Liddell Coal Operations

Liddell Coal Operations Environmental Noise Monitoring April 2016 Prepared for Liddell Coal Operations Pty Ltd

Page i Liddell Coal Operations Environmental Noise Monitoring April 2016 Reference: Report date: 1 June 2016 Prepared for Liddell Coal Operations Pty Ltd PO Box 7 Singleton NSW 2330 Prepared by Global Acoustics Pty Ltd PO Box 3115 Thornton NSW 2322 Prepared: Ryan Bruniges QA Review: Scientist (Acoustics) Katie Weekes Environmental Scientist (Acoustics) Global Acoustics Pty Ltd ~ Environmental noise modelling and impact assessment ~ Sound power testing ~ Noise control advice ~ Noise and vibration monitoring ~ OHS noise monitoring and advice ~ Expert evidence in Land and Environment and Compensation Courts ~ Architectural acoustics ~ Blasting assessments and monitoring ~ Noise management plans (NMP) ~ Sound level meter and noise logger sales and hire

Page ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Global Acoustics was engaged by Liddell Coal Operations Pty Ltd (LCO) to conduct a monthly noise survey as required in the LCO Noise Monitoring Program (NMP), which was approved in April 2014. Modifications to the original development consent (DA 305-11-01) were granted by the Minister for Planning most recently in December 2014. The relevant noise conditions from Schedule 3 Specific Environmental Conditions of the modification and NMP are reproduced in Appendix A. Environmental noise monitoring described in this report was undertaken by Katie Weekes during the night of 21/22 April 2016 at two locations. The purpose of the survey is to quantify and describe the acoustic environment around the site and compare with specified limits. Attended monitoring was conducted in accordance with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Industrial Noise Policy (INP) guidelines and Australian Standard AS 1055 Acoustics, Description and Measurement of Environmental Noise. The duration of each measurement was 15 minutes. In accordance with the 2014 development consent modification, activities from LCO complied with the relevant noise limits during the April 2016 survey as shown in Table 4.2 to Table 4.3. None of the measurements occurred during which LCO was directly measurable, was within 5 db of the relevant criteria and where meteorological conditions resulted in the criteria applying (in accordance with the consent). Further analysis of low frequency content was not required. Global Acoustics Pty Ltd

Page iii Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION...1 1.1 Background...1 1.2 Attended Noise Monitoring Locations...1 1.3 Terminology & Abbreviations...3 2 DEVELOPMENT CONSENT...4 2.1 LCO 2014 Modification...4 2.2 LCO Noise Monitoring Program...4 2.3 Project Specific Criteria...4 2.3.1 Impact Assessment Criteria...4 2.4 Meteorological Conditions...4 2.5 INP Modifying Factors...5 2.5.1 Tonality, Intermittent and Impulsive Noise...5 2.5.2 Low Frequency Noise...5 3 METHODOLOGY...7 3.1 Assessment Method...7 3.2 Meteorological Data...7 3.3 Cumulative Noise...8 3.4 Modification Factors...8 3.5 Attended Noise Monitoring...8 4 RESULTS...9 4.1 Attended Noise Monitoring...9 4.2 Low Frequency Assessment...10 4.3 Atmospheric Conditions...11 5 DISCUSSION...12 5.1 Noted Noise Sources...12 5.1.1 1317 Hebden Road, 21 April 2016...14 5.1.2 1246 Hebden Road, 21 April 2016...15 6 SUMMARY OF COMPLIANCE...16

Page iv 6.1 Operational Noise Assessment...16 6.2 Low Frequency Assessment...16 Appendices A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT...17 B CALIBRATION CERTIFICATES...22

Page 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Liddell Coal Operations Pty Ltd (LCO) engaged Global Acoustics to conduct a monthly noise survey around its operations, an open cut mine near Ravensworth, NSW. Attended environmental noise monitoring described in this report was undertaken during the night of 21/22 April 2016 at two monitoring locations. Figure 1 shows the monitoring locations. The purpose of the survey is to quantify and describe the acoustic environment around the site and compare results with the specified limits detailed in Section 2. 1.2 Attended Noise Monitoring Locations There were two attended monitoring locations during this survey as detailed in Table 1.1 and shown on Figure 1. Table 1.1: ATTENDED NOISE MONITORING LOCATIONS Report Descriptor Monitoring Location 1317 Hebden Road Roadside, 1317 Hebden Road representative of residential receivers 11, 12, and 13 1 1246 Hebden Road Roadside, 1246 Hebden Road representative of residential receivers 2 and 141 Notes: 1. As indicated in LCO Noise Monitoring Program Section 3.1 (April 2014).

Source: LCO Noise Management Program (April 2014) Figure 1: LCO Attended Environmental Noise Monitoring Locations Page 2

Page 3 1.3 Terminology & Abbreviations Some definitions of terms and abbreviations, which may be used in this report, are provided in Table 1.2. Table 1.2: TERMINOLOGY & ABBREVIATIONS Descriptor Definition LA The A-weighted root mean squared (RMS) noise level at any instant LAmax The maximum A-weighted noise level over a time period or for an event LA1 The noise level which is exceeded for 1 per cent of the time LA10 The noise level which is exceeded for 10 percent of the time, which is approximately the average of the maximum noise levels LA50 The noise level which is exceeded for 50 per cent of the time LA90 The level exceeded for 90 percent of the time, which is approximately the average of the minimum noise levels. The LA90 level is often referred to as the background noise level and is commonly used to determine noise criteria for assessment purposes LAmin The minimum A-weighted noise level over a time period or for an event LAeq The average noise energy during a measurement period db(a) Noise level measurement units are decibels (db). The A weighting scale is used to describe human response to noise SPL Sound pressure level (SPL), fluctuations in pressure measured as 10 times a logarithmic scale, the reference pressure being 20 micropascals Hertz (Hz) Cycles per second, the frequency of fluctuations in pressure, sound is usually a combination of many frequencies together VTG Vertical temperature gradient in degrees Celsius per 100 metres altitude. Estimated from wind speed and sigma theta data IA Inaudible. When site only noise is noted as IA, there was no noise from the source of interest audible at the monitoring location NM Not Measurable. If site only noise is noted as NM, this means some noise from the source of interest was audible at low-levels, but could not be quantified Day This is the period 7:00am to 6:00pm Evening This is the period 6:00pm to 10:00pm Night This is the period 10:00pm to 7:00am

Page 4 2 DEVELOPMENT CONSENT 2.1 LCO 2014 Modification A modification to the original development consent (DA 305-11-01) was granted by the Minister for Planning most recently in December 2014. The relevant noise conditions from Schedule 3 Specific Environmental Conditions of the modification are reproduced in Appendix A. Relevant criteria are detailed in Table 2.1. 2.2 LCO Noise Monitoring Program Specific noise monitoring requirements are detailed in the LCO Noise Monitoring Program (NMP). The most recent version of the NMP was approved in April 2014. Relevant sections are reproduced in Appendix A. 2.3 Project Specific Criteria 2.3.1 Impact Assessment Criteria Impact assessment criteria for LCO are detailed in Table 2.1. Table 2.1: LCO IMPACT ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (db) Monitoring Location Day LAeq,15minute 1 Evening LAeq,15minute 1 Night LAeq,15minute 1 Night LA1,1minute 1 1317 Hebden Road 35 35 35 45 1246 Hebden Road 35 35 35 45 Notes: 1. LCO 2014 modification, Day: 7:00am to 6:00pm ~ Evening: 6:00pm to 10:00pm ~Night: 10:00pm to 7:00am. 2.4 Meteorological Conditions Appendix 6 of Mod 5 (December 2014) of the development consent outlines meteorological conditions required for criteria to be applicable:

Page 5 2.5 INP Modifying Factors Noise monitoring and reporting is carried out generally in accordance with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) 'Industrial Noise Policy' (INP). Chapter 4 of the INP deals specifically with modifying factors that may apply to industrial noise. The most common modifying factors are addressed in detail below. 2.5.1 Tonality, Intermittent and Impulsive Noise As defined in the Industrial Noise Policy: Tonal noise contains a prominent frequency and is characterised by a definite pitch. Impulsive noise has high peaks of short duration and a sequence of such peaks. Intermittent noise is characterised by the level suddenly dropping to the background noise levels several times during a measurement, with a noticeable change in noise level of at least 5 db. Intermittent noise applies to night-time only. Years of monitoring have indicated that noise levels from mining operations, particularly those levels measured at significant distances from the source are relatively continuous. Given this, noise levels from LCO at the monitoring locations are unlikely to be intermittent. In addition, there is no equipment on site that is likely to generate tonal or impulsive noise as defined in the INP. 2.5.2 Low Frequency Noise INP Method As defined in the Industrial Noise Policy: Low frequency noise contains major components within the low frequency range (20 Hz to 250 Hz) of the frequency spectrum. As detailed in Chapter 4 of the INP, low frequency noise should be assessed by measuring the C-weighted and A-weighted level over the same time period. The correction/penalty of 5 db is applied if the difference between the two levels is 15 db or more. Broner Method Low frequency noise can also be assessed using the method specified in the paper A Simple Method for Low Frequency Noise Emission Assessment (Broner JLFNV Vol29-1 pp1-14 2010). If the total predicted C-weighted noise level (up to 250 Hz) at a receptor exceeds the relevant modifying factor trigger, a 5 db penalty (modifying factor) is added to predicted levels. This method is included to provide a comparison with the INP method.

Page 6 As detailed in the notes below condition 1, Schedule 3 of the development consent: The modification factors in Section 4 of the NSW Industrial Noise Policy shall also be applied to the measured noise levels where applicable. Low frequency assessment methods are detailed in Table 2.2. Table 2.2: LOW FREQUENCY ASSESSMENT METHODS AND MODIFYING FACTOR TRIGGERS Assessment Method Calculation Method Night Period Modifying Factor Trigger Day Period Modifying Factor Trigger Broner, 2010 LCeq to 250 Hz >60 >65 INP, total Total LCeq minus LAeq >=15 >=15 The EPA is currently undertaking a review of the assessment of low frequency noise. While a practice note is not yet available, low frequency noise results from LCO have been compared to a range of assessment methods and criteria presented above above, when considering applicability of low frequency modifying factor corrections.

Page 7 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Assessment Method Noise monitoring was conducted at the monitoring locations in accordance with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Industrial Noise Policy (INP) guidelines and Australian Standard AS 1055 Acoustics, Description and Measurement of Environmental Noise. A measurement of LA1,1minute corresponds to the highest noise level generated for 0.6 second during one minute. In practical terms this is the highest noise level emitted from the LCO noise source during the entire measurement period (i.e. the highest level of the worst minute during the 15-minute measurement). As indicated in the notes below Table 1 of the consent, the L A1,1minute measurement should be undertaken at 1 metre from the dwelling façade and the L Aeq,15minute measurement within 30 metres of the dwelling. However, the direct measurement of noise at 1 metre from the façade is not practical during monitoring for this project. In most cases, monitoring near the residence is impractical due to barking dogs or issues with obtaining access. In all cases, measurements for this survey were undertaken at a suitable and representative location. The terms 'Inaudible' (IA) or 'Not Measurable' (NM) may be used in this report. When site noise is noted as IA, no site noise was audible at the monitoring location. NM indicates that some site noise was audible, but indeterminate due one or more of the following reasons: site noise levels were insignificant (less than 25 dba), at which point the noise floor of the sound level meter (SLM) begins to contribute to overall results; site noise levels were masked by another relatively loud noise source, but were estimated/judged to be less than 30 db(a), which is insignificant in terms of any applicable criterion and unlikely to cause annoyance (and in many cases, to be even noticed); and site noise levels were masked by another relatively loud noise source, but were estimated/judged to be significant (greater than 30 dba). If site noise were NM due to masking and estimated/judged to be greater than 30 db(a) then we would employ methods as per the Industrial Noise Policy (e.g. measure closer and back calculate) to determine a value for reporting if deemed necessary. All sites noted NM in this report are due to insignificant absolute values. 3.2 Meteorological Data Meteorological data was obtained from the LCO meteorological station located near the office and car park (south-east of the operation). Atmospheric parameters included wind speed, wind direction, rainfall and sigma theta. This data allowed correlation of atmospheric parameters and measured noise levels. Meteorological data was available in 5 minute intervals.

Page 8 When meteorological data is provided in less than 15-minute intervals, an analysis must be conducted to determine the meteorological conditions present for the majority of the measurement period and whether those conditions relate to noise criteria being applicable. In order to accurately compare 5-minute meteorological data to 15-minute noise level measurement periods, a rolling 15-minute meteorological interval was produced by converting each 5-minute meteorological interval into an average of the preceding three 5-minute intervals. The rolling 15-minute meteorological interval which most closely matched the 15-minute noise level measurement period was then adopted as the predominant meteorological conditions for that measurement period. Where rolling averages could not be used (such as for VTG and stability class), the predominant condition, corresponding with the majority of 5-minute meteorological intervals, was adopted. 3.3 Cumulative Noise In order to assess cumulative noise impacts as required by the consent, Global Acoustics has assumed total mining noise levels from the attended survey will apply for the entire period being assessed. 3.4 Modification Factors Years of monitoring have indicated that noise levels from mining operations, particularly those levels measured at significant distances from the source are relatively continuous. Given this, noise levels from LCO at the monitoring locations are unlikely to be intermittent. In addition, there is no equipment on site at LCO that would generate impulsive noise as defined in the INP. However, low frequency noise from LCO has been addressed. 3.5 Attended Noise Monitoring Attended noise monitoring was conducted at two sites for night measurements. The duration of each measurement was 15 minutes. Atmospheric conditions at each noise-monitoring site were also recorded. Attended monitoring is preferred to the use of loggers when determining compliance with prescribed limits; as it allows an accurate determination of the contribution, if any, to measured noise levels by the source of interest (in this case LCO). The equipment used to measure environmental noise levels is detailed in Table 3.1. Calibration certificates are provided in Appendix B. Table 3.1: ATTENDED NOISE MONITORING EQUIPMENT Model Serial Number Calibration Due Date Rion NA-28 sound level analyser 00370304 29/05/2017 Larson Davis CAL150 acoustic calibrator 3333 06/08/2017

Page 9 4 RESULTS 4.1 Attended Noise Monitoring Overall noise levels measured at each location during attended measurement are provided in Table 4.1. Discussion as to the noise sources responsible for these measured levels is provided in Section 5 of this report. Table 4.1: MEASURED NOISE LEVELS1 APRIL 2016 Location Start Date and Time LAmax db LA1 db LA10 db LA50 LAeq db LA90 LAmin db db db LCeq db 1317 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:43 48 34 32 29 29 27 24 48 1246 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:16 46 38 34 31 32 29 27 47 Notes: 1. Levels in this table are not necessarily the result of activity at LCO. Table 4.2 to Table 4.3 detail noise levels from LCO in the absence of other noise sources. Criteria are then applied if weather conditions are in accordance with the mine s development consent. Discussion as to the noise sources responsible for these measured levels is provided in Section 5 of this report. Table 4.2: LAeq,15minute GENERATED BY LCO AGAINST IMPACT ASSESSMENT CRITERIA APRIL 2016 Location Start Date and Time Wind Wind Speed Direction m/s 1 Degrees 1 VTG o C per 100m 1 Stab. Criterion Criterion LCO Exceedance5, 2 6 Class db Applies? LAeq,15min 3,4,5 db 1317 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:43 1.2 296 0.5 E 35 Yes NM Nil 1246 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:16 0.8 313-1.0 D 35 Yes NM Nil Notes: 1. Atmospheric data is from LCO weather station; 2. Noise emission limits apply for all meteorological conditions except during rain, hail, winds greater than 3 metres per second (at a height of 10 metres), temperature inversion conditions greater than 3 degrees C per 100 metres, or stability class F or G; 3. NM denotes audible but not measurable, IA denotes inaudible; 4. These are results for LCO in the absence of all other noise sources; 5. Bolded results in red are those greater than the relevant criterion (if applicable); and 6. NA in exceedance column means atmospheric conditions outside conditions specified in development consent and so criterion is not applicable.

Page 10 Table 4.3: LA1,1minute GENERATED BY LCO AGAINST IMPACT ASSESSMENT CRITERIA APRIL 2016 Location Start Date and Time Wind Wind Speed Direction m/s 1 Degrees 1 VTG o C per 100m 1 Stab. Criterion Criterion LCO Exceedance5, 2 6 Class db Applies? LA1,1min db 3,4,5 1317 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:43 1.2 296 0.5 E 45 Yes NM Nil 1246 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:16 0.8 313-1.0 D 45 Yes NM Nil Notes: 1. Atmospheric data is from LCO weather station; 2. Noise emission limits apply for all meteorological conditions except during rain, hail, winds greater than 3 metres per second (at a height of 10 metres), temperature inversion conditions greater than 3 degrees C per 100 metres, or stability class F or G; 3. NM denotes audible but not measurable, IA denotes inaudible; 4. These are results for LCO in the absence of all other noise sources; 5. Bolded results in red are those greater than the relevant criterion (if applicable); and 6. NA in exceedance column means atmospheric conditions outside conditions specified in development consent and so criterion is not applicable. 4.2 Low Frequency Assessment Table 4.4 provides statistics for attended noise monitoring undertaken around LCO during April 2016. Table 4.4: ATTENDED MEASUREMENT STATISTICS FOR LCO APRIL 2016 Conditions Total for April 2016 Number of measurements 2 Number of measurements where criterion applied 2 Number of measurements where LCO was within 5 db of the criterion and criterion applied 0 Neither of the two measurements occurred during which LCO was directly measurable (not inaudible ' or not measurable or less than a maximum cut-off value of <30 db ), was within 5 db of the relevant criterion and where meteorological conditions resulted in criteria applying (in accordance with the development consent). No further low frequency assessment was required.

Page 11 4.3 Atmospheric Conditions Atmospheric condition data measured by the operator at each location using a Kestrel hand-held weather meter and compass is shown in Table 4.5. Atmospheric condition data is routinely recorded on a site-by-site basis to show conditions during the monitoring period. Wind speed, direction and temperature were measured at 1.8 metres. Table 4.5: MEASURED ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS APRIL 2016 Location Start Date and Time Temperature o C Wind Speed m/s2 Wind Direction o MN1 Cloud Cover eighths 1317 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:43 13 0.8 20 1 1246 Hebden Rd 21/04/2016 22:16 15 0.5 20 1 Notes: 1. - indicates that conditions were calm at 1.8 metres; and 2. Noise criteria do not apply if wind speeds at 1.8 metres exceed 5.0 metres per second. The measurement must be repeated.

Page 12 5 DISCUSSION 5.1 Noted Noise Sources Table 4.1 presents data gathered during attended monitoring. These noise levels are the result of many sounds reaching the sound level meter microphone during monitoring. Received levels from various noise sources were noted during attended monitoring and particular attention was paid to the extent of LCO s contribution, if any, to measured levels. During each measurement, LCO s LAeq,15minute and LA1,1minute (in the absence of any other noise) were, where possible, measured directly, or, determined by frequency analysis. Time variations of noise sources in each measurement, their temporal characteristics, are taken into account via statistical descriptors. From these observations summaries have been derived for each location. The following chapter sections provide these summaries. Statistical 1/3 octave band analysis of environmental noise was undertaken, and Figure 3 to Figure 4 display the frequency ranges for various noise sources for LA1, LA10, LA90, and LAeq. These figures also provide, graphically, statistical information for these noise levels. An example is provided as Figure 2 where it can be seen that frogs and insects are generating noise at frequencies above 1000 Hz; mining noise is at frequencies less than 1000 Hz (this is typical). Adding levels at frequencies that relate to mining only allows separate statistical results to be calculated. This analysis cannot always be performed if there are significant levels of other noise at the same frequencies as mining; this can be dogs, cows, or, most commonly, road traffic. It should be noted that the method of summing statistical values up to a cut-off frequency can overstate the LA1 result by a small margin but is entirely accurate for LAeq.

Page 13 E n v ir o n m e n ta l N o is e L e v e ls 19 M arch 2004, 0056 h ou rs T o tl 1 T o tl 1 0 T o tl e q T o tl 9 0 L1 L10 L eq L90 70 65 60 M e a s u re d N o is e L e ve ls LA 1 38 db LA 10 36 db L A eq 35 db LA 90 32 db 55 d B (A ) 50 S ite O n ly N o is e L e ve ls L A 1,1 m in 3 4 d B L A eq 32 db 45 40 F ro gs A ll s ta tis tic s a re 1 5 m in u n le s s n o te d o th e rw is e M in e c o n t in u u m, r e a r d u m p t r u c k s, d r a g lin e f a n s a n d b u c k e t n o is e 35 30 In se c ts 25 F r e q u e n c y (H z ) Figure 2: Sample graph T o ta l 8000 10000 6300 5000 4000 3150 2500 2000 1600 1250 800 1000 630 500 400 315 250 200 160 125 100 80 63 50 20

5.1.1 Page 14 1317 Hebden Road, 21 April 2016 Figure 3: Environmental Noise Levels - 1317 Hebden Road Dozer track noise and an impact noise from LCO were audible briefly during the measurement, but was not measurable. Frogs and insects were primarily responsible for measured noise levels. Birds and a train contributed to the measured LA1. A power station continuum was a minor contributor to the measured LA90. Cows, bats, dogs and a door slam were also audible.

5.1.2 Page 15 1246 Hebden Road, 21 April 2016 Figure 4: Environmental Noise Levels - 1246 Hebden Road A low-level impact noise from LCO was audible once during the measurement, but was not measurable. A power station continuum and train were primarily responsible for measured noise levels. contributed to the measured LA1. Frogs, insects, bats and a shed rattling were also noted. Birds

Page 16 6 SUMMARY OF COMPLIANCE 6.1 Operational Noise Assessment Environmental noise monitoring described in this report was undertaken on the night of 21/22 April 2016. Activities from LCO complied with the relevant development consent noise limits during the survey at all monitoring locations. Wind speed and/or estimated temperature inversion conditions resulted in criteria not always being applicable. 6.2 Low Frequency Assessment None of the measurements occurred during which LCO was directly measurable, was within 5 db of the relevant criteria and where meteorological conditions resulted in the criteria applying (in accordance with the consent). No further low frequency assessment was required. Global Acoustics Pty Ltd

Page 17 APPENDIX A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT

Page 18 The noise sections of the relevant project approval and licence are reproduced below. LIDDELL COAL OPERATIONS DEVELOPMENT CONSENT A.1.1 LCO 2014 Modification A modification to the original development consent (DA 305-11-01) was granted by the Minister for Planning in July 2007, May 2008, October 2009 and December 2014. The relevant noise conditions from Schedule 3 Specific Environmental Conditions of the modification is reproduced below. Impact Assessment Criteria

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A.1.2 LCO 2014 Noise Management Plan Page 20

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Page 22 APPENDIX B CALIBRATION CERTIFICATES

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