Environment Protection Authority gives green light for TasWater Selfs Point wastewater treatment plant expansion
The state’s environmental regulator has approved an enormous expansion of a TasWater wastewater treatment plants, which will cover the closure of the Macquarie Point facility.
Tasmania
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The state’s environmental regulator has given the green light to TasWater’s proposed expansion of its wastewater treatment plant at Selfs Point, declaring the massive project will result in “significant improvements” to the quality of effluent discharged into the River Derwent.
Tasmania’s water and sewerage utility is planning to relocate its Macquarie Point plant to the new and improved Selfs Point facility, which was originally estimated to cost $140m in 2016 but has blown out to $314m.
TasWater general manager project delivery Tony Willmott. has attributed this increase to tighter market conditions, rising material costs, and an expanded scope for the project.
The state government will pay $224m for the expanded Selfs Point, while TasWater will contribute $89.7m, plus a further $66m for the decommissioning of underperforming treatment plants across Greater Hobart, including Cameron Bay, Prince of Wales Bay, and Risdon.
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) board chair Andrew Paul said an EPA assessment had determined the proposed development could be “managed in an environmentally sustainable and acceptable manner”, provided it had conditions included in any planning permit that might be granted by the Hobart City Council.
“Various environmental issues were considered in the assessment, particularly water quality impacts on the Derwent Estuary from the changed treated effluent discharge regime, potential for nuisance odour impacts and construction noise,” he said.
“The proposal is for a new wastewater treatment plant using membrane bioreactor technology and will result in significant improvements to the quality of effluent discharged to the Derwent Estuary compared to the current arrangements.
“Discharge will be predominantly to the existing outfall located off Blinking Billy Point at 32m depth where it will be quickly diluted and dispersed.”
The EPA’s assessment noted that the design of the expanded plant included measures to collect and treat air emissions from the “most odorous” components of the treatment plant using an odour control system.
TasWater’s environmental impact statement asserted that odour shouldn’t be noticeable under normal conditions.
The regulator imposed a number of conditions on the development, including that it must not exceed 24,900 kilolitres per day of design capacity to treat an average dry weather flow of sewage or wastewater.
The EPA also required TasWater to develop an odour management plan and submit it for approval within six months of operations commencing.
TasWater will only be allowed to discharge effluent near Blinking Billy Point at Lower Sandy Bay and near Selfs Point itself.
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