CMPA News (Issue 110)

CMPA Annual Dinner CANCELLED

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 and the ongoing uncertainty of when large social gatherings for indoor venues will be allowed. The CMPA Management and Associate Committees have decided that the CMPA Annual Dinner for 2020 will be CANCELLED.

The AGM will still go ahead in September 2020 via video conference.

The 2021 CMPA AGM & Annual Dinner has been re-booked for the Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields for Saturday 11th September 2021.

Development of CMPA Publications

The development of CMPA Guidelines and Templates has helped improve the standard of safety and compliance on members’ sites enabling members to get on with the operating side of their business knowing they are being kept up to date and informed of industry best practice.

At present the Secretariat in consultation with Members and Suppliers has the following publications under review with the intention to have them completed in the coming months.

• Slimes Management Guideline
• Fire Response and Readiness Template
• Noxious Weeds & Pest Animals Control Plan, Guideline & Template
• Critical Incident Response Template
• Dust Management Guideline – Issue 2
• Health Assessments and Medical Guidelines and Instructions for Physio/Practitioners
• Water Management Guideline

Status quo for explosives thresholds

Changes to explosives thresholds were made in Schedule 14 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. Concern was raised by industries utilising explosives that they would now be classed as a Major Hazard Facility.

WorkSafe engaged Deloitte Access Economics (Deloitte) to prepare a Supplementary Regulatory Impact Statement (SIA) for the Minister for Workplace Safety following concerns raised on the changes made to the thresholds and the way they are measured. As part of the review, Deloitte engaged stakeholders and affected businesses directly via phone interviews and a web-based survey to understand more about the impacts from the changes.

Deloitte found that there are relatively few businesses impacted by the changes and the impact is anticipated to be relatively minor. They also found that there is confusion among stakeholders regarding the changing of the OHS Regulations in regard to the operation of Schedule 14. As a result, the Minister has decided to maintain the current regulations as she is satisfied that they meet their intended purpose of improving health and safety in Victoria.

However, upon Deloitte’s recommendation, the Minister has asked WorkSafe to develop specific guidance, in consultation with industry, on a number of matters.

This includes the:

• method of conversion between NEQ and TNT equivalency
• regulation of temporary storage of explosives (for example for New Year’s Eve)
• interaction between the Dangerous Goods (Explosives) Regulations 2011 and the OHS Regulations, in particular the difference between storage and transport quantities for explosives
• application of WorkSafe’s discretion to determine if a notified site is a Major Hazard Facility.

Environment Protection Laws Postponed

The Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 (the Act) will transform Victoria’s environment protection laws and the way EPA operates. The Victorian Government has developed the new Act in response to the Independent Inquiry into the Environment Protection Authority.

The Victorian Government has announced the Act’s intended commencement has been postponed from 1 July 2020 and is now intended to commence on 1 July 2021.

This change is to ease the burden on business and industry as they address the impacts of the current circumstances with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Victorian Government is committed to the EPA’s reforms and the long term benefits they will provide for all Victorians. This is not a cancellation of the Environment Protection Reforms. As with many aspects of working life at the present time, it is a responsive adjustment to the consequences of the current circumstances the whole community is experiencing.

Victoria’s current environmental protections laws and regulations, including all current waste regulations and waste management policies, will continue to apply until the new commencement date.

As Victoria’s regulator of pollution and waste EPA remains focused on continuing to carry out our regulatory functions to prevent harm to community and shared environment.

This essential regulatory work includes:

• responding to priority pollution reports
• carrying out regulatory compliance and enforcement activities, including thorough inspections
• providing environmental and public health advice, including to emergency services
• continuing clean-up of high-risk sites
• air quality monitoring
• regulatory approvals
• waste crime prevention
• consulting with community on decisions that affect them.

For the Victorian community, existing ways of reporting pollution and litter continue to apply as well as access to Air Watch and Beach Report.

The EPA still want your participation in their community consultation, which can be done online at Engage Victoria. Consultation is currently open on works approvals and EPA will shift engagement wherever possible to digital formats.

For more information about the legislation announcement, contact EPA by calling 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842 – 24 hours), by emailing engagement@epa.vic.gov.au

The CMPA will be holding information webinars to assist Members in their preparation for the introduction of the Act and the General Environmental Duty which applies to everyone including employees. The first webinar was held by CMPA on 21 May 2020 and will be reported on in Jun/Jul Sand & Stone issue 111.

The New Workplace Manslaughter Laws

The new Workplace Manslaughter Legislation, which will still be brought into effect on 1 July 2020. The first CMPA webinar on the legislation was held on 21 May 2020 and will be reported on in Jun/Jul Sand & Stone issue 111.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The CMPA would like to extend an invitation to all Members and interested industry parties to attend the following workshops by video conference.

Slimes Management

Date: Thursday 20th August 2020
Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm

The CMPA has developed a Template/Guideline on Slimes Management.

The objective of this Slimes Management Guideline is to assist CMPA members in ensuring that all health, safety and environmental risks associated with the generation and controls of slimes and the operation and rehabilitation of a slimes dam are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.

This Guideline:

Provides contemporary information specific to the management of slimes and the safe and environmental operation of slimes dams;

Outlines processes that can be adopted to establish and implement slimes management procedures and practices;

Offers a Slimes Management Plan (SMP) template to assist in meeting the requirements of your Work Plan as required under Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990.

Fire Management

Date: Thursday 22nd October 2020
Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm

The CMPA has developed a Fire Response & Readiness template. The objective of this Bushfire Management Plan Template is to assist CMPA members in ensuring that procedures are in place and that responsibilities are defined and understood to prevent the ignition of a bushfire on a quarry site and or to reduce the impact of an encroaching bushfire.

RECENT EVENTS

• Teleconference was held for the Extractive Strategy Taskforce, DJPR, attended by E. Gibson
• VECCI Webinar – Cashflow Management in current crisis was watched by G Moreira
• Teleconference was held with Shadow Minister for Resources, Ryan Smith attended by G. Cranny, R. Kerr, E. Gibson
• Teleconference was held with Troy Jones, GHD teleconference re: freight transport for strategic extractive resource areas attended by E. Gibson
• Teleconference was held for the Extractive Industry Reference Committee (Federal education), attended by E. Gibson
• WorkSafe teleconference re: explosive thresholds for major hazard facilities attended by E. Gibson
• Video conference was held with the Minister for Resources Jaclyn Symes and the CMPA Management Committee, R. Kerr and E. Gibson
• Video conference was held with the Earth Resources Regulation, Stakeholder Reference Group attended by E. Gibson
• Planning Institute of Australia – Victorian Building and Development taskforce briefing, video conference, attended by E. Gibson
• Video conference was held with John Krbaleski, Head Resources DJPR, attended by R. Kerr, S. Andrew and E. Gibson

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