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Norske Skog Green Offsets Project

The Department of Water and Energy has developed a project that would see the owner of the Albury paper mill, Norske Skog, fund the ongoing operation of the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme in the State’s south-west. Following is a list of frequently asked questions that explains the Norske Skog Green Offsets Project.

The Norske Skog Green Offsets Project is currently in the planning stage and is subject to the normal planning approvals process. A Statement of Environment Effects has been placed on public exhibition by the Department of Planning. The local community, particularly nearby landholders and water users, are encouraged to review the information and provide feedback to the Department of Planning.

Information on how to make a submission is publicly available on the Department of Planning’s website: http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a ‘green offset’ and how does it work?

Development is essential for the economic and social prosperity of communities. However, all development impacts on the environment in one way or another. A green offset is where a developer offsets or compensates for the environmental impacts of the development by undertaking activities that protect or improve the environment in other areas. For example, a developer might need to clear 10 trees from a site to construct a building. To offset this environmental impact the developer might establish a conservation area nearby and plant 20 trees.

What is the Norske Skog Green Offsets Project?

Norske Skog owns and operates a paper mill at Albury on the banks of the Murray River in south-west NSW neat the Victorian border. The company injects over $100 million into the Albury district each year by employing 260 full-time staff, purchasing local products and using local contractors

The mill produces salty wastewater as a bi-product of paper production. Currently this water is discharged onto a nearby forestry plantation. However, Norske Skog requires more flexible water management arrangements to enable enhanced operations at the mill.

Together with Norske Skog, the NSW Government has developed an innovative solution that supports the continued success of the mill and also benefits the local environment.

Through the Norske Skog Green Offsets Project, the mill may be allowed to discharge three megalitres of salty wastewater into the Murray River each day, but it must meet strict water licence conditions and offset the environmental impacts by funding the operations of a nearby salt interception scheme.

The Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme would remove twice as much salt from the Murray River as the paper mill would put in each year.

The net gain is that 1,500 tonnes of salt would be removed from the Murray River each year at minimal cost to tax payers.

The Department of Water and Energy would continue to own and operate the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme and would ensure that Norske Skog complies with its water licence conditions.

As part of the overall project, the Murray Catchment Management Authority is establishing a corridor of native bush that stretches from Gum Swamp to the Billabong Creek at Morgan’s Lookout, connecting two sites that have high environmental and archaeological values.

The Norske Skog Green Offsets Project would be tested under a “proof of concept” stage for five years to allow for further trials, technical analysis and community input. If successful, the project will be refined and implemented for the long-term.

How would it work?

Water is supplied to the Albury paper mill from the Murray River at Hawkes View via a 10 kilometre pipeline. After the water has been used to cool machinery at the mill, it will be mixed with potable water and treated to remove any harmful chemicals and discharged onto a nearby forestry plantation or into the Murray River via a 14 kilometre pipeline adjacent to the Hume Highway.

The maximum amount of water that Norske Skog could discharge into the Murray River each day is three megalitres. This water has low salt levels that would result in about five tonnes of salt entering the Murray River each day. However, the nearby Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme would remove twice as much salt from the River – up to 10 tonnes a day.

Is this really a positive project for the environment?

Yes. Norske Skog would add 1,500 tonnes of salt to the Murray River each year. However, by funding the operation of the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme, 3,000 tonnes of salt would be removed from the Murray River each year.

The net gain is that 1,500 tonnes of salt would be removed from the Murray River each year at minimal cost to tax payers. This would benefit the Murray River system as a whole as it would help NSW meet its salt removal targets.

Extensive studies undertaken by the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre indicated that the Norske Skog Green Offsets Project is unlikely to negatively impact the environment and the project is subject to the normal planning approvals.

How would the project be monitored?

The Department of Water and Energy would ensure that Norske Skog meets strict water licence conditions and the Department of Environment and Climate Change would ensure that Norske Skog meets strict water quality conditions. The company would be required to monitor the quantity, frequency and quality of water releases into the Murray River and submit regular reports to the regulatory authorities – the departments of Water and Energy and Environment and Climate Change.

The departments have the authority to monitor and enforce water management and quality requirements under the Water Management Act 2000 and the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

A key condition of Norske Skog’s water licence would be that the paper mill can only discharge water into the Murray River when river flows are sufficient to ensure a ratio of water to salt of 600:1 tonnes. This will ensure that there is enough water in the river to adequately dilute the salty wastewater to safe levels.

How would this impact on water users directly downstream of the paper mill?

The river water would be more salty than usual for about 100 meters downstream of the paper mill. However, this is not expected to impact on commercial water users, stock and domestic users or the environment in that stretch of the river.

Information on how to make a submission is publicly available on the Department of Planning’s website: http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/

How does a salt interception scheme work?

A salt interception scheme works by preventing salty water from getting into a river. This involves pumping salty water away from the river or pumping fresh water into the river to dilute salty water.

The Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme works by pumping water from deep within an aquifer that sits below the creek bed into the creek itself. The groundwater deep within the aquifer is of good quality; however the groundwater just below the creek bed near the surface of the aquifer is of poor quality and very salty. Pumping out the good quality groundwater from deep within the aquifer prevents the groundwater level rising high enough to push the poor quality groundwater near the top of the aquifer up into the creek bed. This prevents the salty groundwater from entering the creek and eventually the Murray River.

The scheme also has a standpipe that enables local water users to fill up their water tanks with the good quality groundwater, provided that they only use this water for stock and domestic use. The scheme was established by the Department of Water and Energy (formerly the Department of Land and Water Conservation) in the late 1990’s. However, there is currently no funding available to operate scheme continually and it has been operating on and off for some years. The Norske Skog Green Offsets Project will ensure the operation of the scheme for the long-term, delivering significant environmental benefits at minimal cost to NSW tax payers.

Why is Norske Skog funding the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme and not the NSW Government?

The Department of Water and Energy established the scheme but cannot afford to operate it on a continual basis. Like any business, the Department has limited resources and must make tough decisions as to which services, programs and projects it can afford to provide on a sustainable, long-term basis.

The Norske Skog Green Offsets Project is a win for the environment and the local Albury community as it will enable the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme to operate on a continual long-term basis, while enabling the Albury paper mill to maintain and expand its business.

Salt interception schemes deliver significant benefits to local communities by improving river water quality, biodiversity and habitats. It makes sense to invite the local industries that benefit from these improvements to help fund the ongoing operation of these schemes.

What is the cost of running the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme?

It is estimated to cost between $100,000 and $140,000 per year to operate the scheme.

For more information please contact Bunty Driver (03) 5898 3910.