The terminal is closely surrounded by the communities of Half Tide to the south, and Louisa Creek to the north and has a responsibility to ensure that our production impacts on these communities are minimal. 

One potential impact from our operations is dust and the terminal has a comprehensive dust reduction and management system in place to ensure dust emissions are minimised. 

This system ensures that the terminal meets the strict guidelines imposed by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection in our environmental licence to operate the coal terminal. For instance, the terminal is required to meet a stricter limit for Total Suspended Particulates than the mines that provide the coal for loadout.  This is why it is paramount that the mines ensure they meet or exceed the optimum moisture level for their coal products to allow the terminal every opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of dust while handling the products.

Part of our responsibilities under these guidelines is correctly recording and dealing with concerns from the community. The terminal has introduced a new process for handling concerns from our local community with the Shift Coordinators now the first port of call for dust and noise concerns. 

The terminal operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year round, and we operate multiple shifts to accommodate this workload. Each shift is managed by a Shift Coordinator so there is always a point of contact for our community. 

The Shift Coordinator manages all operational activities onsite  so they are able to quickly assess the situation and make changes to our operations to minimise any impacts on our local communities. 

Each contact from a community member is then fully investigated by the Environmental Services team, including the review of internal and external dust monitoring.

Following the investigation the Senior Specialist Public Relations and Communications follows up with the community to advise any outcomes from the investigation. 

The control of dust onsite is a whole-of-port approach and is an important part of the daily operations of every employee at DBCT P/L. These recent improvements in our process ensure we continue to effectively manage our obligations to not only the regulatory bodies, but the communities surrounding the terminal.  

DBCT P/L dust reduction & management system While coal dust is something we closely monitor, it is also other sources of dust such as car movement’s onsite and routine mowing and slashing which also result in dust onsite.  Before the coal arrives - DBCT P/L handles over 90 coal products each with a different optimum moisture content. These are closely monitored for every consignment arriving at the terminal.  Rail receival - Enclosed rail receival stations with dust extraction fans and automated water sprays help contain dust emissions. Conveyors - Conveyors are covered, where practical. - Belt scapers are used to remove coal build-up - Water sprays are located at transfer points  Stockyard - Boom water sprays on each stacker/reclaimer machine help minimise dust when machines are in operation - Stockpiles are set at Bench 3 (13.2metres) to reduce the impact of wind - Automated yard sprays - Bund walls at the end of each stockpile row - Water trucks reduce dust from roadways and vacuum trucks are used to manage spillage - Veneering treatments are also used in high wind conditions Wharf - Covered conveyors are used to transport coal to the wharf - Enclosed transfer points, belt scrapers and washers also feature on the wharf conveyors - Shiploader machines have a telescopic boom which allows coal to be deposited deep into the hold of each vessel.