Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM)

Media response
Re: APLNG Date: 3 November 2011 For: Wendy Carlisle, ABC Radio National Data Journalism Project 02 8333 5425 / 0415 278 386 / carlisle.wendy@abc.net.au

Please attribute the following to Anne Lenz, A/Assistant Director General, Department of Environment and Resource Management: Analysis of source CSG water at the time APLNGs environmental authority was issued did not identify the presence of boron or cadmium. However, as part of the normal precautionary approach to placing conditions on projects, the human health guidelines for these compounds were applied to the approvals. The guidelines used to set the release limits for the protection of human health are the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). For boron and cadmium these are 4mg/L (4000g/L) and 0.002mg/L (2g/L) respectively as reflected in the environmental authority. The monitoring program under APLNGs environmental authority requires ongoing testing for boron and cadmium. It is standard practice to amend environmental authorities if the composition of the source CSG water changes which results in a change in the potential contaminants released to the environment. This change would adopt relevant standards such as to enforce the 95% environment protection level under the ANZECC guidelines Recently, monitoring has detected low-level boron and cadmium in the source CSG water. These detections have been below the ADWG guidelines and within environmental authority limits. To ensure any potential impact on environmental values are managed, DERM is in the course of issuing a notice concerning the amendment of the EA to apply standards under the ANZECC guidelines in relation to boron and cadmium. Release limits for chemicals not listed under the ADWG are set based on a hierarchy of guidelines including World Health Organisation Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, guidelines from other jurisdictions including United States (EPA), Canada and New Zealand, and the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (AGWR). If there is no guideline available from any other source, a value can be calculated from published toxicity data using the methods outlined in the ADWG and AGWR. The standards for 4-chlorophenol, bisphenol A, iodine and NDMA were taken from the AGWR. Hydrazine was removed from the list of standards as it is not found naturally in groundwater and as a consequence will be removed from the EA in the future.

Any contaminants found in the Condamine River that can be attributed to the release of treated CSG water would be investigated by Department of Environment and Resource Management and appropriate action would be taken. ENDS ISSUED BY Department of Environment and Resource Management Media Services Ph: (07) 3224 7792