Licence conditions for pollution studies and reduction program

Licence conditions for pollution studies and reduction programs

Summary

Licence number:

1683

Title:

Burwood Beach WWTW - Stage 3 Upgrade - Monitoring Ammonia and Biosolids Discharges to Ocean

Start date:

02 Mar 2015

Licence Condition
The licensee must review the plume dispersion model used to inform the Burwood Beach WWTW Stage 3 Upgrade Strategy1 every five years. The next review is to occur in June 2025 with the input data to include ammonia concentrations and discharge flow rate data for effluent and biosolids discharge up to and including June 2025. 1 Worley Parsons Services Pty Ltd, December 2013, Integrated Assessment of Monitoring - Burwood Beach WWTW.
The licensee must submit to the EPA's Manager, Metro North a report providing details of the review of plume dispersion modelling referred to in condition U1.1 of this licence. The report must identify the degree of dilution achieved for ammonia at the outfall and the extent of the ammonia plume that exceeds a concentration of 0.91mg/L 1 around the outfall. If ammonia levels exceed ANZG 2018 for marine toxicity, the report must justify any reasons for the increase in plume extent and identify actions to be taken to reduce ammonia levels to within ANZG 2018 values for marine toxicity. Report submission date: 20 December 2025 1 Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2018 (ANZG 2018).
The licensee must implement the monitoring strategy outlined in the report titled, 'Burwood Beach WWTW Proposed MEAP Monitoring Strategy', dated October 2020, prepared by Hunter Water Corporation. The monitoring strategy must include the parameters, monitoring methods and frequencies listed in Table 1 of this condition.The definitions of parameters referred to in Table 1 are as follows: Biosolids Quality: physico-chemical parameters of ammonia, oil & grease, total solids, volatile solids, total kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrogen oxides, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and suspended solids. Metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, chromium VI, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver and zinc. Pesticides including organochlorines, organophosphates and PCBs. Effluent Quality: physico-chemical parameters of pH, ammonia, oil & grease, total kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrogen oxides, total phosphorus, biological oxygen demand and suspended solids. Metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, chromium VI, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver and zinc. Pesticides including organochlorines, organophosphates and PCBs. Beachwatch monitoring: water quality monitoring of faecal indicator bacteria and presence of oil/grease at recreational beaches. Dilution/Dispersion Models: characterise dilutions and dispersion over Spring and Autumn conditions (mixed and stratified) under current and future flows. Ecotox testing: Characterise whole effluent & biosolids toxicity Whole Effluent Testing (WET)/ Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) under multi-species tests. Characterise end-of-pipe effluent and WAS toxicity WET/TIE-algal, sea urchin and other (eg fish). Seabed Infauna Ecology: characterise and assess sandy seabed infauna assemblages around outfalls and zone of impact. Reef Ecology: Characterise and assess encrusting reef flora and fauna assemblages around outfalls and zone of impact. Sediment Contamination: Characterise and assess sediment contamination around outfall (metals, organics, total kjeldahl nitrogen) and zone of impact. Water quality: assess extent of marine water quality (and phytoplankton) impacts around outfalls. Table 1
The licensee must provide the EPA's Manager, Metro North with a report for the Burwood Beach WWTW marine biosolids monitoring strategy every five years, with the first report to be submitted by 20 December 2025. The report must include the following information: 1) summary of monitoring data collected for biosolids quality, effluent quality and beachwatch monitoring collected in the previous five year period. 2) data and/or results collected for ecotox testing, seabed infauna ecology, reef ecology, sediment contamination and water quality. 3) comparison of all monitoring data and results against relevant guideline criteria and previous studies, including the Marine Environmental Assessment Program (2017-2019). If results exceed relevant guideline criteria for marine environments, the report must provide any reason(s) for the elevated result(s) or increase from previous studies. The report must also identify actions to be taken to reduce levels to within guideline criteria, where appropriate.