Ballarat Gold Mine commits to developing Health Impact Assessment for Mount Clear tailings dam proposal

The proposal for a new tailings dam facility at Whitehorse Gully, north of Whitehorse Road, Mount Clear has been in the works for many months with the application first advertised by the City of Ballarat about October 2022.

Since being made publicly available the mining company's application has sparked grave community distress due to the potential dust pollution and increase in toxic chemicals the expansion could bring about.

At a December 14 council meeting, several residents voiced their trepidation regarding the lack of an Environmental Effects Statement (EES) regarding the mine waste disposal plans.

The purpose of an EES is to provide the community with predictions of significant environmental impacts which may occur during the development phase and proposed measures to avoid, minimise or manage these adverse issues.

While it is unclear what progress, if any, has been made on the council obtaining an EES, which would require approval by Earth Resources Regulation (ERR), there has been progress made on obtaining a HIA from the Ballarat Gold Mine.

The announcement was confirmed at the council's February 22 meeting. The assessment would then be subsequently reviewed by an expert on the city's behalf informing them of any inadequacies, recommendations or suitability.

City of Ballarat director development and growth Natalie Robertson said during meeting, the report would include "potential environmental implications" and would be shaped by "responses from external referral authorities".

Dr Dora Pearce, a former environmental epidemiologist at Federation University and past honorary affiliate at the University of Melbourne's School of Population and Global Health faculty, was present at Wednesday's meeting.

Dr Pearce, who launched the Tailings Dam Community Safety Action Group in late December 2022 in an effort to raise awareness about the proposal, said she was "delighted" to hear Ballarat Gold Mine was working towards creating a HIA.

"It's a major step forward because of the potential health implications for offsite dust coming from this mine," she said.

However, Dr Pearce said, while it was a promising start to increasing community transparency, she still would like action on obtaining an EES.

"Not only would that (EES) include some sort of Health Impact Assessment, but it would also be looking at the environmental context that would generate those risks for health."

Additionally, forming part of the document will be a "consultation session for objectors" anticipated to be held in either March or April of this year.

Ms Robertson said while a definitive date had not been set as yet, the session would not go ahead until the HIA was received.

"Any decision regarding the application would likely be considered by council at a delegated planning committee meeting and all stakeholders will be notified," she said.

There is no legislative requirement mandating the application of a HIA in Victoria. However, implementation of such assessment has proven to have "directly improved planning and public policies".

It has also touted to have "indirectly" aided with encouraging key decision-makers in non-health departments to consider unanticipated health impacts of their decisions, particularly differential impacts across the municipality; and ownership of local government decisions by utilising civic intelligence.

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Ms Robertson reinforced on Wednesday, the tailings dam proposal was still in an "ongoing assessment phase", reassuring residents it would be subject to stringent Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) guidelines.

In the event of a mine waste failure, she also said it would be the responsibility of Ballarat Gold Mine to carry out "clean up or mitigation works" which would be overseen by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

These guidelines are "not a design code or standard" and still require "experienced practitioners to apply their own professional skill and judgement".

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