ACLCA Victoria Update on Corona Virus
Dear ACLCA Victoria members,
ACLCA Victoria is currently monitoring the coronavirus situation within Australia, which is evolving on a daily basis.
Control measures are being implemented within Australia, which aim to slow (not stop) the spread of the virus throughout the community. Some of these control measures (or future control measures) will change the way we interact, and therefore ACLCA events (including member presentations and CPD modules) will be affected. In some instances, the effects will be minimal and will only involve additional health and safety measures. However, in certain circumstances, ACLCA Victoria may decide to cancel or postpone an event.
On 16 March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a press conference and announced that the following measures would be implemented in response to the increasing transmission of coronavirus:
- Self-isolation of all international arrivals to Australia for a period of 14 days (regardless of whether you do/do not have symptoms of coronavirus)
- Ban on cruise ships (from foreign ports), from entering Australian ports
- Ban on non-essential static gatherings of more than 2 people (does not include schools, shopping centres, train stations, etc.)
Based on the publicly available advice from the Department of Health (DoH), ACLCA Victoria has postponed CPD training events (i.e. Module 1-3 this Thursday 19 March and 2-day OHS course on 31 March and 1 April 2020). However, Member Presentations that were scheduled for March/April will be offered as a recording on-line (details to follow) with future Member Presentations beyond April TBA. The Executive Committee is currently looking into alternatives arrangements so that we can continue to offer our members CPD opportunities on-line.
ACLCA Victoria will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation in Australia and will provide further updates on ACLCA events as Government/member company requirements change. Please be aware that requirements to slow the spread of coronavirus are rapidly changing, and as such scheduled ACLCA events may be postponed or cancelled at short notice.
For further information on coronavirus, including the latest updates, please view the DoH Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
ACLCA VICTORIA EVENTS UPDATE - APRIL 2020
The following Member Presentations will be offered on-line. You will receive a link to view the recording in coming weeks.
SAFETY AROUND DRILLING WORKS
PRESENTATION BY DELWP - PRS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Proposed CPD Course Schedule - 2020 (TBC)
The CPD Focus Area have been busy putting together a course schedule for 2020. We plan to offer a variety of CPD courses and other learning opportunities this year including but not limited to:
- CPD Module 1-3: Introduction to Environmental Site Assessment (Postponed)
- OHS 2 Day Course (Postponed)
- CPD Module 5 Chemistry A – (Postponed)
- Asbestos Management in Soils (June)
- Module 4: Soil and Rock Core Logging (August)
- Module 6: Risk Assessment (Intro) - (June)
- Module 7: CUTEP / Auditing - (October)
- Module 8: Remediation (Site Tour) - (TBC)
- Module 9:Technical Report Writing and Legal Risks (Nov)
Several other courses and events will be offered in addition to the above core modules with schedule updates to follow soon.
Registration for the above events generally opens approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the event date so please ensure you keep up to date with ACLCA Events and ENews to avoid missing out.
Please note that the above schedule is an approximation at this stage and fixed dates will depend on availability of presenters and venues.
Call for Focus Area Volunteers
As we navigate the year ahead, our Focus Areas need member support!
ACLCA currently has 10 Focus Areas, which target specific aspects of the industry ranging from collaborative research to remediation. You can review our list of Focus Areas on the ACLCA website. Please take the time to have a look over the list of Focus Areas and reach out to us if you would like to get involved.
As always, ACLCA’s Focus Area groups are a great way to get involved with like-minded professionals in a collaborative environment. This year in particular, the Focus Areas represent a great way to remain across the regulatory changes, as we anticipate that the finer details of the new EP Act and subordinate regulations will be discussed within our Focus Area groups
Three very important points with regards to the ACLCA Focus Areas are as follows:
- You do NOT need to be a technical expert to join a Focus Area
- Working within a Focus Area can provide points towards CPD
- Having joined a Focus Area, there is no obligation to remain for the year – if something comes up or you find that it is not for you, you are welcome to step down
Feedback from those that have joined Focus Areas in the past has always been centred around it being a great way to network and build industry contacts, and also improve technical knowledge.
ACLCA Victoria supports PhD Student at RMIT
ACLCA Victoria is currently supporting the following research project:
Project: Human health risk assessment from accidental ingestion of garden soil: impact of bio accessible Pb concentrations and soil characteristics on exposure assessment.
Researchers: Chief investigator: Assoc. Prof. Suzie Reichman and Investigators: Professor Ewan Blanch, Associate Professor Susanne Tepe and PhD student researcher Slavica Kandic.
Description: To determine quantitative relationships between bio accessibility and common soil characteristics in soils from the north and west of Melbourne, Victoria.
The ACLCA Collaborative Focus Area have been working with Suzie and Slavica on this project for the past 3+ years and have even offered up members vegetable growing backyards to assist in filling out the data set with probably lead contaminated inner Melbourne addresses. The Collaborative Focus Area is very excited about this report and will look to share it immediately with members as soon as it becomes available.
Revised Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Freshwater and Marine Water Quality
Revision of the Guidelines
The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality, (previously known as ANZECC 2000) were recently updated. The revision of the Guidelines was a joint project of the Australian and New Zealand and Australian State and Territory Governments (ANZAST). The guidelines can be found at http://waterquality.gov.au/anz-guidelines
Key revisions include:
- The water quality management framework has been expanded and strengthened, including the development of conceptual models for natural systems.
- Information on recreational and drinking water has been removed as the water quality and health guidelines already cover these topics (Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011 and Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Water 2008).
- Ecosystem information specific to regional location has been updated to provide for improved targeted biological assessment.
- Guidance on cultural and spiritual values of water resources is now incorporated in the Guidelines.
Environment Protection Amendment Bill 2018
The Environment Protection Amendment Bill 2018 provides the foundation for a transformation of Victoria’s environment protection laws and Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA).
More information about the Bill, including an informative 5-page Fact Sheet explaining the major changes, is available on DELWP’s website.
ACLCA Funded Project - PFAS in Groundwater
In 2017 ACLCA funded a project conducted by RMIT University to investigate sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to groundwater west of Melbourne, Australia.
The project investigated wastewater impacted groundwater in the Werribee Irrigation District and groundwater adjacent to legacy landfill sites in Newport and Sunshine. The results of the findings of the investigations in the Werribee Irrigation District were published in Science of the Total Environment Journal in an article titled “Investigating recycled water use as a diffuse source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to groundwater in Melbourne, Australia”. It can be downloaded for free until 11 September 2018. If you would like the link for free download please email Emily at ACLCA.
A complete report also detailing the findings of the landfill PFAS investigations will be available later in the year.