October 11, 2020 [ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN (ASSIGNMENT-1)]

Why we should learn Environmental Plan?

INTRODUCTION
Environment is a fundamental and most essential part of our day to day life. Environmental
plan offers us a better livelihood by ensuring proper management in different sector of our life.
Environment comprises various types of forces such as physical, intellectual, economic, political,
cultural, social, moral and emotional. Environment is the sum total of all these external forces,
influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature, behavior and the growth, development and
maturation of living organisms. In another word, Environment refers to the sum total of condition,
which surrounds point in space and time. Environmental planned management system is simply a
collection of activities undertaken to ensure that environmental issues are managed. It provides with
some important functions such as:
 Consistently complying with environmental laws;
 Improving overall environmental performance;
 Addressing environmental liability from current or past practices;
 Maximizing investment in environmental affairs;
 Integration of environmental objectives into overall mission and business objectives;
 Providing an environmentally safe workplace.

Environmental plan promotes adequate physical, social and economic environment of the
enterprise or project. It encourages planned investment at the start of the production chain rather than
forced investment in cleaning up at the end. The importances of environmental plan are as follows: -
 To clarify modern environmental concept like how to conserve biodiversity;
 To know the more sustainable way of living;
 To use natural resources more efficiently;
 To know the behavior of organism under natural conditions;
 To know the interrelationship between organisms in populations and communities;
 To aware and educate people regarding environmental issues and problems at local, national
and international levels.

DISCUSSION
In order to justify environmental plan and management I have came to a case developed by
National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) and been reviewed by National Offshore Safety and
Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for use in gaining acceptance of an
Environment Plan submitted in accordance with the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas
Storage (Environment) Regulations and NOPSEMA’s assessment policies. This reference case
applies to the discharge of sewage, putrescible waste and grey water waste streams occurring as part
of a petroleum activity within the operational area under the jurisdiction of NOPSEMA. This
includes Commonwealth waters of varying depths (although generally >15 m) in any marine
bioregion of Australia, as defined by the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy,
noting the limitations. For activities occurring within those waters excluded from the scope of this
reference case, additional consideration will need to be given to the scale and nature of impacts of
sewage, putrescible waste and grey water discharges and acceptability of listed control measures to
manage impacts and risks to sensitive receptors and values occurring within these waters. The
planned discharge of sewage, grey water and putrescible waste will change the characteristics of the
water and sediment compartments of the receiving environment. In keeping with the definition of
‘environment’ in the Environment Regulations, values associated with the water and sediment
compartments of the receiving environment have been described using the Australian and New
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Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC/ARMCANZ, 2000). Based on
ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000), environmental values which could be affected within the water and
sediment compartments include the:
 Ecosystem health, e.g. ecosystems, including biological diversity, abundance and biomass of
marine life and ecological processes;
 Industrial water e.g. water suitable for industrial uses (cooling and potable water);
 Primary industry, e.g. aquaculture and seafood safe for human consumption; and
 Recreation and aesthetics, e.g. water safe for primary and secondary contact activities.

Discharges of sewage, putrescible waste and grey water from vessels and facilities involve
relatively small volumes which are likely to disperse quickly over a small area. The impact of
contaminants associated with the discharge is considered to be of an acceptable level given the
assimilative capacity of the receiving environment. For example, the discharge of sewage and grey
water from a moving vessel is broadly acceptable due to the high level of dilution achieved on
release to the receiving waters. The discharge and subsequent level of dilution was shown to be
adequate for mitigating localized toxicity impacts to marine biota from any changes in water quality.
Fixed point source discharges of sewage and grey water also require an understanding of the in-situ
dispersion; however a greater consideration for parameters that control site-specific dilution in the
receiving environment (such as the discharge volume, chemical composition, toxicity and
hydrodynamics) is required to ensure any impact will be continuously maintained within a designated
management area or ‘mixing zone boundary’ (ANZECC/ARMCANZ, 2000).

For this reference case, the sewage and greywater discharge volume is limited to 150 m3 /day
and is expected to remain within the nominal mixing zone boundary of 500 m around fixed facilities.
The defined mixing zone is suitably conservative when compared to sewage treatment plants (STP)
that routinely discharge much larger quantities of residential, industrial and commercial wastewater
into the marine environment. Thus, this environmental plan executed in order to provide a
sustainable and balanced framework for setting water quality objectives that required sustaining
current or future environmental values for natural and semi-natural water resources. This
management plan actually provided a justified degree in accordance for the acceptable levels i.e.:

 Ecosystem health values are protected to a high level beyond 500 m of the discharge point.
 Industrial water value is not affected by the discharges beyond 500 m of the discharge.
 Primary industries values are protected (seafood is safe for human consumption) beyond 500
m of the discharge.
 Water quality is safe for primary and secondary contact recreation activities beyond 500 m of
the discharge.
 Aesthetic values are protected (no visible floating solids or discolouration) beyond 500 m of
the discharge.

CONCLUSION
This above case illustrated shows the importance of having well and properly managed
environmental plan creating well balance between nature and human interaction and their impact on
nature. This leads to create sustainable balance in environment with low impact on natural
surroundings. And environmental plan is indeed necessary in an attempt to control human impact on
and interaction with the environment in order to preserve natural resources. It focuses on the
improvement of human welfare for present and future generations. Environmental plan is vital to
conform socio-economic development project to environmental safety and thereby ensure sustainable

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economic development. Its impact on the environment is also ever increasing, leading to rapid
deterioration in environmental conditions. It helps the planning and management to take long term
measures for effective management as well as environment conservation.

Thus, environmental plan provides well sustainable development and sustainable socio-

economic aspects and creating well balance between nature and human interaction, thus providing
organize principle for sustaining finite resources necessary to provide 
for the needs of future generations of life on the planet.

REFERENCES:
1) “The Role of Environmental Monitoring in Responsible Project Management”, Larry W.
Canter
2) “Concept, types and importance of environmental management”, Himon DAS
3) “Planned discharge of sewage, putrescible waste and grey water”, National Energy
Resources Australia (NERA)