PROJECT SUMMARY and ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES For Visy Pulp and Paper, Tumut Mill Expansion Prepared for NSW Department of Planning May 2006 Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion ii Project summary TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Increase in Production Capacity 1 1.3 Part 3A EP&A Act 1979 1 1.4 Concept Plan Approval Application 2 2 THE PROPOSED EXPANSION 3 2.1 Overview 3 2.2 Phased Installation 3 2.2.1 Initial Installation 4 2.2.2 Future Installation 5 2.3 Likely Environmental Impacts of the Expansion 8 2.3.1 Air Emissions 10 2.3.2 Odour Management 11 2.3.3 By-products 11 2.3.4 Traffic and Transport 12 2.3.5 Noise 13 2.3.6 Water Management 13 2.3.7 Wastewater Management 13 2.3.8 Socio-Economic Aspects 14 2.3.9 Other 14 2.4 Approvals Required for the Proposed Expansion 14 2.5 Environmental Impacts of Existing Operations 15 2.5.1 Environmental Management 15 2.5.2 Air Quality 15 2.5.3 Odour Management 17 2.5.4 Noise Management 19 2.5.5 By-products 19 2.5.6 Water/Wastewater Management 20 2.5.7 Traffic 21 2.5.8 Community Consultation 22 2.6 Other 23 2.7 Director General’s Requirements 23 Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 1 Project summary 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The Visy Pulp and Paper Mill in Tumut NSW commenced operations in 2001. The original EIS submitted for the existing operations outlined the preliminary plans for a future mill expansion. A specialist project feasibility team was appointed in February 2005 to undertake the feasibility study required for submission to Visy Management for an investment decision in 2007. A pre-condition for the feasibility decision making is obtaining the appropriate government approvals to enable the investment to be undertaken The current timetable is as follows: ♦ Finalise Environmental Assessments by Q3/2006 ♦ Development Approval by Q4/2006 ♦ Detailed Feasibility by Q1/2007 ♦ Final investment decision by Q3/2007 ♦ Construction begins by Q3/2007 ♦ Commissioning by mid 2009 1.2 Increase in Production Capacity Visy Pulp and Paper wishes to increase paper production from its Tumut Plant from the currently approved 300,000 tonnes per annum to 700,000 tonnes per annum. While the existing Development Consent permits an increase of paper production to 450,000 tonnes per annum subject to a further approval in terms of that consent, a new approval is required to increase paper production to 700,000 tonnes per annum. 1.3 Part 3A EP&A Act 1979 The proposed development is a project within the terms of Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. It comes within Item 4 to Group 1 to Schedule 1 of the State Environmental Planning Policy Major Projects 2005. In this regard, it is a development having a capital investment value of more than $30 million for the purpose of the manufacture of paper pulp and involves paper recycling. The estimated cost of the expansion of the plant is a maximum of $450 million. This amount will bring the overall investment in the plant to over $800 million, and see a further 50 jobs created at the mill and a further 350 flow on jobs in supply and service activities. Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 2 Project summary 1.4 Concept Plan Approval Application For the reasons given below, Visy Pulp and Paper seeks the Minister’s authorisation to lodge an application for a concept plan approval which will give approval to commence specified aspects of the development on receipt of the approval. The concept approval approach is required for Visy Tumut’s future expansion as it is necessary to have up-front certainty for this project as it develops over time. The facility itself is a complex one, which also exists within a complex wider framework. For example, aspects of Visy’s operations are subject to ongoing changes in critical production technology, some of which are as yet only partly defined. The plant is also exposed to changes in the relative availability of recycled paper fibre and virgin fibre, respectively. In addition, important factors such as transport, which are external to the facility itself but which have a major bearing on long-term cost competitiveness and regional impacts, need to be taken into account during the project’s medium- to longer-term development. In terms of the facility itself, there are presently a mix of technologies and processing solutions required for the future aspects of the project which may necessitate a number of successive development phases being implemented. Hence, some components may be able to be constructed immediately upon receiving approval, whilst others may not be required until later in the facility's overall development. For example, the immediate future may require construction of a recycled fibre (RCF) plant, while an anticipated new fibre pulping line component might not be required until supplementary plantation-grown virgin fibre sources become available. There are other aspects of the plant that fall within the "immediate" and "later development" classes. Visy’s expansion of its Tumut operation will require significant additional capital expenditure to be raised and committed. Visy therefore requires the overall endorsement of the NSW Government, via the planning process, to enable the component parts of this project to proceed with both bankable security and with certainty as to the types of environmental assessments and controls that may be required for components to be developed at a later date than the immediate expansion elements. Visy Pulp and Paper is in a good position to assess the likely environmental impacts of the proposed expansion given that it is an expansion of an existing plant which itself was the subject of thorough environmental assessments and was approved subject to a number of conditions. This document is designed to provide: a. An outline of the proposed development (its scale and nature); b. Likely environmental impacts of the proposed development if it is carried out; c. A list of other approvals that are required; Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 3 Project summary d. An outline of the existing operations of the mill; and e. In doing so, provide information to assist the Department to determine applicable Director- General’s requirements for the project. 2 THE PROPOSED EXPANSION 2.1 Overview Visy Pulp and Paper proposes to expand the existing facility at Tumut NSW by installing a second paper machine and associated pulping capacity. This would bring the total approved site production of paper to 700,000 tonnes per year. A number of product options are currently being investigated for proposed mill expansion in order to address the export market including: 1) A lightweight Kraft Liner Board (as produced by current mill) 2) A lightweight “Kraft Top” sheet, moving to Kraft Liner Board depending on wood supply availability in the future (mainly recycle sheet with kraft top layer) 3) A white liner A phased approach is proposed for the mill expansion. This will enable some plant components to be installed immediately, with others being progressively installed over time to meet the project’s expected production milestones. Note that it is anticipated to achieve 700,000 tonnes per annum paper production as quickly as possible and required changes will come about from feedstock flexibility. A summary of the nature and scope of the proposed development is outlined below. 2.2 Phased Installation Set out below is an indicative description of the expansion phasing and is not intended to be prescriptive. The exact phasing of the proposal in terms of the combination of components installed at each phase, and timing of the installation will be subject to the availability of virgin fibre as well as economic and market forces at the time. Therefore, prospects for the “Future Installation” contemplated in 2.2.2 may be brought forward to the “Initial Installation” phase described in 2.2.1 and subsequently enhanced as supplementary wood fibre becomes available. As such it will be necessary that the approval for the expansion takes into account this need for flexibility. Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 4 Project summary The environmental impacts may change between the phases, based on the installed components but the “maximum impact case” will be the benchmark adopted for the purposes of the environmental assessments. That is the environmental assessments will be based on the combination of the greatest impacts of each phase, even though the final configuration may not necessarily result in all such impacts. 2.2.1 Initial Installation Visy proposes to initially install a new Paper Machine, Fibre Line and Multi-fuel Power Boiler. Production through the existing pulp mill would be increased from 750t/day to 1000t/day. This would include modification to the existing Recovery Boiler, Fibre Line, Digester, Lime Kiln, Recasuticising Plant and Evaporation Plant to allow for the increased production. The woodyard will be expanded to allow for the increased tonnage of pulpwood, saw mill chips and boiler fuel. The mill will continue to operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and chipping and debarking operations in the woodyard will continue to run 15 hours per day 7 days per week. Wood and Wastepaper Supply Depending on availability, the initial installation will utilise approximately 60% virgin fibre and 40% wastepaper. This will consist of sawmill residues, softwood pulp logs from State Forests and private plantations, and waste paper from kerbside collections from Sydney and Melbourne. In order to produce the white liner product, approximately 30,000 tonne per year of white purchased pulp will be used. Energy and Steam Initially a new multi-fuel power boiler is proposed for power and steam generation. The proposed fuel for the multi-fuel boiler includes paper machine residues from the existing mill including coarse residues, de-inking and de-ashing sludge. De-inking and de-ashing sludge are two streams of residues that are not currently produced by the existing mill and are associated with the use of a higher proportion of wastepaper that is derived from kerbside collection. Additionally it is also proposed to utilise paper machine residues from Visy’s existing mills in Sydney and Melbourne as fuel for the multi-fuel boiler. The multi-fuel power boiler will be designed to utilise this increased quantity of non standard fuels and will include best available technology for emissions controls. There will be an additional stack installed for the emissions from the new multi-fuel power boiler. Water and Wastewater Fresh water will be supplied via the existing pipeline from Tumut River and stored in the existing fresh water dam onsite. The additional quantity of fresh water can be accommodated by the existing pipeline capacity and fresh water dam on site. A maximum of 1,600 ML/year of additional Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 5 Project summary freshwater is required for the expansion giving a total freshwater demand of 2700ML/year for the full plant. Approximately 600 ML/year of additional effluent will be generated from the expanded mill, resulting in approximately 1000 ML/year of total effluent from the full plant. The additional effluent will also be treated onsite and irrigated onto Visy owned pastures using Centre Pivot irrigators. Utilities Natural gas will be utilised as the auxiliary fuel for the new multi-fuel power boiler. The additional natural gas requirements can be accommodated by the existing capacity of the natural gas pipeline and metering system on site. A second transformer will be required and, together with associated high voltage equipment; this transformer will be housed in the existing substation on site. A connection agreement with Transgrid will be required when activation of the transformer is needed. Stormwater and drainage associated with mill expansion will be connected to the current system since the new components will be within the existing mill footprint. The stormwater detention pond may need modification and run off from the expanded woodyard areas may require an additional woodyard first flush dam. 2.2.2 Future Installation When sufficient virgin fibre is available, Visy proposes to shift the fibre mix to approximately 80% virgin fibre and 20% wastepaper and install additional pulp mill capacity. This would involve the installation of a new Recovery Boiler, Lime Kiln and Recausticising Plant, Evaporation Plant, and Batch Digester Plant. Mill operating hours would continue as per existing operations. It is noted that the paper production will remain at 700,000 tonnes per annum. Wood and Wastepaper Supply As outlined above, this installation will utilise approximately 80% virgin fibre and 20% wastepaper. On site de-inking of wastepaper is proposed as a process mechanism to enable replacement of purchased white pulp. Energy and Steam In addition to the multi-fuel power boiler, an additional recovery boiler will be installed. The emissions from the new recovery boiler will be directed to the stack servicing the emissions from the multi-fuel power boiler and the new lime kiln. A natural gas turbine is proposed to be installed Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 6 Project summary which would result in the mill being 100% self generating with the excess power exported to the grid. The emissions from the natural gas turbine will be directed to a separate new stack. Water and Wastewater The freshwater demand and effluent production will not increase from the initial installation. Utilities An additional section of natural gas pipeline and a new pressure let down station may be required for the supply of additional gas for the natural gas turbine. Other Visy proposes to establish a truck staging facility on the Hume Highway to regulate the flow of trucks to and from the site carrying finished product and waste paper. The staging facility will involve a warehouse for storage of finished product and wastepaper and truck parking/standing areas for loading and unloading of material. A list of the additional plant components proposed for the mill expansion is provided in Table 1 over the page. A preliminary layout showing existing plant and the proposed expansion components is illustrated in Figure 1. [...]... maximum key operating parameters for the expanded mill Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 8 Table 2: Maximum Key Plant Operating Parameters for Expanded Mill Operating Parameter Annual Production (Air Dried TPY) Wood Demand (incl pulp logs, saw mill residue and purchased pulp) (Green TPY) Mill Expansion (Maximum input/output) 700,000 1,950,000 Wastepaper Demand (Air Dried TPY) Internal Power... therefore requests the Director Generals Requirements for environmental assessment of the proposed Visy Pulp and Paper Mill expansion as outlined in this document Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 23 APPENDIX A Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 24 Appendix A Figure 1: Current and Expanded Mill Byproduct Management EXISTING PAPER MACHINE NEW PAPER MACHINE EXISTING Paper Machine Coarse... for irrigation of treated effluent from the expanded plant or as a contingency for current irrigation operations The development of this land for irrigation would involve the installation of Centre pivot irrigators, pumping equipment, run off dams and stormwater diversion drains Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 13 The International Centre for WATER (Water for Agriculture Technology and Environmental. .. Bombowlee Creek Road - Buccleuch followed by Tumut Township, and Batlow Road - Wondalga The first and third routes cover log deliveries for the process coming from the major forest area to the north and south of the Tumut township respectively The second route covers wood chip and products/services sourced from within the Tumut area Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 21 The original EIS estimated... a benchmark on how Visy s performance is perceived by the community Raise community awareness of their voice to Visy – the VCCC; and Further develop the relationship between Visy and its community (recognising that Visy employees are a part of that community too.) Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 22 The following is an outline of the results: Item 1 Q No Q4 Statistic Visy brought economic... to now be landfilled until an exemption for their continued reuse is obtained from DEC Saltcake Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 19 produced from the recrystallisation of the recovery boiler fly ash, is bagged and stored in a warehouse and has been sold for the manufacture of soap and detergent Table 1 in Appendix A outlines the management of mill by-products from the existing mill operations... saw mill residues, paper machine residues from Visy Mills in Sydney and Melbourne 4 Preliminary traffic movements for the mill expansion assumes no back loading and a combination of the maximum tonnages from the immediate and future installation phases 5 This includes power boiler fly ash and bottom ash, dregs, grits, lime mud, and saltcake Paper Machine residues from the current Tumut paper machine and. .. permit under Part 3A of the Rivers and Foreshores Improvement Act 1948 Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 14 2.5 Environmental Impacts of Existing Operations 2.5.1 Environmental Management The current mill operates under a Development Consent with over 100 Conditions of Consent issued by the NSW Department Planning (then Department of Urban Affairs and Planning) and a Protection of the Environment... Towers, Cooling Ponds and Paper Machine building Visy s considerable expenditure on capital items to improve environmental performance and address community concerns is outlined in Appendix B Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 17 A further historical analysis shows that the majority of complaints regarding odour have been made by residents within a 5km radius from the mill An overall decreasing... Reg (2005) – onsite land application (b) Post Residue Waste Reg (2005) – liquid waste disposal (c) Obtain DEC exemption for Land Application EXISTING+NEW (a) Obtain DEC exemption for Land Application (b) Liquid Waste Disposal (a) Utilise in soap and detergent industry (b) Investigate re-use options (c) Investigate disposal options 25 APPENDIX B Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion Project summary 26 Major Capital . PROJECT SUMMARY and ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES For Visy Pulp and Paper, Tumut Mill Expansion Prepared for NSW Department of Planning. parameters for the expanded mill. Visy Tumut – Mill Expansion 9 Project summary Table 2: Maximum Key Plant Operating Parameters for Expanded Mill Operating