What are some of - - PDF document

• What are some of the chemicals you most

commonly use at work?

NOTE TO FACILITATOR New topic: Chemicals The purpose of this activity is to frame the discussion around the herbicides that the participants are familiar with and use on a regular basis. GROUP ACTIVITY (briefly, with the whole group) “What are the most common chemicals you use at your work?” Ask the participants to name the chemicals and what they are used for. The most commonly used herbicide will be glyphosate based. Find out if anyone uses the glyphosate suitable for aquatic environments. A range of specialist chemicals may also be used by greenkeeping and horticultural staff. Make note of other the chemicals used: Petrol Solvents Cleaning materials

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• Herbicides and Pesticides
• Pollute water
• Kill or harm animals or plants
• Harm yourself or workmates

Other chemicals

• Fuel
• Paints and oils
• Cleaning solvents
• NOTE TO FACILITATOR

Briefly go through each point individually. There are many ways that chemicals can cause harm to the environment: Herbicides and Pesticides

• Pollute water – spills, spray drift, washing down drains
• Kill or harm animals or plants – direct contact, indirect contact
• Harm yourself or workmates – OH&S laws apply

Other chemicals

• Fuel – leakage and spills are common (chemicals such as fuel can be

just as damaging to the environment as pesticides and require the same level of care and management!)

• Paints and oils – often transported or used on site
• Cleaning solvents – also highly toxic

• Protection of the Environment Operations Act

1997 Penalties are very strong

• Penalties up to $5 million for companies
• Penalties up to $1 million for individuals
• Can include gaol time!

Enforcement is based on the concept of “Due Diligence”

NOTE TO FACILITATOR Reinforce the powers of the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act (POEO Act). Because Council is seen by the community as one of the enforcers of legislation, there is high community expectation of council to also comply. Even though different sections of council are responsible for enforcement, to the community they are one and the same organisation. To introduce the concept of “Due Diligence” relate it to ‘duty of care’ with OH&S requirements. The concept of “due diligence” will be explained in the next few slides. PROMPT QUESTION Who here has done the ChemCert training? If they are using chemicals and not properly trained, this is something important to raise with their supervisors and managers.

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NSW Pesticides Act 1999

• Must not cause injury or damage to people or non-

target species

• Must not possess or use unregistered pesticides
• Must read (or have explained) label requirements

before use

• Must follow label instructions
• Must store in appropriate container with label
• User training compulsory for work place applications
• User records must be kept
• Requirement for notification plan by councils

The Pesticides Act and POEO Act have a lot of crossover, but both laws are very powerful, with big penalties. Emphasise these points: Requirements to read the label before using a chemical Discuss why – things to raise, mixing rates, safety considerations, different formulations. Requirements to be trained and qualified Must be current within the last 5 years. Importance of good record keeping and notifications Highlight the importance of good records as a defence against allegations of non- target species damage or other matters. Make sure that staff are aware of the council notification plan for their respective audiences. PROMPT QUESTIONS Ask the participants a hypothetical question: if one of them was spraying in the vicinity of a fish kill the day before it occurred, who would most likely get the blame? Council or the officer? Ask for some examples of the difficulties of notification and discuss. How aware are the participants about Council notification plans? Reinforce the need for “reasonable measures” to be taken for notification.

• Pesticide pollution case

2003 The Greenkeeper:

250 hrs comm. service >$50,000 legal costs

Warringah Golf Club:

GUILTY TIER ONE! $250,000 fine $190,000 EPA costs $50,500 clean up costs $80,403 environmental

controls TOTAL = $570,903

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE Although the case relates to a public golf course, it highlights typical issues that can occur in council operations. A tractor spray unit was dismantled in a maintenance area. The spray unit contained Gusathion Turf Insecticide Liquid, a potent pesticide to kill Argentine Stem Weevils in the greens. The pesticide drained onto a concrete slab that was then hosed off. This chemical is highly toxic to fish and caused a huge fish kill (10,000 fish killed) plus the death and poisoning of numerous ducks and geese. The clean up took over one month and included removal of more than 4 tonnes of dead aquatic life. The Director General of the Environment Protection Authority (as it was called at the time) said that one teaspoon of the active ingredient in a waterbody the size of an Olympic swimming pool would destroy aquatic life in a matter of hours. The Greenkeeper was prosecuted individually and found guilty. The court found he had not exercised “due diligence” in ensuring that there were adequate protections against the potential of a spill. The Golf Club was also charged and found guilty. The club was to blame because it was responsible for taking steps to ensure its activities and staff did not harm the environment. The EPA argued that although the Greenkeeper’s actions resulted in the spill, Warringah Golf Club could have prevented the pollution. There were no bunds, or barriers or wash-down bay and no written policies or guidelines for safe handling of chemicals and no spill kit.

• What can we reasonably expect people to

do to protect the environment? It is everyone’s responsibility to:

• to identify the potential for environmental harm
• to put in place reasonable measures to

manage that risk to an acceptable level

NOTE TO FACILITATOR The concept of “Due Diligence” is an important take home message for this workshop. It is one of the ways of interpreting offences under the POEO Act and other environmental legislation. Reinforce to the participants that due diligence involves:

• reasonable efforts to foresee problems
• reasonable efforts to address potential problems AND make allowances for emergency

responses. PROMPT QUESTION A topical discussion may be the recent BP oil leak in North America. What do the participants think would have been reasonable measures to prevent this disaster? Participant’s responses are likely to be that BP should have had:

• Better planning
• Better monitoring and response strategies
• Better technology to address the problems that could have been reasonably foreseen

Then put the onus back onto the participants to identify what they think are reasonable environmental impositions in their workplace. It is likely that similar issues will come up:

• Adequate planning
• Adequate equipment
• Resources required to implement environmental protection measures
• Training and skills necessary
• Support from the organisation, etc

Reinforce that the two situations are no different, the principle of due diligence applies no matter what the scale of the task.

• ..
• Review your checklist of chemical reminders
• Complete the self audit
• What are the key issues that stand out to you?
• What do you think could be done to improve the

situation?

GROUP ACTIVITY (individual exercise, then whole of group discussion) There are two handouts for this activity (i) the Reminders list (ii) the chemicals self audit Ask participants to review the hand outs to check their work activities against recommended good practice. State clearly that the self audit is a confidential exercise aimed only at fostering

• discussion. No forms will be collected, and ratings will only be used for the

purpose of discussion. The exercise is not to embarrass people, or report people to the authorities, but to look genuinely at performance in this area and see if there is room for improvement. The self audit sheet can also be taken back to discuss together with team leaders and senior managers. Allow approximately 10 minutes to read the list and complete the audit. Allow another 10 minutes for whole of group discussion. GROUP DISCUSSION How did people rate overall? Do they have any questions? Highlight the parallels with OH&S risk assessment and review, and show that there are many similarities in methods and approaches. Environmental risk assessment is often best done in conjunction with OH&S risk assessment. PROMPT QUESTION Wrap up by asking the participants “Does anyone have any good tips for chemical use and storage?”

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More nutrients are good for the soil True or false?

NOTE TO FACILITATOR Introduce the next topic: what happens when there are too many nutrients and water going into natural areas? The problems caused by these are some of the biggest impacts on biodiversity in urban areas. PROMPT QUESTION “More nutrients are good for the soil. True or false?” “Nutrients”: what are we talking about exactly? For both waterways and natural bushland, the addition of nutrients and moisture can be harmful.

• Many Australian soils and waterways are low in

nutrients, particularly Phosphorous

• Adding nutrients can favour the weeds and change

native vegetation

• Nutrients in waterways can cause algal blooms, which

can lead to fish kills and poor water quality and reduced light to aquatic plants

The problems associated with increased nutrients in waterways and areas of native vegetation: Many Australian soils and waterways are low in nutrients, particularly Phosphorous. Adding nutrients can favour the weeds and change native vegetation. Nutrients in waterways can cause algal blooms, which can de-oxygenate the water and lead to fish kills and poor water quality. Algal blooms can also prevent light reaching aquatic plants on the bed of the waterway.

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REAL LIFE EXAMPLES New topic: Things that impact on water quality The photos show examples of what can happen when there are too many nutrients in waterways. Excess nutrients in waterways can create algal blooms, which can de-oxygenate the water and which in turn can lead to fish kills and the death of other aquatic

• rganisms.

Some algal blooms can be toxic to aquatic life and to humans e.g. blue-green algal blooms. Algal blooms can also prevent light reaching aquatic plants on the bed of the waterway e.g. seagrasses, which will impair the growth and survival of these important habitat-forming species.

• Erosion of topsoil and creek banks causes

sedimentation This can:

• Smother fish habitat, such as seagrass beds
• Kill invertebrates, fish, frogs and their eggs
• Reduce light for aquatic plants
• Encourage growth of weeds
• Fill in deep pools that are used as a refuge in

times of drought

The problems associated with sedimentation and siltation of streams: chokes waterways and kills aquatic organisms. Smothering of fish habitat, such as seagrass beds Aquatic plants can be completely covered in sediment so they cannot photosynthesise and die. Pools and riffles in a stream are lost and so is the variety of animals associated with these habitats. Kills invertebrates, frogs, fish and their eggs For the smaller organisms in the food chain, sediment movement is like being sand blasted. Gills become clogged with sediment and cannot absorb oxygen. Eggs are

• smothered. Species disappear from the area.

Even the platypus can tolerate reasonably poor water quality, but needs a diversity of worms and other food to feed on. Reduces light for aquatic plants Sediment in the water column (called turbidity) reduces light penetration which is essential for photosynthesis by aquatic plants. Encourages growth of weeds Examples of willows are shown in the following slide. Fills in deep pools that are normally used as a refuge in times of drought Deep pools can still remain in times of drought and temperatures are lower. Fish use these deep pools to survive a drought.

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• REAL LIFE EXAMPLES

Left photo: Willows choking streams and growing in deposited silt. Right photo: Channel pools infilled with sediment washed from upstream catchment areas. The result: warmer water temperatures, less light for aquatic plants, less diverse habitat for fauna.

• Many bushland environments have natural wetting

and drying cycles

• Too much water provides good conditions for

weeds species

• Erosion of creek lines can damage fish habitat and

breeding areas such as seagrass beds

Too much water can be from excess stormwater runoff and/or overwatering. Some problems associated with too much water flowing into waterways and natural areas: Many bushland environments have natural wetting and drying cycles Excess water disturbs the natural balance. Too much water promotes invasion by introduced species and weeds Being constantly moist promotes weed growth and changes vegetation conditions. Erosion of creek lines can damage fish habitat and breeding areas such as seagrass beds Large volumes of stormwater can cause soil erosion, which then washes into the waterway. REAL LIFE EXAMPLES

• One council has inserted sensors in the grass of their major golf course, which is

located next to a major creek. The sensors indicate when the ground is wet enough and turns the watering system off.

• Some councils in the Parramatta River catchment are installing new

technologies to harvest stormwater (before it flows into creeks) and reuse it to water playing fields.

What has happened here?

Where does this sediment come from? Could this have been avoided?

PROMPT QUESTIONS Where does it look like this sediment has come from? What would be the response if this was a council roadworks site? Is it acceptable for a council work site to look like this? How could this have been avoided? GROUP DISCUSSION (whole group) Prompt a discussion about the sources of sediments and the approach to managing sediment in their council area. Reinforce the powers of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act for Penalty Infringement Notices (PINS) and the large fines that can be imposed for breaches.

What is wrong with these pictures?

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PROMPT QUESTION “What is wrong with these pictures?”. Answer: Everything is wrong with these pictures! REAL LIFE EXAMPLE What the photos show: Road safety signs have been put in for the length of the site (due diligence shown for OH&S (which is good) but not shown for sediment control). Note the poor and ineffective sediment and erosion control measures such as:

• No silt bags in the kerbing
• No sediment fencing on the land surface where soil has been disturbed
• No protection for the drain (i.e.. silt bags, pit inserts or other measures)
• The absence of any vegetation cover on the cleared soil – e.g. a strip of turf grass
• Note the waste area with no cover – litter is able to blow from this area into drains and gutters
• The pile of soil near the upper part of the site has a damaged sediment control fence in front of it.

The only measures put in place are circled in red. These were hessian bags which are not actually effective . PROMPT QUESTION What is wrong with using hessian bags for sediment control? Answer: The pore holes are too large and they do not catch much sediment except for the very coarse materials. What materials would have been needed to adequately address the issues on site? How long would it have taken to address these issues? GROUP DISCUSSION (whole of group) The photos show poor sediment control at a road construction site, as one example. Discuss what other things should have been in place on this site to prevent sediment and nutrients reaching the drain and waterways. What are some other situations where the participants would need to do sediment control? (E.g. large landscaping jobs, field renovations, returfing parks, building new structures in parks and reserves).

• Do not disturb more of the site than is necessary
• Install erosion and sediment controls before

starting work

• Maintain erosion and sediment controls

throughout the whole project until they are no longer required .4 5 .4 5

Recommended good practice: Do not disturb more of the site than you have to The less soil disturbed the less potential for erosion Install erosion and sediment controls before you start working A storm could occur 10 minutes after starting, you can’t assume that you will have time to get in the measures after construction has started. Maintain erosion and sediment controls throughout the project until they are no longer required Maintenance is the biggest failure of sediment and erosion control. People rarely check whether measures are still in place and working.

A common error in sediment and erosion control is the use of the wrong materials. These types of sediment bags are purpose built and are rated for particular

• applications. It is essential that the right bags are used at the right location, and

maintained.

Sediment fences

Sediment fences can work, if they are properly installed and maintained.

6 )

• 7
• 5.
• Some more examples of the different materials and techniques available.

• Poor management of nutrients, sediments and

stormwater can lead to breaches of legislation Poor management of nutrients, sediments and stormwater can lead to breaches of legislation A lack of sediment control is an offence under the POEO Act. This is enforceable by councils. Depositing pollutants, including sediment and nutrients, into sensitive environments could be an

• ffence under Threatened Species, Fisheries and

Pollution Legislation

Final reminder about how poor management of nutrients, sediments and stormwater can lead to breaches of legislation. Many of these things that are considered an offence are easily avoidable. Reinforce that their council and/or the individual council officers can be prosecuted.

Nutrient and sediment control

• ..
• Review your checklist of reminders
• Complete the self audit
• What are the key issues that stand out to you?
• What do you think could be done to improve the

situation?

NOTE TO FACILITATOR This is the last activity for the indoor part of the workshop (note: workshop is nearly finished, participants may be feeling tired by now). GROUP ACTIVITY (in pairs or small groups) There are two handouts for this activity (i) the Reminders list (ii) The self audit (this is same as the activity done before, looking at chemicals). Ask participants to review the handouts and check their work activities against the recommended good practices. As before: state clearly that the self audit is a confidential exercise aimed only at fostering

• discussion. No forms will be collected, and ratings will only be used for the purpose of
• discussion. The exercise is not to embarrass people, or report people to the authorities, but

to look genuinely at performance in this area and see if there is room for improvement. The self audit sheet can also be taken back to discuss together with team leaders and senior managers. Allow approximately 5 minutes to read the list and complete the audit. Allow another 5 minutes for whole of group discussion. GROUP DISCUSSION How did people rate overall? Do they have any questions? PROMPT QUESTION Wrap up by asking the participants: Do they experience any obstacles to doing good sediment and erosion control? Does anyone have any good tips for sediment and erosion control?

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• Are you showing “due diligence”?
• You all have an important role to play in

protecting the Parramatta River catchment

• Council staff are leaders who set an

example to the wider community

• If you need assistance, talk to other

council staff with expertise in managing natural areas

A lot of material has been covered in the workshop today. They may not remember all of the details. The “Reminders” checklists contain a summary of the good practices that have been recommended. THESE ARE THE TAKE HOME MESSAGES!

• Are you showing “due diligence” in your everyday work? This means taking reasonable

measures to protect the environment and prevent foreseeable consequences of your actions.

• You all have an important role to play in protecting the natural environment of the

Parramatta River catchment.

• Council staff are leaders who set an example to the wider community.
• If you need assistance, talk to other council staff with expertise in managing natural areas

(they would be happy to hear from you!). Acknowledge the many good initiatives that the participants are already putting in place. Encourage them to take on board some of the initiatives that others have shared with them today. Encourage them to talk to their council technical staff and ask questions. Thank participants for their attendance and enthusiasm and ask if there are any final questions before we head out to the site visit? WORKSHOP EVALUATION This is a good time to ask the participants to complete the short evaluation form.

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(Facilitator to insert brief instructions on where the participants need to go/meet for the site visit)

FIELD SESSION The workshop will wrap up with a session out on site. The purpose of the field visit is to reinforce the principles of the day’s discussions:

• Existing habitat
• Maintenance practices that can damage habitat
• Maintenance practices that can enhance habitat
• Examples of good practice and poor practice
• Demonstrations of good practices raised in the presentation, checklists and/or discussions
• Potential impacts and enhancements to aquatic habitat and water quality

There will be more opportunities to ask questions and discuss things out on site. Give the participants information about where to go/meet from here. How to get there. Hand

• ut a map if necessary.

If it suits, the participants can take their belongings with them and leave straight after the site visit.