Environment

Airport Environment Strategy 

North Queensland Airports recognise that our natural environment is as dynamic as our business environment. Our airports provide the gateway to our significant environmental assets by considering the principles of ecological, social and economic sustainability in our operations, development and planning. We hope to be leaders in sustainability and create a positive impact on the thinking of others. This Airport Environment Strategy is a five-year planning and risk management tool which provides a roadmap for applying our Environment Policy and Sustainability Policy. It outlines our direction and vision whilst setting measurable targets across a broad range of environmental aspects for North Queensland Airports to aspire to over the next five years.

 

Environmental Management System

Cairns Airport has an Environmental Management System that is based on the structure of the international standard ISO 14001. The mechanisms for identifying environmental risks are aligned with other business management processes so that Cairns Airport addresses all risks, safety, business and environment in a consistent and comprehensive manner.

Cairns Airport maintains an environmental risk register and risk treatments plans for all significant risks. This information is reported to the Board of Directors regularly.

A key element of our Environmental Management System is our Environmental Assurance Program. The Environmental Assurance Program is a tool which maintains legal compliance and continuous improvement in environmental performance by conducting environmental audits and inspections of all our operations and those of tenants and contractors.

Results of the audits and inspections are incorporated into environmental improvement plans with timeframes and responsibilities assigned so we can track progress over time. The Assurance Program also extends to major development and maintenance projects so we have a system of identifying risks associated with development and construction that incorporates audits against relevant permits, licences and project objectives.

Activities with some level of environmental risk are classified as Environmentally Relevant Activities (ERA) in accordance with the Queensland Environmental Protection Act. These activities are regulated by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency or Cairns Regional Council for devolved ERA’s.

 

Ecological Monitoring Programs

Cairns Airport implements a series of monitoring programs to measure and track environmental performance, and ensure potential environmental impacts associated with the Cairns Airport are minimized. Extensive monitoring is undertaken at the Airport, including both surface and groundwater quality monitoring and gauging of groundwater levels.

The purpose of the monitoring programs is to:

• Aid the management of conservation areas
• Facilitate environmentally sensitive development
• Assist in identifying and managing potential environmental impacts

Monitoring Programs include:

• Airport Ground Water Quality Monitoring Program,
• Airport Wildlife Monitoring, and

Airport Water Quality

Storm water runoff from activities on Airport land has the potential to carry sediments, nutrients and other contaminants, such as oils, greases and heavy metals into the surrounding environment.

Our Airport Water Quality Monitoring Program monitors the condition of storm water from developed and undeveloped sites so we can assess the effectiveness of the control measures in place and the quality of waters that are discharged.

The program involves:

Bi monthly sampling of storm water at several locations around the airport that represent typical catchments. For example:

• infrastructure development sites – a possible source of sediments,
• sealed runway, apron and operational areas – a potential source of litter, effluent and hydrocarbon contamination,
• car parks and traffic ways – a source of oils and heavy metal contaminants ,
• aircraft maintenance facilities – a source of oils and greases,
• underdeveloped areas.
• two sampling events related to the first flush events for each of the Wet and Dry seasons are conducted as these generally involve the majority of nutrients, contaminants and suspended sediments.
• measuring a variety of parameters recommended in QLD EPA Water Quality Guidelines and national monitoring protocols, including heavy metals, nutrients and hydrocarbons. These measures provide an indication of potential impact to the environment and can be directly compared to historical records for the site. A review of the results collected over 10 years of the monitoring program was completed in early 2006.

Consideration of the monitoring results and industry best practice supports a move toward replacing, where possible, many of our hard-engineered structures with soft engineering controls, such as vegetated detention basins and swales to capture pollutants before they enter the environment, and inclusion of gross pollution traps and other water sensitive design features in all new infrastructure and development projects as listed in the Land Use Plan Codes.

Locations of sampling sites and a summary of findings is available in the environmental reports section.

 

Airport Groundwater Quality

We have a groundwater monitoring program that commenced during 2003 which involves sampling 14 permanent bores adjacent to existing and redundant fuel storage facilities located at Cairns Airport. Every six months the bores are sampled to determine the chemical and physical conditions (depth, pH, heavy metal and hydrocarbon contamination) of groundwater.

This is also supported by monthly water table level monitoring during the wet season and bi-monthly water table sampling during the dry season.

General findings from the first year of monitoring indicate that:

• the groundwater represents areas from freshwater in transition to tidal influenced saline systems
• groundwater is between 0.7 and 2.5 metres below the surface at most locations
• the groundwater is slightly acidic, with pH ranging from 4 to 6.7
• the groundwater is uncontaminated by hydrocarbons, with the exception of one site where historical contamination is known, and another presently under investigation.
• the groundwater displays marginally elevated levels of copper, lead and zinc, considered to be related to the natural soil and imported fill geo-chemistry

Airport Wildlife Monitoring

Adjacent to airport operations, the lower Barron River and associated Esplanade foreshore mudflats is recognized as a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention. Many of the shorebirds that visit the mudflats are migratory species protected by the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA).

Fortnightly surveys (morning, mid day, afternoon and night) are conducted by a consulting Ornithologist at the Airport to determine the species present and abundance within the vicinity of the Airport. Monitoring is conducted from a series of fixed vantage points and utilizes a grid system to divide the airport up into observable sections. Numbers of birds and other wildlife counted during theses surveys trigger specific management actions as outlined in the Bird and Wildlife Management Strategy.

 

Wildlife Management

Cairns Airport is involved in the management of wildlife issues including protection of marine animals from harm during port operations including dredging and maintenance of a safe operational airport.

The presence of wildlife including ground mammals, birds and flying foxes present a significant risk to aircraft. The flocking nature and or body mass of wildlife present a danger to the safe operation of aircraft. Cairns Airport as the airport operator has a responsibility under the Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations to minimize the risk of wildlife strikes. To achieve this, Cairns Airport now implements the Bird and Wildlife Management Strategy which involves consultation of various stakeholders through the Bird and Wildlife Management Committee. This committee meets on a quarterly basis to discuss recent strike activity, land use issues and management initiatives. The Strategy was finalized during 2004 and is based on a risk assessment of the species that occur at the airport, their size and flocking tendencies and strike history.

Accurate assessment of the hazard posed by wildlife to aircraft movements has included the need to develop more accurate procedures for identification of the remains of struck animals, which has recently included the use of DNA analysis techniques. This has enabled confirmation of species and that in some cases the strikes reported by aircraft engineers at Cairns have in fact occurred prior to arrival into Cairns or even at other airports during departure. Management of airport wildlife is coordinated at a national level by the Australian Bird and Animal Hazard Working Group (ABAHWG).

 

Incidents

Cairns Airport has an established system for recording and reporting incidents that result in, or have the potential to result in, adverse environmental impacts. Through the role of Airport Operations staff, including Airport Safety Officers, an emergency response system ensures that all environmental incidents are dealt with in an effective and timely manner. To report an environmental harm related to Airport operations, contact the Apron Coordinators on 07 4080 6744.

Details of all environmental incidents are assigned a rating based on severity (Serious, Material or Nuisance) and recorded in an Incident Register. All environmental incidents are followed up and include an investigation into the cause of the incident and identification of potential control measures where required. Remedial actions are jointly determined with relevant management staff and Environment Services staff. Incidents are referred to the Cairns Regional Council and Environnmtal Protection Agency staff for investigation where enforcement action is warranted.

For more information on environmental incident management please refer to the Environment Reports section.

All tenants and operators on Cairns Airport lands have a responsibility to report events that have or may have lead to environmental harm.

The Environmental Incident Report Form is available for use by contractors, tenants, and users of Cairns Airport facilities in reporting events to the Authority.

 

Guidelines and Information

In alignment with our Environment Policy Cairns Airport recognises our obligation to ensuring the environmental impacts of Cairns Airports' activities and the activities of our tenants are minimised wherever possible. As a result Cairns Airport requires contractors to submit an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) or Method of Works Statement for each project on Cairns Airports land. As a result Cairns Airport has developed a Construction Environmental Management Plan and an Operational Environmental Management Plan guiding document for use by proponents and tenants for activities on strategic port land.

 

Reports

Outcomes of the various environmental monitoring programs, management system initiatives and the like are included within Cairns Airports Annual Report.

 

Links

Useful links to other organisations related to Cairns Airport operations include the following:

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority - www.gbrmpa.gov.au

Queensland Environmental Protection Agency - www.epa.qld.gov.au

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries - www.dpi.qld.gov.au

Australian Airports Association - www.aaal.com.au

Australian Green Development Forum - www.agdf.com.au

Australian Aviation Bird and Animal Hazard Working Group - www.casa.gov.au