The NSW Environment Protection Authority has given Delta Electricity a two-year deadline to comply with tighter emission controls for nitrogen oxides, imposed on Vales Point Power Station last December.
Delta wanted a five-year renewal of the pollution exemption in its Environmental Protection Licence (EPL), to emit 1,500mg per cubic metre of nitrogen oxide (NOx) per day.
At first the EPA issued the five-year licence but ordered the power station to reduce daily levels by 35 percent to 850mg per cubic metre for 99 percent of the time, and a 23 percent reduction to 980mg per cubic metre for the remaining time to allow for occasions of burning at higher temperatures.
Environmental Justice Australia lawyers, representing the Nature Conservation Council and Australian Conservation Foundation, notified the EPA in February that approval of the power station’s pollution exemption was illegal because Delta had failed to meet the deadline to submit its application.
The EPA acted on that notification by declaring the previous licence conditions invalid and issuing a new exemption for only two years.
Delta spokesperson Steve Gurney said “this is an administrative interpretation issue, not an environmental one”.
“Delta’s EPL was varied in December 2021 after considerable input from the community and other groups, notably tightened limits for emissions such as oxides of nitrogen and Delta continues to comply with these reduced limits,” he said.
The new licence exemption, announced on October 28, also includes a new requirement that Delta investigate, mitigate and report on the causes of NOx emissions when the power station is operating at low loads or less than 50 percent capacity.
The EPA says there was a thorough review including independent technical advice, expert modelling, discussions with NSW Health and public consultation.
Chief Executive Officer of NSW EPA, Tony Chappel, said modelling conducted by the Department of Planning and Environment’s science team found that the ground level concentration of NOx in the community met the national health-based standards.
“We believe this exemption strikes the right balance – reducing emissions to support the health of our communities and environment but also supporting the state’s need for ongoing reliable and affordable energy,” he said.
“As part of Delta’s updated licence conditions, the company must begin to implement better controls to proactively address their emissions and the results of this work will be considered by the EPA in 2023.
“As set out in our draft Climate Change Policy and Action Plan, licensees must also consider how to improve the resilience of their infrastructure and management practices.
“A failure to act is no longer an option,” Chappel said.
The EPA ruling on emissions comes amid growing concerns across the community and environmental groups about the future of the ageing Vales Point Power Station which is scheduled to close in 2029.
A decision is yet to be announced by the Foreign Investment Review Board over the Sev.en Global Investments purchase of the power station and associated coal mines, Mannering Colliery and Chain Valley Colliery.
Also, there is still an EPA investigation to be resolved whether the power station operations contributed to two significant fish kills in Wyee Bay in August and September.
Sue Murray