots; and Target recreational species include
snapper, whiting, skipjack trevally, flathead and squid. (Fletcher et al. 2012).
Cockburn Sound
The nearshore shallow waters of Cockburn Sound are an important nursery area for various whiting species (Hyndes & Potter, 1996; Hyndes et al., 1996). The deeper waters of Cockburn Sound are a very important spawning and nursery area for Snapper, with a peak spawning activity occurring during November and December. Western King Prawn – deeper basin of Cockburn Sound.
Multiple Stakeholders
State Government of Western Australia Minister for the Environment Department of Environment Regulation (DER) Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Department of the Environment (DotE)
Office of the Environmental Protection Authority (OEPA)
OEPA – Marine Ecosystems Branch Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) Department of Defence Department of Planning and Infrastructure Department of State Development (DSD) Department of Transport Local government including:
City of Kwinana City of Rockingham City of Cockburn
CSMC Water Corporation Fremantle Port Authority Western Power MRWA
Regulatory Framework for Cockburn Sound
Cockburn Sound Management Council (CSMC)Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Environmental Quality Management Framework
(EQMF)/Environmental Quality Criteria Reference Document for Cockburn Sound (EPA March 2015)
Revised Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Environmental Monitoring against the Cockburn Sound Environmental Quality Criteria.
National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS).
Cockburn Sound Environmental Protection Authority (EPA 2015) Environmental Quality Criteria (EQC) Reference Document
Government of Western Australia, 2005. State Environmental (Cockburn Sound) Policy 2005. Western Australia State Environmental Policy Series 01.
State Environmental (Cockburn Sound) Policy 2005
Fremantle Port comprises the inner harbour, in Fremantle, and the outer harbour, inCockburn Sound and Gage Roads, and handles around 88% of the State’s seaborne imports and 28% of the State’s seaborne exports.Fremantle Port is the major general cargo port for Western Australia. The Inner Harbour is Western Australia’s only dedicated container port, with the majority of the State’s container trade shipped through this harbour. The optimum capacity of the existing Inner Harbour will depend on a number of factors, such as container terminal capacity, supporting land transport infrastructure and continued container trade growth trends.
Overview of Fremantle Port
Outer Harbour Options
Outer Harbour Options
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Western Australian PlanningCommission (WAPC) provided advice to the Minister for the Environment under Section 16(e) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 on the Kwinana Quay/Outer Harbour proposal within Bulletin 1230 (EPA 2006).
EPA Bulletin 1230 stated that, ‘Should Government decide to progress detailed assessment of a preferred option, the EPA expects that further detailed investigations, as part of the statutory environmental impact assessment process, include the following technical elements:• High quality benthic habitat mapping and analysis;• Well validated hydrodynamic modelling;• Sediment transport modelling, to predict the behaviour of particles liberated to the• water column due to dredging and reclamation, as well as any other particles such
as phytoplankton or particulates in discharges that may be affected by the presence of an outer harbour;
Outer Harbour proposal
• Detailed geotechnical studies to inform the dredging design and associated impact predictions;
• Studies of the ambient environmental conditions in Cockburn Sound, including for periods outside of the annual summer monitoring coordinated by CSMC; and
• Studies to inform predictions of the ecological consequences of construction and operation of an outer harbour, including predictions of flow-on effects that may be associated with primary impacts (e.g. consequences of habitat loss for important flora and fauna)’.
Bulletin 1230 raises the overall ‘Ecosystem Health’ of the Sound as a major environmental issue, and it is suggested that ‘a significant further effort would be necessary to predict impacts of the presence of an outer harbour on overall Ecosystem Health, including water and sediment quality, and seagrass health’ (EPA 2006). The EPA (2005) identifies Ecosystem Health as a key Environmental Value of Cockburn Sound, with maintenance of Ecosystem Integrity the primary Environmental Quality Objective (EQO) for this Environmental Value.
EPA Recommendations: Outer Harbour proposal
Indian Ocean Gateway (IOG)
Proposed staged relocation of the Fremantle Inner Harbour to the (proposed) Outer Harbour in Cockburn Sound.
City of Kwinana: ‘State’s premier industrial area Trade nexus of container imports and
freight movements in and throughout the State for the next half century
Infrastructure, transport and economic considerations
Key to the future sustainability and overall success of Western Australia’s port trade’
Key infrastructure considerations will include: land access materials handling (dredged material
and source material) relocation and management of existing
inlets and outlets Newgen Power Station outfall, Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
inlet and outlet, Kwinana Power Station intake and
outfall
Land Backed Berth: Intakes and Outlets
Potential future projects include:• Outer Harbour/Indian Ocean Gateway;• Mangles Bay Marina;• Australian Marine Complex channel;• Desalination plant expansion; and• KBB1 upgrade.
The principal causes of future habitat (seagrass, reef, sediment) impacts are likely to include:• Dredging (direct and indirect loss);• Reclamation (direct and indirect loss);
Note: new complex habitat will also be created –dredge spoil grounds and rock walls
Cockburn Sound - Future habitat impacts
CallistaChannel spoil grounds
The environmental factors that will require mitigation and management are: Social Surrounds – managing multiple and competing interests Coastal Processes Benthic Communities and Habitat – Seagrass Marine Environmental Quality Marine Fauna
Other considerations: Contamination (onshore) Noise, Quarantine, Risk (Contamination and Spill), air emissionsWater quality is generally the most significant potential impact given the range of potential effects on benthic habitats, marine fauna, aesthetics and recreational use/value.
Key Environmental Factors for Cockburn Sound
DomainsandmodelconfigurationHydrodynamic, Coastal Processes, Ecological Modelling
Physical processes impacted by coastal infrastructure Coastal circulation Wave transformation Vertical mixing of the water column
Potential impacts requiring consideration Sediment transport and coastal morphology Relocation of industrial discharges Dilution of industrial discharges due to
relocation, port location and deeper channel Port operability due to wave climate changes Risk profile due to increased shipping such
as oil spill, introduced species
The principal causes of past habitat losses include:• Dredging (Stirling and Calista Channels,
Australian Maritime Complex, Armaments Jetty);
• Reclamation (Woodman Point, Careening Bay and Australian Maritime Complex); and
• Loss of Posidonia sp. beds due to nutrient enrichment.
Cockburn Sound - Historic habitat losses
Flowering plants that live and grow completely underwater-approximately 72 species worldwide of which 10 seagrass species in Cockburn Sound.
Kendrick et al. 2002 Aquatic Botany 73: 75–87
Seagrass
Approximately 77% decline in seagrass area
SeagrassRequirement to:1. Define seagrass impacts for port options
(Callista Channel spoil grounds)2. Evaluate cumulative impacts of current and
future activities and developments in Cockburn Sound
3. monitor water quality and sediments; 4. monitor benthic habitat.
Posidonia sinuosaWork
completed for JPPL
project 2013
Dredging
Large scale dredging will be the largest potential cause of poor water quality
Typical Medium Sized Cutter Suction Dredge (Dredging International’s Wombat)
Accreting Eroding Stable
Digital Shoreline Analysis System
Geotechnical investigation(s) required to ensure suitability for dredging and port structure.
Construction activities (dredging) and reclamation that interfere with the seabed increasing suspended solids and releasing potential contaminants
Water movement
Contamination
Garden Island Causeway
Causeway built in 1971 and 1973 to service a naval base
Impacts flushing times in Cockburn Sound; If causeway was removed there would be an
improvement in flushing times in the shallows of Mangles Bay, the Rockingham/Kwinana area and eastern Garden Island, and the central basin of the Sound; and
Probably little change on Eastern Flats or in the northern basin of the Sound if the causeway were to be removed (DALSE 2002).
An analysis of International approaches conducted on behalf of the Commonwealth government found that:• International ports are diverse in their locations, surrounding environments,
activities and regulatory regimes;• Many are located in sensitive coastal and marine environments;• Comprehensive and transparent site selection, master planning and stakeholder
engagement are critical to avoiding long-term legacy issues; and• Site selection, master planning and design are the stages where there is the most
opportunity to avoid and mitigate environmental impacts (GHD 2013).
Port of Dublin Strategic Environmental Assessment was conducted as part of the master planning, enabling the integration of environmental and stakeholder considerations into the broader decision making.
Environmental Best Practice Port Development
Island and Land-backed ConsiderationsAspects: Island Land backed
Seagrass loss (direct)
No direct loss Some direct loss (up to approx. 10 ha) (Challenger Beach)
Seagrass loss (indirect)
High risk of indirect impacts Low/moderate risk of indirect impacts
Water Quality Extended impacts during construction (dredging and reclamation)
Reduced duration of impacts
Water Circulation Moderate risk of Cockburn Sound‐scale impacts
Low risk of Cockburn Sound‐scale impacts
Coastal Processes Local impact expected Local impact expected
Social Impact to offshore users and less so onshore users
Impact onshore users and less so offshore users
Onshore Disturbance
Access restricted Direct access/securityDirect interface with shoreline /groundwater
Inlets and outlets Direct impacts to inlets and outlets and discharge hydrodynamics relevant to both optionsImpacts to fisheries and native marine fauna
Cockburn Sound will not handle another large scale development– the cumulative impacts are too much. West Australian January 2017.
Build the Outer Harbour – the area is degraded and it is the best option: Fremantle Gazette March 2016.
The TruthCockburn Sound is really well studied. Opportunities exist for a staged development competed in an environmentally sensitive manner. A Strategic Environmental Assessment considering all environmental and social impacts.Strategic planning is key and careful and integrated site selection to optimise logistics, road, rail and freight movements for the State.
The Risks and OpportunitiesIf proper planning is not undertaken, and stakeholders are not on board - state and social benefits will not be maximised. Opportunity to have a well-planned world-class, efficient port supported by the people of Western Australia.
The Myths
Cockburn Sound – Key Environmental Issues
Issue Context Technical expertise/knowledge
Seagrass 80% loss. Continuing fluctuations in health/density. Replanting trials completed.
Prof Gary Kendrick (UWA), Prof Paul Lavery, Dr Kathryn McMahon (ECU)
Phytoplankton Historic blooms, toxic algae, falling phytoplankton biomass
Dr Stuart Helleren (Dalcon)Jim Greenwood, John Keesing (CSIRO)
Pink Snapper Major spawning area Corey Wakefield (DoF)
Blue Swimmer Crab
Fluctuation population, failed recruitment Nick Caputi (DoF)
Water circulation Impacts to water circulation/water qualityEFDC,1D, 1D, 3D models, Mike
Jason Antenucci (DHI)
Dolphins Potential impacts from construction and shipping
Hugh Fin, Lars Bejder (Murdoch)
Little Penguins Potential impacts from construction and shipping
Belinda Cannell (UWA)
Contacts
Michelle RhodesDirector [email protected]
http://www.linkedin.com/company/360-environmental
