stormwater managemen t guidelines for … › about-council › ...2004/02/12 · 13.3. prevent...

E N V I R O N M E N T , S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y A N D I N D I G E N O U S A F F A I R S C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T C O V E R S H E E T

Agenda Item 5.2

12 February 2004

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SITES

Division Sustainable Development & Strategy

Presenter Robyn Leeson, Manager, Environmentally Sustainable Development Branch

Purpose

To establish the City of Melbourne’s policy and procedures for stormwater protection practices on building and construction sites.

Time Frame

Policy to be effective upon Council approval, with procedures progressively introduced through 2004.

Finance

The project was primarily funded through a grant of $22,000 received in 2001/02 from the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Victoria Stormwater Action Program. Additional funding will be considered as part of the forthcoming 2004/2005 budget.

Legal

As detailed in the report, a legal analysis of Council’s regulatory powers in relation to stormwater management is provided in the KBR Report (Attachment 1). The recommendation of the report is consistent with Council’s powers, duties and functions under a range of legislation as detailed in the KBR Report.

Sustainability

Connected and Accessible City

The stormwater management provisions will not impact on connectivity and accessibility in the City.

Inclusive and Engaging City

The stormwater management provisions will have a small positive impact on the inclusiveness and engagement of the City by improving waterway quality for people to enjoy.

Innovative and Vital Business City

The stormwater management provisions will not significantly impact on the City’s innovation and business objectives.

Environmentally Responsible City

The stormwater management provisions will have a positive impact on the environment of the City as it will prevent pollution of local waterways and Port Phillip Bay. This will achieve habitat and biodiversity improvements. It will also reduce Council costs in repairing and maintaining stormwater infrastructure.

The full Sustainability Report is in Attachment 3.

Recommendation

That the Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee:

• approve the distribution of the Stormwater Fact Sheets developed for this project;

• endorse the Stormwater Principles and Goals developed;

• support the on-going training requirements for staff in relation to stormwater management on building and construction sites;

• support further development of planning provisions to address stormwater management on building and construction sites;

• support the current development of standard procedures for Construction Management Plans;

• note that further stormwater education and enforcement funding will be considered as part of the forthcoming 2004/2005 budget; and

• note that this decision is being made by the Committee under delegation from the Council and is subject to the referral notice process.

2

E N V I R O N M E N T , S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y A N D I N D I G E N O U S A F F A I R S C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T

Agenda Item 5.2

12 February 2004


Division Sustainable Development & Strategy

Presenter Robyn Leeson, Manager, Environmentally Sustainable Development Branch

Purpose

1. To establish the City of Melbourne’s policy and procedures for stormwater protection practices on building and construction sites.

Background

2. Stormwater Guidelines for Building and Construction have recently been prepared for the City of Melbourne. The project outputs include: a report titled Stormwater Guidelines for Building and Construction (KBR June 2003), a series of fact sheets and the delivery of staff training.

3. The KBR Report (Attachment 1) outlines:

3.1. Council’s regulatory responsibility for managing stormwater (broken down into branch and unit responsibilities);

3.2. goals and principles for stormwater management; and

3.3. recommendations to amend the planning scheme, clarify the construction management plan processes and to increase enforcement.

4. The KBR Report is background research providing a strategic basis for Council to improve stormwater management via the actions that are outlined below.

5. The Fact Sheets (Attachment 2) provide brief, relevant information to Council staff, large developers, small developers and construction site workers. The fact sheets reflect City of Melbourne policy in relation to stormwater management on building and construction sites.

Issues

Roles and Responsibilities

6. The KBR Report outlines the regulatory responsibilities of different teams within Council in relation to stormwater management. Stormwater responsibilities are influenced by:

6.1. Environment Protection Act 1970;

6.2. Planning and Environment Act 1987;

3

6.3. Building Control Act 1993; and

6.4. Local Government Act 1989.

7. Responsibility is shared between the Sustainable Policy and Planning Branch, the Development Planning Unit, the Building Certification and Inspection Unit, and the Engineering Services Group.

Fact Sheets

8. The following fact sheets showing good practice, have been developed:

8.1. Site Managers – Small Sites;

8.2. Site Managers – Large Sites;

8.3. Building and Construction Workers; and

8.4. Council Staff – Planners, Builders, Contractors.

9. The fact sheets reflect the City of Melbourne’s policy position regarding stormwater practices on building and construction sites and should be used immediately upon Council’s endorsement of this program.

Stormwater Principles and Goals

10. The report sets out principles and goals for stormwater management in the City of Melbourne. These will be applied in the draft Total WaterMark Strategy.

11. The goals and principles are:

Stormwater principles

12. To ensure water quality improvements, stormwater management in the City of Melbourne will apply the following principles:

12.1. preserve and improve existing environmental elements of the stormwater system such as wetlands and streamside vegetation along the Yarra River, Maribyrnong River and Moonee Ponds Creek;

12.2. manage and improve stormwater quality on a catchment basis by undertaking a range of cooperative programs across municipal boundaries;

12.3. manage water quality at or near the source of water entering the stormwater system in order to prevent pollution in the first instance;

12.4. manage water quality at discharge points to capture pollutants that have entered the stormwater systems despite source control management;

12.5. apply water sensitive urban design principles for all designs requiring the movement of rainfall;

12.6. work with community, businesses, organisations and agencies to achieve the best water quality outcomes;

4

12.7. educate community about water quality practices, followed by enforcement procedures where necessary; and

12.8. involve local residents and business communities in a range of planning and program activities to improve stormwater management and water quality.

Stormwater goals

13. The goals are to:

13.1. protect and improve a diversity of water environments in the urban landscape;

13.2. prevent erosion of soil nutrients, gravel and pollutants entering our stormwater system;

13.3. prevent litter from entering the stormwater system and watercourses to improve urban aesthetics and prevent damage to aquatic flora and fauna;

13.4. prevent concrete, paints, liquid wastes, brickworks, cuttings and litter from entering the stormwater system from building sites;

13.5. minimise pesticide and herbicide use by encouraging sustainable gardening practices amongst the residents of the City of Melbourne, and the corporation itself;

13.6. prevent nutrients entering the waterways via vegetation in order to prevent excessive plant growth and hence oxygen demands;

13.7. manage stormwater to provide the best opportunities for rainwater and stormwater to be re-used; and

13.8. ensure Council and private greywater/rainwater use is managed to health standards and does not lead to nutrient increase.

Education and Training

14. Knowledge on stormwater requirements and procedures is generally limited amongst Council staff, contractors, construction workers, owner/builders and renovators. Project Managers for large construction sites generally have a better understanding of stormwater protection measures.

15. Distribution of the Stormwater Fact Sheets will assist in raising awareness. The fact sheets will need to be distributed at various venues to reach the necessary audience.

16. Initial training sessions have been held for Council’s planning, building, engineering and contracting staff. On-going training and information distribution for staff will be necessary.

17. An education and communication program for developers, applicants, residents etc has not yet been scheduled. A high profile communication and education program is likely to raise community expectation and lead to an increase in public complaints about construction site management. Therefore, it is suggested that such a program only be developed if staff are employed to enforce the stormwater commitments and thereby manage community expectations.

Planning Provisions

5

18. The KBR Report identified that the City of Melbourne needs to better address stormwater protection in the local planning policy framework of the Melbourne Planning Scheme. Stormwater management is currently addressed in the State Planning Policy and greater local policy guidance is required to ensure that development sites adopt good stormwater management practices.

19. New stormwater provisions will be developed for incorporation in the next review of the planning scheme. In the interim, greater references to stormwater management have been inserted into the current C60 planning scheme amendment.

20. Council will consider the applicability for inclusion in the planning scheme of the model stormwater provisions that have been developed by the Association of Bayside Municipalities.

Construction Management Plan

21. The KBR Report identified that although Construction Management Plans were regularly included as Planning Permit Conditions on significant projects, guidelines and procedures relating to when they should be required and the extent of information to be included had not been formalised. This matter is currently being reviewed and it is intended that detailed guidelines and procedures will be in place by June 2004.

Enforcement

22. This stormwater initiative will increase community awareness, and is likely to require Council to respond to more complaints from the public about construction site management. It will be ineffective to promote this stormwater initiative without the necessary staff to take out enforcement and education.

23. Council employed a designated stormwater education and information officer for six months in 2002 funded by an EPA grant. This position ceased in December 2002 leaving a gap in the education and enforcement program. It also added to existing staff workloads.

24. The Stormwater Guidelines for Building and Construction report has outlined a business case for enforcement. Melbourne needs to increase its enforcement to both protect our drainage network, and to be an environmental leader. An ‘enforcement role’ will also ensure that Council’s investment in stormwater will be maximised as the comprehensive approach to its management will see favourable environmental and asset protection results.

25. It is recommended that Council consider further stormwater education and enforcement funding as part of the forthcoming 2004/2005 budget.

Monitoring and Review

26. As indicated in the above discussion points, there are already many positive actions underway to improve stormwater quality in the City of Melbourne. These procedural changes, along with growing design and technology knowledge, mean that the Stormwater Fact Sheets will need to be reviewed annually to ensure they are still achieving the standards outlined in the Guidelines.

27. The KBR Report outlines potential methods for monitoring the success of the fact sheets in improving awareness and practices for stormwater management. These will be applied as part of the proposed stormwater education and enforcement resources.

6

Relation to Council Policy

28. Policies and actions to promote better stormwater protection practices will assist in meeting the environmental objectives of City Plan. The fact sheets are also consistent with the goals and strategies of the forthcoming WaterMark II – Total Water Management Strategy (to be presented at the April meeting of Committee). Watermark II will deal holistically with water consumption, stormwater, wastewater and groundwater (as distinct from WaterMark which deals solely with water consumption).

Consultation

29. The Stormwater Management Guidelines for Building and Construction report (Attachment 3) and associated Stormwater Fact Sheets have been discussed and consulted across a range of internal teams within City of Melbourne. Consultation was also undertaken with staff from Council contractor, CityWide.

30. Further external consultation will be undertaken in the event that resources are committed to the promotion and enforcement of stormwater protection.

Government Relations

31. The report was undertaken in consultation with the EPA as it was part funded by its Victorian Stormwater Action Program.

Recommendation

32. That the Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee:

32.1. approve the distribution of the Stormwater Fact Sheets developed for this project;

32.2. endorse the Stormwater Principles and Goals developed;

32.3. support the on-going training requirements for staff in relation to stormwater management on building and construction sites;

32.4. support further development of planning provisions to address stormwater management on building and construction sites;

32.5. support the current development of standard procedures for Construction Management Plans;

32.6. note that further stormwater education and enforcement funding will be considered as part of the forthcoming 2004/2005 budget; and

32.7. note that this decision is being made by the Committee under delegation from the Council and is subject to the referral notice process.

Prepared for:

MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL Level 7, Council House 200 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 3000

Prepared by:

Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd ABN 91 007 660 317 441 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004 Telephone (03) 9867 5911, Facsimile (03) 9820 0136

6 February 2004

MEN323-0000-T-REP-001, Rev. 0

STORMWATER GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION Part A: Review of City of Melbourne’s Existing Stormwater Management Framework

MEN323-0000-T-REP-001, Rev. 0 11 February 2004

Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd, 2004

Limitations Statement

The sole purpose of this report and the associated services performed by Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd (KBR) is to provide Part A in accordance with the scope of services set out in the contract between KBR and Melbourne City Council (‘the Client’). That scope of services was defined by the requests of the Client, by the time and budgetary constraints imposed by the Client, and by the availability of access to the site.

KBR derived the data in this report primarily from examination of records in the public domain and interviews with individuals with information about stormwater management planning. The passage of time, manifestation of latent conditions or impacts of future events may require further exploration at the site and subsequent data analysis, and re-evaluation of the findings, observations and conclusions expressed in this report.

In preparing this report, KBR has relied upon and presumed accurate certain information (or absence thereof) relative to provided by the Client and others identified herein. Except as otherwise stated in the report, KBR has not attempted to verify the accuracy or completeness of any such information.

The findings, observations and conclusions expressed by KBR in this report are not, and should not be considered, an opinion. No warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied, is made with respect to the data reported or to the findings, observations and conclusions expressed in this report. Further, such data, findings, observations and conclusions are based solely upon information supplied by the Client in existence at the time of the investigation.

This report has been prepared on behalf of and for the exclusive use of the Client, and is subject to and issued in connection with the provisions of the agreement between KBR and the Client. KBR accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for or in respect of any use of or reliance upon this report by any third party.

Signatures

Revision Date Comment Originated by

Checked by

Authorised by

A 19/05/03 Draft issue ME/MR CS CS

B 20/06/03 Final draft ME/MR CS CS

0 06/02/04 Final report MR CS CS

CONTENTS

Section Page Section Page

MEN323-0000-T-REP-001, Rev. 0 iii 11 February 2004

1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background 1-1 1.2 Purpose 1-2 1.3 Victorian Stormwater Action Program 1-2 1.4 Scope 1-3

2

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

2.1 Environment Protection Act 1970 2-4 2.2 Litter Act 1987 2-5 2.3 Building Act 1993 2-6 2.4 Planning and Environment Act 1987 2-6 2.5 Local laws 2-11 2.6 Construction management plan 2-13 2.7 Contract specifications/conditions 2-14 2.8 Stormwater agreement 2-14 2.9 Other relevant programs and

initiatives 2-15

3

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Sustainable development and strategy division 3-3

3.2 City assets and services division 3-6 3.3 City projects, arts and culture division 3-7 3.4 Contractors (CityWide) 3-7 3.5 Marketing and corporate affairs

division 3-8

4

KEY PRINCIPLES OF

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

4.1 Stormwater principles 4-1 4.2 Stormwater goals 4-2 4.3 City of Melbourne Stormwater

Management 4-2 4.4 City of Melbourne Stormwater Principles

and goals 4-2

5

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

5.1 Level of stormwater awareness 5-1 5.2 Stormwater management in municipal

planning 5-1 5.3 Application of Construction Management

Plan (CMP) 5-4 5.4 Local laws 5-5 5.5 Construction supervision and

enforcement 5-6 5.6 Other stormwater related council

programs 5-6 5.7 Other opportunities 5-7

6

BUSINESS CASE—IMPROVED

STORMWATER QUALITY

ENFORCEMENT REGIME

6.1 Introduction—the case for change 6-1 6.2 Purpose 6-3 6.3 Issues that may affect the success of an

enforcement program 6-3 6.4 Recommendations 6-5 6.5 Key advantages and disadvantages of an

enforcement program 6-7 6.6 Conclusion 6-10

7

MONITORING AND REVIEW

7.1 The importance of monitoring and review 7-1

7.2 Council’s existing performance measures 7-1

7.3 Suggested monitoring and review framework 7-2

7.4 Links to other information 7-3

8

TRAINING

8.1 Purpose 8-1 8.2 Scope 8-1 8.3 Timing 8-2

CONTENTS

Section Page Section Page

MEN323-0000-T-REP-001, Rev. 0 iii 11 February 2004

9

REFERENCE MATERIAL

9.1 Melbourne references 9-1 9.2 Other relevant information 9-4 9.3 Useful websites 9-7

APPENDICES

A ABM Project B Stormwater Agreement C Melbourne City Council Delegated

Officers

MEN323-0000-T-REP-001, Rev. 0 1-1 11 February 2004

1 Introduction

Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd (KBR) was commissioned by the City of Melbourne to develop construction management guidelines to protect stormwater quality. This project builds on the work undertaken by the stormwater project officer during 2002 and the Melbourne Stormwater Management Plan. It addresses the specific issue of providing simple, but effective information to various groups regarding the management of stormwater on construction sites. There are three main parts to this project:

• Part A will identify and review:

– the existing stormwater management framework provisions in place at the City of Melbourne;

– the roles and responsibilities played by the various branches within Council;

– existing guidelines used by Council and those developed by others either as part of, or independent to, the Victorian Stormwater Action Program (VSAP).

• Part B will provide stormwater management guidelines for the four identified target groups:

– the proponents and managers of large scale construction sites;

– the proponents and managers of small scale construction sites (typically the managers of single lot developments and home renovations);

– construction workers (those working on large construction sites);

– City of Melbourne staff (the staff involved in providing information and assistance to the above groups).

• Part C will deliver two training sessions to relevant City of Melbourne staff and external stakeholders.

1.1 BACKGROUND Over the past ten years there has been a major shift in the focus of urban stormwater management. Previously stormwater was thought of as a waste product and a nuisance that caused flooding. Urban design and stormwater management practices reflected this thinking by modifying waterways to transport stormwater as quickly and efficiently as possible through the catchments and into the receiving water body with the priority being the protection of life and assets from floods. In the City of Melbourne’s case, stormwater is channelled into the Yarra River, Maribyrnong River, Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip Bay.

Over the past decade there has been a major change in mindset in several areas of urban stormwater management. In particular, the ecological health of our waterways has become recognised as an important issue resulting in a greater consideration of water quality issues. There has been a focus by government agencies (e.g. Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Melbourne Water), together with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and local government, on developing tools and strategies to uniformly improve urban stormwater management. Strategies use a combination of best practice land use planning systems, education, local laws and structural treatments.


While flooding and the protection of life and assets remain a priority, the use of structural and non-structural tools to improve the quality of stormwater has become a standard procedure in many organisations, including the City of Melbourne.

1.2 PURPOSE The purpose of this project is to:

• identify existing stormwater management tools and programs available;

• establish the current roles and responsibilities within Council for those units that have responsibility for building and construction site management;

• develop key principles and goals for stormwater management in the City of Melbourne;

• develop guidelines for stormwater management of construction sites for the managers of small and large scale construction sites, construction workers and Council staff;

• develop a business case for the enforcement of best practice stormwater management in the City of Melbourne;

• recommend a monitoring system and review process that will provide feedback about stormwater quality management;

• develop and host training sessions for relevant Council staff and external stakeholders.

The Project is jointly funded by VSAP and Melbourne City Council, with each contributing 50 per cent funding.

1.3 VICTORIAN STORMWATER ACTION PROGRAM In June 2000, the EPA launched its urban stormwater program, VSAP, as part of the Victorian government’s ‘Greener Cities’ policy. The Victorian Government allocated $22.5 million over three years to improve the environmental management of urban stormwater in Victoria.


A key component of VSAP is a three-year grant program to assist local government with the development and implementation of stormwater management plans. Funding assistance was matched by local governments, on largely a dollar for dollar basis, for the implementation of priority projects identified in the Council’s stormwater management plans. VSAP funding was only available to local government, although other agencies and stakeholders who developed partnership projects with local governments could participate.

1.4 SCOPE There is a significant amount of information available for managing construction sites. Through VSAP and agencies such as the EPA, Melbourne Water and local government, there has been major development of tools to manage stormwater from these sites and protect the environment, especially the ecological health of downstream waterways. Research organisations such as the Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology (CRC-CH) have produced numerous reports on the impacts of development activity on stormwater quality and have identified tools to address the issues (refer Sections 2 and 9). The Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) is developing standard planning scheme clauses to allow for a uniform approach by councils to address all facets of urban development from design through to construction and the longer term impacts of a land use. This project identifies relevant programs and other initiatives already in existence, as well as issues relevant to the City of Melbourne, to develop guidelines for stormwater management on construction sites specific to the City of Melbourne.


2 Regulatory framework

This section provides an overview of legislative and policy requirements relating to stormwater management. Victoria’s legislative framework provides a number of tools which may be used by local government to protect the environment and, in particular, water and stormwater quality. The tools range from state-wide policy, such as Victorian legislation, to more localised policy, such as Municipal Strategic Statements and planning permit conditions. The range of tools specific to stormwater quality protection has increased markedly over the last three years, largely due to the outcomes of VSAP. This program has funded and facilitated many projects aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of protecting stormwater quality and strengthening the tools available to local government and other agencies to do so. Figure 2.1 provides an overview of the legislative framework opportunities that exist to manage the potential stormwater impacts of construction activity. Figure 2.2 and Table 2.1 provide a summary of the main avenues currently available to City of Melbourne to protect stormwater quality from the impacts of construction sites with further details provided on the following pages.


Table 2.1 Regulatory framework

Tool Manner in which City of Melbourne can implement the tool

Environment Protection Act 1970 The Act prohibits pollution of waters and offenders can be prosecuted by the EPA.

State Environment Protection Policy (SEPP) (Waters of Victoria)

Council is required to make decisions that comply with the SEPP and, as such, may develop local policies and impose planning permit conditions in order to ensure that applicants meet the requirements of the SEPP (specifically Schedules F7. Waters of the Yarra Catchment and F6. Waters of Port Phillip Bay).

Building Act 1993 Council can make local laws with respect to requirements for the preparation of land for building work, however this does not extend to environmental matters.

Planning and Environment Act 1987 The responsible authority (e.g. Council) must consider any significant effects which a use or development may have on the environment when assessing an application.

State Planning Policy Framework Responsible authorities (e.g. Council) should use appropriate measures to restrict sediment discharges from construction sites in accordance with Construction Techniques for Sediment and Pollution Control (EPA, 1991) and Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA, 1995). Appropriate measures can refer to the use of planning permit conditions

Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) Objectives of the Draft MSS include to improve water quality, enhancing environmental values of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers and Moonee Ponds Creek. The City of Melbourne is therefore able to place conditions that will help achieve these objectives on to planning permits

Local planning policy The City of Melbourne currently has no local policy that specifically supports stormwater protection.

Zones and overlays The Land Subject to Inundation Overlay and the Special Building Overlay both require a consideration of water quality and offer the City of Melbourne the opportunity to impose permit conditions relevant to water quality protection.

Incorporated documents Documents incorporated into the planning scheme must be considered by responsible authorities in decision making (VPP practice note: Incorporated and Reference Documents). Construction Techniques for Sediment and Pollution Control (EPA, 1991) must therefore be considered in assessing applications and allows the City of Melbourne to impose relevant planning permit conditions.

Planning permit conditions The City of Melbourne is able to impose planning permit conditions relevant to stormwater management on construction sites..

Local Laws The City of Melbourne’s local laws provide several opportunities to enforce stormwater management (e.g. Environment Local Law 1999 (No. 2 of 1999) and Activities Local Law 1999). Under the Activities Local Law 1999 Clause 8.2 Council also has the power to request a construction management plan including stormwater management considerations.

Construction Management Plan (WMP)

The construction management plan (also referred to as works management plan) may be requested at the planning permit stage as a condition of permit or through the notification of works requirement of the Activities Local Law 1999. Its primary aim is not stormwater management however the City of Melbourne may make this a requirement.

Contract conditions The City of Melbourne may place contract conditions relating to stormwater


management on any contract it issues.

Stormwater Agreement Becoming a signatory to the stormwater agreement provides impetus to the City of Melbourne’s stormwater management arrangements

Other stormwater programs Much research has been undertaken that can provide technical and informational support to the City of Melbourne in their enforcement of stormwater management at construction sites (refer Sections 2 and 9).

2.1 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1970 The Environment Protection Act 1970 (the Act) provides a legal framework in Victoria for the protection of the environment from pollution. The Act establishes a series of environmental objectives and goals, and regulations to achieve these, for industry, commerce and the general public. The Act is administered by the EPA, a body that was constituted under the Act for this purpose. Primary mechanisms for achieving environmental protection are through works approvals, licences, inspections, pollution abatement notices and land use planning referrals. Under Part V, Clean Water of the Act, Section 38 notes that discharge or deposit of wastes into waters must be in accordance with the declared State Environment Protection Policy and must comply with any standards under the policy. Clause 39 prohibits the pollution of waters either directly or indirectly (through allowing pollution to gain access to waters). While the Act is administered by the EPA, the City of Melbourne has an obligation to ensure development practices comply with the Act and do not pollute waterways.

2.1.1 STATE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION POLICY State Environment Protection Policies (SEPP) are subordinate legislation made under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1970 to provide more detailed requirements and guidance for the application of the Act in Victoria. SEPPs establish the uses and values of the environment, define the environmental quality objectives and describe the attainment and management programs that will ensure the necessary environmental quality is maintained. The State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria) was made in 1988 and is the principal policy for protecting the beneficial uses of Victoria’s water environments. The overall goal of the policy, is to ‘attain and maintain levels of water quality which are sufficient to protect the specified beneficial uses of the surface waters of the policy area’. All discharges to water bodies in Victoria must comply with the SEPP (Waters of Victoria). The SEPP (Waters of Victoria) has recently been reviewed and the new policy was gazetted 3 June 2003. There are several schedules of the SEPP Water of Victoria, two which are relevant to the City of Melbourne: Schedule F7. Waters of the Yarra Catchment and F6. Waters of Port Phillip Bay. Schedule F7. Waters of the Yarra Catchment ‘provides further protection to the beneficial uses of the Yarra River and its tributaries. Several Clauses of Schedule F7 are particularly relevant to stormwater quality protection:


• Clause 22, Run-off from urban land, built up areas and main roads, notes that protection agencies responsible for drainage and waterway management, in conjunction with planning authorities (including local government), must ensure that urban stormwater runoff is managed to protect beneficial uses. Specific provisions include requirements that sources of pollution and opportunities for minimising the generation and transport of stormwater pollutants at, or near to, source are identified and addressed.

• Clause 23, Earthworks , states that protection agencies, including local government, must ensure that land use or construction activities involving earthworks are managed to protect beneficial uses and, in particular, that earthworks and construction activities maintain current best practice standards so as to minimise off-site transport of sediment in surface water runoff.

Schedule F6. Waters of Port Phillip Bay is also relevant to the City of Melbourne with water from the City of Melbourne ultimately discharging to the Bay. Relevant clauses are:

• Clause 22, Stormwater management, states that protection agencies responsible for the management of the catchment area must ensure that contaminants in run-off, including litter, are prevented from adversely affecting beneficial uses.

• Clause 23, Sediment management, state that protection agencies responsible for approving or undertaking construction activities in the catchment of the Schedule area (e.g. City of Melbourne) must ensure that works and activities are conducted in accordance with current best practice to prevent sediment impacting on beneficial uses and that any approval issued must contain requirements consistent with this Schedule.

The City of Melbourne thus has an obligation to impose permit conditions on all construction activities to protect beneficial uses of the Yarra Catchment and Port Phillip Bay.

2.2 LITTER ACT 1987 Previously, the prevention and control of litter was administered under the Litter Act 1987 (the Act). The Act has now been repealed and its provisions integrated into the Environment Protection Act 1970, Victoria’s primary environment protection legislation. Litter is considered a form of pollution under the Act and litter control on construction sites can be addressed through application of planning permit conditions, either by conditions imposed by planning officers or through referral of applications to the EPA.


2.3 BUILDING ACT 1993 The Victorian building regulation system stems from the Building Act 1993 which is administered by the Building Control Commission. The objectives of the Building Act 1993 include ‘To establish, maintain and improve standards for the construction and maintenance of buildings’. Under Part 2 Section 8 of the Building Act 1993, the building regulations empower a council to make local laws with respect to certain matters including the form and contents of plans and specifications for building work and the preparation of land for building works. However, the Act does not make any specific reference to environmental matters and thus Council has no obligations under the Act to consider stormwater management.

2.4 PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987 The purpose of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 is to ‘establish a framework for planning the use, development and protection of land in Victoria in the present and long-term interests of all Victorians’. Under the Act, planning must encompass and integrate relevant environmental, social and economic factors. The City of Melbourne has an obligation both as a planning authority and responsible authority for administering the Act, to consider the potential impact of stormwater discharge from construction sites.

2.4.1 STATE PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK The State Planning Policy Framework (SPPF) is incorporated in all Victorian planning schemes. The SPPF seeks to ensure that the objectives of planning in Victoria (as set out in Section 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987) are fostered through appropriate land use and development planning policies and practices, which integrate relevant environmental, social and economic factors in the interests of net community benefit and sustainable development. The purpose of the SPPF in planning schemes is to inform planning authorities and responsible authorities of those aspects of State level planning policy which they are to take into account and give effect to in planning and administering their respective areas. Clause 15 of the SPPF refers to environmental protection. In particular Clause 15.01, Protection of catchments, waterways and groundwater, is relevant to stormwater protection. The objective of this clause is ‘To assist the protection and, where possible, restoration of catchments, waterways, water bodies, groundwater, and the marine environment’. It notes that ‘Responsible authorities should use appropriate measures to restrict sediment discharges from construction sites in accordance with Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control (EPA, 1991) and Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA, 1995).’


2.4.2 LOCAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK The Local Planning Policy Framework (LPPF) of the Melbourne Planning Scheme contains the Municipal Strategic Statement and specific local planning policies. The LPPF sets out the local and regional strategic policy context for a municipality.

MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT The Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) is a statement of the key strategic planning, land use and development objectives for municipalities, and the strategies and actions for achieving these objectives. It provides the strategic basis for the application of the zones, overlays and particular provisions in the planning scheme and for decision making by the responsible authority. When preparing amendments to the scheme, and before making decisions about permit applications, planning and responsible authorities must take the MSS into account. The content of the MSS is therefore a valuable tool in informing decisions by the responsible authority. The Melbourne MSS is currently undergoing its three year review. As such, this section considers both the current MSS (also known as City Plan 1999), City Plan 2010 (the primary strategic document for the City of Melbourne) and the draft MSS that is currently being considered for approval.

CITY PLAN 1999 City Plan 1999 is a strategic plan for the City of Melbourne. The Plan outlines six themes, each with a series of Council actions aimed at encouraging a vital and prosperous city. The themes are:

• Prosperous City

• Innovative City

• Culturally Vital City

• People City

• Attractive City

• Sustainable City. Environmental considerations are contained within Section 6, Sustainable City. The three aims of the Sustainable City theme are:

• 6.1: to improve the environmental sustainability of Council’s operations and develop an increased awareness of sustainability principles across the organisation;

• 6.2: to use Council’s statutory and policy-making powers in managing the City and its development to enhance environmental quality;

• 6.3: to take an increased role at local, national and international levels in environmental management, and to demonstrate leadership in influencing local sustainability.

Section 6 states the important role of Council in stormwater management and in complying with SEPPs through decision making and management of Council land. The MSS provides a strategic framework for the introduction of sustainable practices in development and operation of the city. However there is little reference to environmental protection during construction, with the exception of an undertaking to commit to the Stormwater Agreement between the MAV, Melbourne Water and other stakeholders.

CITY PLAN 2010 City Plan 2010 is the document that has guided the revision of the MSS. It is the City of Melbourne’s primary planning strategy, providing strategic direction for the City of Melbourne over the next ten years. The Plan is an integral part of Council’s Integrated Planning Framework and directly informs:

• Municipal Strategic Statement (Local Policies)


• Council’s Corporate Plan

• Council’s Annual Plan and budget.

City Plan 2010 notes the importance of the water quality of the Yarra River and includes several strategic directions that can be used by planning officers to raise the profile of stormwater protection on building sites.

Strategic directions from Section 4, Environmentally Responsible City, that have some bearing on the protection of stormwater quality from construction impacts include:

• Strategic direction 4.2: encourage efficient resource use and waste reduction within the City of Melbourne, which has the objective to ‘improve the management of the City of Melbourne water cycle and enhance the water quality within the City’ and ‘to increase the environmental knowledge, commitment and performance of the City of Melbourne business and residential communities;

• Strategic direction 4.3: protect and enhance the City of Melbourne’s biodiversity, which has the objective to ‘promote the protection of the City’s natural land systems and waterways through agency and community partnerships, information and activities’;

• Strategic direction 4.4: enhance environmental leadership opportunities for Melbourne’s business community, which has the objectives of ‘increase public awareness of sustainability and ensure that the City’s natural capital is enhanced by all of Council’s policies, activities and works’ and ‘Provide support and incentives for the City’s business to improve their environmental performance’;

• Strategic direction 4.5: create a sustainable built form for the City, which has the objective to ‘encourage adoption of sustainability principles in the design and construction of the City’s built form and actively engage with other government tiers and the building industry to achieve better performance with regard to ESD in building and development’.


City Plan 2010 does not form part of the Melbourne Planning Scheme, however, it is an influential document that defines the strategic direction the City wishes to take. As such, its intentions should be considered in assessing approvals. The degree of weight given to documents that do not form part of the planning scheme should be based on a number of criteria as identified in the Planning Practice Notes ‘Incorporated and Reference Documents’. Examples of typical tests include: the relationship between the objectives sought by the planning scheme and objectives of the document; the strategy basis of the document; and the availability of the document.

DRAFT MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT Council’s draft MSS is a step forward from City Plan 1999, further articulating the theme of sustainability in the City of Melbourne. There are four themes to Council’s objectives and strategies: land use, built form, transport and environment. The following clauses are the most relevant to stormwater management. Clause 21.02, Municipal Profile, contains objectives and strategies for:

• Environmental profile—an urbanised environment (21.02-4), which includes reference to the highly urbanised nature of the City of Melbourne, the substantially modified natural environment and the impact of the City of Melbourne’s actions within the catchment. The quality of the Yarra River and other waterways in the City of Melbourne is vitally important to their attractiveness, to aquatic life and their recreational value.

Clause 21.04, Vision and Strategic Framework, contains the vision and identifies environmental elements which include:

• protecting and enhancing the City of Melbourne’s waterways, especially the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, and the City of Melbourne’s parklands;

• improving the sustainability of the City of Melbourne’s form and buildings. Clause 21.08, Environment and Natural Systems, contains objectives and strategies for:

• Ecologically Sustainable Development (21.08-1), including the protection and enhancement of the City of Melbourne’s natural assets by improving air and water quality (among other aims). Strategies for achieving this include ensuring development adopts a best practice approach to stormwater treatment and management and encouraging best practice environmental management during construction of development;

• Natural Assets (21.08-2), this clause includes the objective of enhancing the environmental values and natural capital of Melbourne’s parklands, the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers and Moonee Ponds Creek;

• Future Work (21.08-4); this clause notes that future work for the City includes the development and integration of stormwater performance standards, relevant to the City of Melbourne as a highly urbanised area, into the planning scheme.

LOCAL PLANNING POLICIES Local Planning Policies (LPP) are tools used to implement the objectives and strategies of the MSS. The City of Melbourne currently has no local policies that are relevant to water quality or stormwater protection. Within the draft MSS local policy 22.19, Ecologically Sustainable Buildings, contains the objective, ‘To encourage new developments to minimise stormwater run-off by reusing rainwater and recycling waste water’. This particular policy is of relevance to stormwater only after the construction phase and therefore cannot be used by City of Melbourne to protect stormwater quality during construction.


2.4.3 ZONES AND OVERLAYS Zones and overlays control the use and development of land. However, they do not contain any specific requirements relating to construction activity and the protection of stormwater quality. Overlays that require a consideration of stormwater quality are the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay and Special Building Overlay. The purpose of these two overlays includes, ‘To protect water quality in accordance with the provisions of relevant State Environment Protection Policies, particularly in accordance with Clauses 33 and 35 of the State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria)’. The two overlays require a permit to construct a building or construct or carry out works, with the exception of exemptions for certain works. In areas where these overlays are applicable they offer planners a means by which to include stormwater protection conditions on applications. Although there are only two overlays that specifically require consideration of water quality issues, all zones and overlays within the planning scheme require consideration of the SPPF and the LPPF. As outlined in Section 2.4.1, the SPPF clearly places an obligation upon the City of Melbourne to consider the impacts of construction on stormwater and water quality.

2.4.4 INCORPORATED DOCUMENTS Clause 81 of the Melbourne Planning Scheme lists documents incorporated into the planning scheme by Ministerial Direction. Incorporated documents are essential for proper functioning of the Planning Scheme and decision-making, and must be taken into account by responsible authorities in decision making (VPP Practice Note: Incorporated and Reference Documents). Incorporated documents can only be amended by the Minister. Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control, EPA May 1991 is such an incorporated document. This document outlines techniques that can be used to protect the environment while increasing construction efficiencies and reducing land development costs. It details design and construction principles in such a way that they can be used to provide contract specifications and permit or licence conditions. Many current legal requirements relating to water quality control are also outlined. As an incorporated document, Council, as the responsible authority, has an obligation to take the Construction Techniques into account when considering all proposals that have the potential to generate off-site sediment or pollution during construction.

2.4.5 PLANNING PERMIT CONDITIONS Under Clause 65 of all planning schemes the responsible authority (usually Council) must consider a range of decision guidelines before deciding on an application. The decision guidelines include a consideration of ‘factors likely to cause or contribute to land degradation, salinity or reduce water quality’ and ‘whether the proposed development is designed to maintain or improve the quality of stormwater within and exiting the site’. Council therefore has a clear obligation to consider the effects of stormwater on water quality. The City of Melbourne has a set of standard planning permit conditions and reasons for refusal entitled Town Planning Standard Conditions and Reasons for Refusal (2 September 1999). The document has three separate sections:

• General standard conditions

• Specific standard conditions

• Standard reasons for refusal. The document also offers a guide to using standard conditions, noting in particular that:

• other conditions can be added to a permit in addition to standard conditions if relevant;

• standard conditions can be changed to suit a particular permit;

• all conditions should be enforceable and as such conditions should be worded in a precise manner that is easy to understand and contains no ambiguity.

There are no standard conditions relevant to stormwater protection, either generally or on building and construction sites. However, as indicated by Town Planning Standard Conditions and Reasons for Refusal, Council has the power to add other relevant


conditions. Under the SPPF, Council has an obligation to consider the effects of a proposal on the environment. Therefore Council does have the power and obligation to impose conditions relevant to stormwater protection on construction sites.

2.4.6 REFERRALS Clause 66 of the planning scheme lists state wide requirements for applications that must be referred under Section 55 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. There are no referral requirements specifically related to stormwater.

2.5 LOCAL LAWS Local Laws are made under the Local Government Act 1989. The City of Melbourne amalgamated its local laws during 1997–1999 to form four local laws. The local laws are: Environment Local Law 1999 (which has recently been amended and adopted), Activities Local Law 1999 (also recently amended); Freedom of the City of Melbourne Local Law 1999; and Conduct of Meetings Local Law 1999. In 2001 the Good Governance Local Law was added to the four existing laws. Of relevance to stormwater quality protection from building and construction activities are the Environment Local Law 1999 and Activities Local Law 1999.

The local laws are enforceable under the Local Government Act 1987, providing a valuable mechanism for halting certain construction activities that have the ability to detrimentally impact stormwater quality.

2.5.1 ENVIRONMENT LOCAL LAW 1999

The Environment Local Law 1999 has recently been reviewed and a number of amendments adopted during June 2003. The objectives of the Environment Local Law 1999 include, among others, to:

• control, protect and conserve the environment;

• provide standards and conditions for certain activities in relation to the physical and visual environment within the municipality;

• adopt, apply and ensure compliance with the Council’s Environment Management Plan.

The Environment Management Plan is an incorporated document under the Local Law and as such must be complied with. One of the objectives of the Environment Management Plan is to ‘facilitate and promote responsible land, water, atmosphere, noise and waste management throughout the municipality’. Particular clauses within the Environment Management Plan that can be used to protect stormwater quality from construction impacts include:

• 3.4: the area:

– immediately surrounding the container in which the waste material is stored;

– immediately adjacent to the premises; must be maintained in a clean and hygienic state;

• 3.6: the stormwater drainage connection from the premises must be maintained in good order and repair and free from blockages;

• 4.8 (for non-residential premises) and 5.7 (for residential premises): waste material must not be poured, emptied, swept, thrown or otherwise discharged onto a road or into a stormwater drain.


2.5.2 ACTIVITIES LOCAL LAW 199

The objectives of the Activities Local Law 1999 include to ‘control, prevent and abate nuisances especially in relation to building sites’. Clauses that can be used to protect stormwater quality from construction impacts include :

• 8.7: a person must not drive a vehicle onto any road from premises upon which any filling, excavation, landscaping, building works or demolition operation is being or has recently been carried out unless the wheels and undercarriage of the vehicle are clean and free of all soil, earth, clay and refuse;

• 8.8: a person must not carry out building works or cause building works to be carried out so as to create a nuisance;


• 9.2: where in the Council’s opinion premises are dangerous or unsightly, including where (b) excavation or waste material has been allowed to accumulate and has not been suitably contained, fenced, screened or landscaped, the Council may serve a Notice to Comply, in accordance with clause 13.18 of this local law, specifying the work required to correct the dangerous or unsightly condition of the premises;

• 11.1: unless in accordance with a permit, or to do so is specifically authorised by and in accordance with legislation or approval issued under it, a person must not allow dust, water, mud, paint, oil or chemicals to be blown, conveyed, deposited or discharged in, on or across any public place (whether from a building in the course of construction, alteration, demolition or otherwise).

Clause 8.1 notes that a person must not commence to carry out building works unless he or she gives at least 48 hours written notice to the Council of his or her intention to do so. Clause 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4 go on to describe how the notice must be in a form acceptable to Council and must include a Works Management Plan (more commonly referred to as a construction management plan) on request and further more that the Works Management Plan must be complied with. Public Safety and Amenity—A Code of Good Practice at Construction Sites, is intended to be enforceable under the Activities Local Law 1999. The Code contains a series of guidelines based around several areas of construction site management with the purpose of encouraging construction activity within the City of Melbourne while at the same time:

• minimising the risk of injury to the public

• protecting Council’s assets

• controlling nuisance around building sites

• improving the design quality of temporary structures in the City of Melbourne.

2.6 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PLAN A construction management plan (referred to in the Activities Local Law 1999 as a works management plan), may be requested by Council as a condition of planning approval or under the Activities Local Law 1999 as part of a notice of intention to carry out building works. A construction management plan may address one or more of the following considerations:

• traffic management, noise control

• stormwater management

• use of items such as hoardings, skips, barriers

• any other items the responsible authority considers necessary. The construction management plan is enforceable through the Activities Local Law 1999 and may be used as a tool to protect stormwater quality; however this is not its primary purpose.


There is currently no formally documented trigger for the requirement of a construction management plan, with the requirement being at Council’s discretion. Issues considered when assessing the requirement for a construction management plan include the size of the proposed development, its location, the likelihood of it receiving objections and the complexity of the project in terms of traffic management and other actions that may impact on public space.

2.7 CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS/CONDITIONS Contracts are managed by several different groups within the City of Melbourne, depending upon the area the contract is relevant to. Council has several standard environmental contract clauses that are applied to contracts. These clauses relate to sustainability and the use of best practice techniques in environmental management. None of the clauses relates s pecifically to stormwater management. Council’s maintenance contractor is Citywide, and they are subject to the requirements of their Environment Management Plan. LGPro (Local Government Professionals) has led a project, Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection, which has developed a set of standard contract conditions aimed at protecting stormwater quality and other environmental aspects. The City of Melbourne is able to use these conditions in its own contracts to protect stormwater but is under no obligation to do so.

2.8 STORMWATER AGREEMENT The Stormwater Agreement, Protecting our Bays and Waterways - partnership agreement between EPA, MAV and Melbourne Water for urban stormwater management in the Port Phillip and Westernport catchments, is a memo randum of understanding between these three organisations and local government aimed at establishing a cooperative approach to improving urban stormwater quality. The purpose of the agreement is to define the role of each party responsible for stormwater management and foster their commitment to improving the management of urban stormwater quality. The Stormwater Agreement sets objectives and goals, defines roles and responsibilities for participating parties, and outlines a series of actions agreed by the participants. The City of Melbourne was a signatory to the original stormwater agreement but has not yet signed onto the current stormwater agreement, Protecting our Bays and Waterways. A copy of the Stormwater Agreement if provided in Appendix B.


2.9 OTHER RELEVANT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES There is a wide range of information available to help the City of Melbourne protect stormwater quality from the adverse impacts of building and construction works. This information has come from both research activities, such as those undertaken by the CRC-CH - Urban Stormwater Quality Program, and from programs and pilot studies that industry bodies and local government have participated in, such as the Clearwater Program. The City of Melbourne has participated in several VSAP funded stormwater initiatives to better manage stormwater on construction and building sites. Information to come from all of these sources can be used by the City of Melbourne to improve its own procedures with regards to stormwater protection.

2.9.1 CLEARWATER PROGRAM The Clearwater Program, previously known as the Stormwater Capacity Building Program, is a statewide targeted education and training program to support local government and industry professionals in the sustainable management of urban stormwater. Clearwater is a joint initiative of the MAV and the Stormwater Industry Association Victoria (SIAV) funded by the EPA as part of VSAP. The Clearwater Program will be developing and delivering a range of education and training opportunities in the following key areas of urban management:

• water sensitive urban design

• planning tools

• regulation and enforcement. Delivery of the Clearwater Program will be in partnership with numerous state and local government programs, industry initiatives, and research and education institutions in Victoria and interstate. A Stormwater Information Exchange website contains information about the Clearwater Program is at www.clearwater.asn.au (not online until end July 2003).

2.9.2 VSAP CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES VSAP, Melbourne City Council and Kingston City Council funded a project to protect stormwater quality from the impacts of building and construction sites. Other project partners were Moreland City Council, Moonee Valley City Council, Casey City Council, Hume City Council and Melbourne Water.

The initial outcome of the project was a booklet entitled Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites - An information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with Council regulations. The information contained in this document was comprehensive, however a criticism of the format was that it contained a level of information too detailed to be readily usable on site by members of the construction and building industry.


A subsequent revision of the booklet was undertaken, with a new booklet entitled Keeping our Stormwater Clean - A Guide for Building Sites being the outcome . The booklet is aimed at builders, landscape gardeners, demolition workers, trades people, home renovators and building material suppliers, and aims to provide practical information on reducing the chance of polluting the stormwater system and to help builders comply with Council and State regulations in regard to the stormwater system. Following the preparation of the booklet, project partners are each preparing a report on the project that will be amalgamated into a single report outlining a series of recommendations to improve stormwater quality management in regards to building and construction sites. This final report is due for review by the project steering committee in May 2003, with final release expected in June 2003. Recommendations expected to come from the report include:

• amendment of the Environment Protection Act 1970 to ensure enforcement of best practice guidelines on building sites;

• use of Local Laws to enforce best practice for building sites;

• industry to adopt a code of practice that reflects the best practice guidelines;

• MAV to encourage local government to take a uniform approach to stormwater enforcement through delegation of power in Local Laws.

Other VSAP funded projects include:

• Site Management Planning Guidelines developed by Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Wyndham City Council to minimise the impact of building activity on stormwater quality. The Guidelines apply to building sites greater than one hectare in area that are required to develop a site management plan as part of the development approvals for the site;

• Best Practice Guide for Building Site Management developed by Knox City Council. This guide is designed to help people in the construction and building industry manage their building sites effectively. It is accompanied by a fact sheet entit led SiteSmart that offers information on ‘keeping your site in the right’;

• Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection developed by LGPro was prepared for a number of stakeholders and aims to provide contract specifications to ensure stormwater quality is protected.

2.9.3 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRE FOR CATCHMENT HYDROLOGY PROJECTS

The CRC-CH’s Urban Stormwater Quality program has been responsible for many research papers into both the impacts of pollutants on stormwater quality and methods of improving and protecting stormwater quality.

• Effectiveness of street sweeping for stormwater pollution control. This report investigates the effectiveness of street sweeping for stormwater pollution control for gross pollutants (> 5 mm) and sediment (including associated pollutants). The study uses both the results of Australian field studies and interpretation of overseas results.

• City-wide or regional erosion and sediment control programs—What works? The purpose of this paper is to highlight the key elements of successful erosion and sediment control programs for building and construction sites and to provide information of their possible performance efficiency.

Many other papers from produced by the Centre are listed in Section 9 and can be accessed on their website www.catchment.crc.org.au.


2.9.4 OTHER PROJECTS Other projects that provide information relevant to this project include:

• Urban Stormwater Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines 1999: a prelude to the VSAP program, this extensive guideline was prepared with funding from EPA, Melbourne Water, Department of Natural Resources and Environment and MAV. It outlines the risks posed by stormwater and the range of planning, water sensitive urban design, source and structural methods that can be used to better manage stormwater in all urban contexts;

• Clean Stormwater—a planning framework (previously known as the Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program Stormwater Implementation Project: Statutory Framework and Standards) is an Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) project, funded through the Natural Heritage Trust and the Coasts and Clean Seas program is part of the larger ABM initiative Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program. The goal of the project is to develop model planning scheme provisions that are detailed and provide statutory force and can aid in the assessment of development proposals and provide guidance on the selection of the appropriate best practice stormwater management techniques for different sites, conditions and development scenarios. The project establishes:

– stormwater treatment performance standards for urban development that ensure compliance with State Environment Protection Policy requirements;

– performance assessment tools to estimate the stormwater treatment performance standards of urban development proposals;

– model planning scheme provisions for mandating the performance standards and requiring compliance of new developments;

– flexibility in the choice of stormwater management tools to meet the performance standards for urban development.

The planning framework is suited to a range of developments including high density inner city, medium density residential redevelopment, commercial and industrial sites, single lot redevelopment, and large scale subdivisions. Further information on the ABM project can be found at Association of Bayside Municipalities: Reports.

• Construction Techniques for Sediment and Pollution Control: EPA publication 275, 1991. This document outlines techniques that can be applied to reduce the quantities of sediment discharged from construction sites. It is an incorporated document under Clause 81 of the State Planning Policy Framework;


• Construction Guidelines for Major Construction Sites: EPA publication 480, 1996. the document aims to provide a resource to help prepare and implement an environmental management plan for construction sites. The guidelines are aimed at developers, contractors and government agencies;

• Do it right on site: a series of fact sheets outlining best practice environmental management for building and construction sites. The project was funded by the Natural Heritage Trust and the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils;

• various municipalities (e.g. Cities of Kingston and Hume) have amended their local laws to enhance stormwater quality protection. The local laws are available via the council website and may provide guidance for the City of Melbourne in upgrading its own local laws to better reflect a commitment to stormwater quality;

• Builders Code of Practice and Waste Management Guidelines for Construction and Demolition Sites: developed by the City of Yarra, this document contains information on how to reduce waste from construction sites including wastes that can pollute the stormwater system;

• Environmental Best Management Practice Guideline for Concreting Contractors: this EPA NSW document provides information to help contractors protect the environment from concrete related pollution such as contaminated water and concrete dust.


3 Roles and responsibilities

The following section describes the roles and responsibilities of the various units within the City of Melbourne and identifies the tools and information (as outlined in Section 2) that they have available to manage stormwater. Some responsibilities, for example local laws enforcement and contract management, are shared between a number of departments. Information supplied by Council staff, the Council website, reports and policies, together with interviews with staff from various units within Council, was used to establish staffs’ understanding of stormwater site management and their level of knowledge regarding current responsibilities. The roles of all relevant divisions, together with any internal programs and other documents that exist within Council are summarised below. The City of Melbourne organisational structure contains six divisions of which four have some responsibility for stormwater management. Three divisions have direct responsibility:

• Sustainable Development and Strategy

• City Assets and Services

• City Projects-Arts and Culture. The Marketing and Corporate Affairs Division also plays a role in communicating, to the community and media, the stormwater initiatives Council is undertaking. Each division is divided into several functional units. Figure 3.1 summarises the stormwater responsibilities of the various units.


3.1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY DIVISION The Sustainable Development and Strategy Division is responsible for monitoring, planning, facilitating and managing the sustainable development of the City of Melbourne. This Division leverages knowledge, research and information to monitor city performance and potential, and prepares strategic city, community and corporate plans to support a thriving and sustainable city. In addition, the Division also fosters innovative and sustainable business growth and trade, develops local responses to critical global, national and regional environmental issues affecting the City of Melbourne, and shapes and manages Council’s regulations, governing urban development, public health and activities to support the sustainable development and operations of the City of Melbourne. This division includes the following branches:

• Sustainable Policy and Planning

• Environmentally Sustainable Development

• Sustainable Regulatory Services

• Sustainable City Research

• Sustainable Business and Trade Development

• Sustainable Asset Management.

3.1.1 SUSTAINABLE POLICY AND PLANNING BRANCH

The Sustainable Policy and Planning branch provides strategic and corporate planning policies, programs and advice on behalf of the corporation. The unit aims to develop medium to long-term strategies for Council that are both integrated and sustainable in their approach. It also has input to the City of Melbourne’s Municipal Strategic Statement and Local Planning Policy Framework.

As this branch is primarily responsible for strategic direction they do not have hands-on responsibility in stormwater management. However, they are able to make strategic changes to the Council’s framework, through the development of new policies, to ensure that other divisions and units have the correct tools to properly manage stormwater throughout the municipality. Primarily responsibilities include the Municipal Strategic Statement and Local Planning Policy Framework which guides the City of Melbourne’s strategic planning direction.


3.1.2 ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BRANCH The Environmentally Sustainable Development Branch is responsible for developing local responses to critical global, national and regional environmental issues affecting the City of Melbourne. The Branch aims to facilitate positive environmental change in the municipality by working in partnership with key internal and external stakeholders. In particular, the unit is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of programs focused on the sustainable management of water resources and the significant reduction of municipal greenhouse gas emissions. Key strategies and programs include the Cities for Climate Protection program, Greenhouse Challenge Program, Zero Net Emissions by 2020 and the Sustainable Water Management Strategy, which is currently being written. The branch provides an environmental advisory role to the Council, and while managing this project, does not normally play a major role in decisions or actions concerned with stormwater management.

3.1.3 SUSTAINABLE REGULATORY SERVICES BRANCH

The Sustainable Regulatory Services Branch assists in achieving Council’s corporate goals by managing and controlling urban development, public health and activities in public places by the application of relevant and effective laws and regulations. The unit provides proactive and customer orientated building, planning, health and street activity management to ensure a balance between the maintenance of a high standard of amenity in the central city whilst at the same time facilitating appropriate development that meets community expectations.

This branch has three units that are applicable to stormwater management:

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT

The statutory planning unit, Development Planning, provides advice regarding town planning matters and assesses Planning Permit applications for Council. In most instances, buildings and works in the municipality, whether residential or business, must be approved by Council through the planning permit application process.

The unit has the ability to place stormwater conditions on planning permits. Occasionally, often in response to objections against a planning application or due to the size or location of a proposed development, a planning permit condition to develop a construction management plan (CMP) is applied. These CMPs, administered by the Building Certification and Inspection unit, may be required to address stormwater management issues, amongst other amenity and safety issues. Issues that need to be addressed are dependant on the site being developed.


BUILDING CERTIFICATION AND INSPECTION UNIT The Building Certification and Inspection unit is responsible for the maintenance of a safe and liveable building environment. Its role is to administer the Building Act 1993 , building regulations and local laws. This unit is responsible for enforcing the Activities Local Law 1999 and the Public Safety and Amenity: Code of Good Practice for Construction Sites. The unit is divided in to three functional groups: Building Control, Melbourne Certification and Engineering, Sites Services and Property Information. It also includes the building inspectors who investigate complaints about building works, unsafe buildings and other emergency issues. The Building Certification and Inspection unit plays an important role in stormwater management within the City of Melbourne. Using the Activities Local Law 1999 they monitor building and construction sites for nuisances and discharges. Approximately, four infringement notices were issued during a twelve month period for building and construction sites misdemeanours. The unit is also involved in the monitoring and enforcement of CMPs and work with Development Planning regarding their content. It is a requirement of Council that at least 48 hours notice in writing must be given to Council prior to commencing building or construction works. The lodging of a building permit or receipt of a site services permit is deemed to have served as written notice. The action gives the unit another opportunity to establish if a site requires a construction management plan and therefore allow stormwater management conditions to be included as part of that Plan.

STREET ACTIVITY UNIT The Street Activity Unit contains the Community Liaison team, which monitors the mu nicipality and administers the Council’s two local laws. The officers are authorised to administer Council Activities Local Law No. 1 1999 and Environment Local Law No. 2 1999. While both local laws are able to deal with various aspects of stormwater management, the Activities Local Law 1999 is the most applicable, using Part 6: Works on Roads, Part 8: Building Works (Nuisance Abatement), Part 11: Miscellaneous, Part 12: Permits and Part 13: Enforcement.

3.1.4 SUSTAINABLE CITY RES EARCH BRANCH

The Sustainable City Research Branch provides research that underpins the division’s decision-making processes. The role of the unit is to monitor and report on the City of Melbourne’s economic, social and environmental conditions, to identify how the plans of Council and other organisations impact on these conditions and identify key issues for future planning and policy development.


3.2 CITY ASSETS AND SERVICES DIVISION City Assets and Services Division develops and maintains public space, such as roads and parks, within the municipality. It also provides a range of services and specific programs, such as community, recreation services and waste management, for residents, city workers and visitors. The Division manages the City of Melbourne’s civil and environmental infrastructure to ensure it meets the highest possible standard and service quality requirements. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the assets of the city are managed in a sustainable way, to ensure that present and future generations benefit from responsibly maintained assets. The Division develops policies, strategies and forward plans to ensure that quality and cost-effective services will continue to be available to all ratepayers, residents and visitors over time. The City Assets and Services division contains the units of: business and strategic support, community services, engineering services, parks and recreation and facilities management. Only the engineering services unit, which includes the business support, infrastructure and traffic and services teams, has responsibility for stormwater management.

3.2.1 ENGINEERING SERVICES GROUP The Engineering Services Group is responsible for the upkeep of Council’s entire civil infrastructure assets located within the street area (e.g. roads, footpaths). Engineering Services Group manages environmental aspects such as waste management and street cleaning arrangements. The Group is also responsible for Council’s emergency management commitments, including development of the Municipal Emergency Management Plan, and raises the community’s awareness of emergency matters. All vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic matters within the municipality are managed by Engineering Services Group, which also has responsibility for the development and implementation of the Transport Strategy for the municipality. The most relevant teams to stormwater management within the Engineering Services Group are: business support, which is responsible for the enforcement of the Environment Local Law 1999 and the related Environment Management Plan; and Services Unit, which is responsible for the CityWide contract. The Parks and Recreation, Facilities Management and Community Services teams have no role to play in the stormwater management of building and construction sites.


BUSINESS SUPPORT UNIT The Business Support Unit is responsible for enforcing the Environmental Local Law 1999 and the Environment Management Plan which is the cornerstone of the Law. The intent of the Environment Management Plan is primarily to address waste management, burning of material, noise and animals. Interviews with staff have indicated there are a small number of officers authorised to enforce the Environmental Local Law 1999 (although the Waste Wise 2002–2005 Strategy noted sixty officers) and very few infringements notices relating to management of construction and building sites are issued. Most enforcement of building and construction site issues is undertaken by the Building Certification and Inspection unit using the Activities Local Law 1999.

INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure unit is responsible for the management of the City of Melbourne’s physical infrastructure including the underground drainage system. The unit has no responsibility for stormwater quality, other than to ensure the drains are in good order. The Contracts team within the Infrastructure unit is responsible for the insertion of clauses in contracts and is responsible for managing the CityWide contract. This contract is worth $17 million annually and includes all City of Melbourne maintenance projects, roads, kerbs and channels, concreting, signs, outdoor furniture and other projects up to an individual value of $200,000. As part of the tender process it was a requirement for the successful applicant to produce an environmental management plan for all activities. CityWide have produced the required Environment Management Plan which appears to be thorough. However, its application and reporting is still being implemented.

3.3 CITY PROJECTS, ARTS AND CULTURE DIVISION The City Projects, Arts and Culture Division ensures that the City of Melbourne maintains a high reputation as a leader in the integrated approach to design and management of public spaces, as well as policy formulation and implementation of sustainable solutions. It also stimulates, supports and promotes contemporary arts and cultural activities that best demonstrate artistic excellence and innovation reflecting Melbourne’s diverse and living culture, and maximising active community engagement. The Division has four units: Contracts, Project Management and Design, which have some stormwater management responsibilities, and Arts and Culture, which has no responsibility in this area.

3.3.1 CONTRACTS BRANCH The Contracts Unit charter is to improve Council’s capability in obtaining best value from the services, works and goods it procures on behalf of the community. In achieving this, the branch is establishing an enviable public image for Council through its leadership and demonstration of good governance, openness and ethics in the conduct in this crucial area of Council’s business.

3.3.2 DESIGN BRANCH The services of the Design Branch focus on the creation and maintenance of a high quality public space and physical environment for the municipality. In addition to design, documentation, contract administration and project management services, the branch plays a key role in providing strategic advice to internal and external customers in each of the professional disciplines represented within the branch.

3.3.3 PROJECT DELIVERY BRANCH The Project Delivery Branch provides project management services on a number of key projects from the Council’s Works Program and has the responsibility of managing the Works Program. Project management involves the development of quality management plans, risk management, human resource management and communications management as well as the more traditional time, cost, resource and project quality management.

3.4 CONTRACTORS (CITYWIDE) Civil Infrastructure works are tendered out with the contract currently awarded to CityWide. The contract includes all projects with a value less than $200,000. Projects above this amount are put to open tender. Key services undertaken include: road maintenance; maintenance of drainage systems, footpath repair and maintenance; and maintenance of street furniture and signs.


The CityWide contract is managed by Engineering Services. CityWide developed an environment management plan for works that are undertaken. The purpose of the Environment Management Plan is to provide guidelines to CityWide staff (and subcontractors) to protect and manage the aspects of the environment that have the potential to be affected while undertaking these activities. The Environment Management Plan specifically identifies the protection of waterways and stormwater drainage systems from pollutants due to their activities, and the type of actions that can be undertaken to prevent or manage such pollution. The Plan also addresses policy and legislation and the protection of aquatic fauna and flora (ecological health) through the environmental management of their activities, using relevant legislation, regulations and guidelines. There is a requirement to complete an environmental management checklist before beginning an activity in order to provide guidance on managing environmental issues that may arise. CityWide is currently working towards certification and full implementation of their Environment Management Plan and have instigated a monthly environmental reporting system to the City of Melbourne. The responsible officer works closely with CityWide to ensure adherence to the contract. There is an opportunity for the City of Melbourne to develop their own auditing systems of CityWide works to ensure that the Environment Management Plan and Council environmental policy are adhered to. There is the need to review the process to ensure all staff are aware of the requirements of the Environment Management Plan as CityWide subcontracts out much of the work.

3.5 MARKETING AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS DIVISION The Marketing and Corporate Affairs Division focuses on building strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including ratepayers, businesses, retailers, city visitors, tourists, arts and cultural bodies, major sporting agencies and government departments. The Division aims to deliver a high standard of customer service and to promote products and services that position Melbourne as a world-class city in local, national and international markets.

3.5.1 CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH The Corporate Communications Branch is responsible for strategic issues management, internal communications, stakeholder relations, on-line communication and account management for the implementation of marketing, communication and promotional plans across the organisation. The team is also responsible for producing corporate publications such as Melbourne News and Melbourne Business. Corporate Communications also works closely with the Media and Marketing and Major Events teams to assist in delivering a coordinated approach to communication strategies for the organisation.


4 Key principles of stormwater management

Since the mid-1990s there has been a concerted effort by agencies (e.g. EPA and Melbourne Water), the MAV and local government to improve the management of urban stormwater, especially during land development and construction activities. It is the aim of peak bodies involved in stormwater management, including the MAV, to develop a uniform approach to stormwater management which is undertaken in a cooperative manner between relevant organisations. This aim is identified in the Stormwater Agreement and is a recommendation of the ABM project. A key element of this approach has been to ensure a uniform and cooperative approach in the implementation of strategies and tools for stormwater management. A number of projects have been undertaken at a State and local level to develop a range of tools, including standard planning conditions and local laws. With limited stormwater management direction contained within the existing City of Melbourne planning framework, it is opportune to use existing principles and goals established by the stormwater industry which are designed specifically for application by local government. Flood prevention and public safety are fundamental objectives of stormwater system planing and design, and stormwater quality measures should in no way compromise these objectives. Properly managed and designed, many stormwater quality features can have inherent water quantity management benefits (and vice versa).

4.1 STORMWATER PRINCIPLES The Urban Stormwater—Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines (BPEMG) identifies three main principles for stormwater management. These principles address the three main stages of a development:

• design: where possible do not impact or modify the existing natural systems

• construction: minimise the impact on the stormwater system during construction

• use: minimise the long term impact on stormwater quality and quantity. Using these principles, the existing work that has already been undertaken within the industry, and consultation undertaken within Council, principles that specifically reflect stormwater management within the City of Melbourne have been developed and provided below in Section 4.4. Applied as part of an ordered framework, these principles can work to achieve environmental management objectives.


Source controls (structural and non-structural) may be used effectively to avoid a number of stormwater impacts during and after construction. These measures may include land-use planning, education, regulation and operational practices to limit changes to the quantity and quality of urban runoff before it enters the stormwater system.

4.2 STORMWATER GOALS As part of the State stormwater protection and improvement movement EPA, together with Melbourne Water, the MAV and local government, have explored various approaches to implementing urban stormwater management initiatives. As a result of this, a cooperative approach was considered essential and therefore a ‘Partnership Agreement’ was established. This Agreement covers environmental outcomes for improved urban stormwater management and the means to achieve these. Based on the principles within the BPEMG, those involved in the establishment of the Agreement also established common goals for urban stormwater management. These goals are to:

• improve the quality of stormwater from urban areas in accordance with agreed performance goals;

• manage stormwater quality on a catchment basis by cooperative programs across municipal boundaries;

• promote source control measures to minimise the generation and transport of stormwater pollutants at, or near to, source;

• improve, protect and maintain in a healthy condition a diversity of water environments in the urban landscape;

• involve local residents and business communities in programs to improve stormwater management and water quality.

More specific City of Melbourne goals have been developed that better reflect internal policies. These are provided in Section 4.4.

4.3 CITY OF MELBOURNE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT The above mentioned principles and goals compliment the City of Melbourne’s existing corporate objectives and policies on the environment, which focus heavily on sustainability. While there is a need to look at the long term impacts of urbanisation and sustainability (e.g. resource use and waste minimisation) it is also necessary to ensure the City of Melbourne uses best practice techniques now to address all aspects of the environment. Many of Council’s environmental objectives referred to within their corporate and operational policies are directed at longer term sustainable ideals within the City of Melbourne environs. This is most noticeable in the number of times that waste minimisation is addressed (e.g. the need to correctly store and present waste for collection and alternatives to help minimise the amount of waste produced). Indicators for rubbish moving off site are related to the visual/amenity effect of the rubbish in waterways and do not reflect the protection of the ecological health of the waterways. Using the City of Melbourne specific principles and goals cited below, there is an opportunity for the City of Melbourne to include material within their framework to specifically address all aspects of urban stormwater management from design, through to construction and use. It is recommended that the City of Melbourne adopt the stormwater principles and goals and establish specific performance measures.

4.4 CITY OF MELBOURNE STORMWATER PRINCIPLES AND GOALS

VISION This is to be developed by Melbourne City Council staff.

STORMWATER PRINCIPLES To ensure water quality improvements, stormwater management in the City of Melbourne will apply the following principles:


• preserve and improve existing environmental elements of the stormwater system such as wetlands and streamside vegetation along the Yarra River, Maribyrnong River and Moonee Ponds Creek;

• manage and improve stormwater quality on a catchment basis by undertaking a range of cooperative programs across municipal boundaries;

• manage water quality at or near the source of water entering the stormwater system in order to prevent pollution in the first instance;

• manage water quality at discharge points to capture pollutants that have entered the stormwater systems despite source control management;

• apply water sensitive urban design principles for all designs requiring the movement of rainfall;

• work with community, businesses, organisations and agencies to achieve the best water quality outcomes;

• educate community about water quality practices, followed by enforcement procedures where necessary;

• involve local residents and business communities in a range of planning and program activities to improve stormwater management and water quality.

STORMWATER GOALS The goals are to:

• protect and improve a diversity of water environments in the urban landscape;

• prevent erosion of soil nutrients, gravel and pollutants entering our stormwater system;

• prevent litter from entering the stormwater system and watercourses to improve urban aesthetics and prevent damage to aquatic flora and fauna;

• prevent concrete, paints, liquid wastes, brickworks, cuttings and litter from entering the stormwater system from building sites;

• minimise pesticide and herbicide use by encouraging sustainable gardening practices amongst the residents of the City of Melbourne, and the corporation itself;

• prevent nutrients entering the waterways via vegetation in order to prevent excessive plant growth and hence oxygen demands;

• manage stormwater to provide the best opportunities for rainwater and stormwater to be re-used;

• ensure Council and private greywater/rainwater use is managed to health standards and does not lead to nutrient increase.

OBJECTIVES The above stormwater quality goals will be achieved through the following agreed performance measures (to be further defined City of Melbourne staff):

• litter – x per cent reduction of typical urban annual load


• suspended solids – x per cent retention of the typical urban annual load • total phosphorus and nitrogen –x per cent retention of the typical urban annual load

• along with a range of indicators such as:

– 70 per cent decrease in herbicides and pesticides used by Council by 2010

– three rooftop greening sites established by 2006.


5 Issues and opportunities

This section will identifies issues and opportunities available to the City of Melbourne to improve the management of stormwater from construction sites.

5.1 LEVEL OF STORMWATER AWARENESS Interviews were held with staff from various units within Council including: Building Services, Statutory Planning, Engineering Services—Drainage Infrastructure, City of Melbourne Projects, and Engineering Services—Civil Works Contracts. The interviews indicated that, while officers were generally aware of stormwater issues within the municipality, there is an opportunity to increase this awareness, particularly in terms of the legislative framework that supports best practice stormwater management and how staff can influence improved stormwater management in their roles. Through programs such as VSAP, and organisations such as EPA, Melbourne Water, CRC-CH, other Councils and MAV, a variety of tools has been developed to manage all aspects of stormwater management from land use and design planning, to managing construction and building sites, to water sensitive urban design (WSUD), reuse and education. Stormwater treatment involves a combination of both structural and non-structural controls. An increased awareness of this information would benefit Council staff.

5.1.1 COMMUNICATION There appears to be limited linkages (either statutory or operational) between the various units of Council with responsibility for stormwater management. There is an opportunity for greater coordination of stormwater management throughout Council. This should be achieved through implementing relevant recommendations from the Stormwater Management Plan such as Strategy 1—assign accountability for stormwater management, which would involve someone being responsible for coordinating stormwater management throughout the City of Melbourne. There is an opportunity for Corporate Communications to be involved in a municipality wide program to promote stormwater best practice on building sites and to communicate any changes to the planning or operational framework and Council policy. There is a need for better integration between the various divisions and branches within the City of Melbourne concerning stormwater management. Most of the people interviewed were not aware of what other groups were working on in this area. Recommendations for improved communication within the City of Melbourne about improved stormwater management include:

• identify a position specifically responsible for all stormwater based initiatives within the City of Melbourne;

• include Corporate Communications in programs and actions to ensure a consistent approach across the entire organisation;

• develop a theme based newsletter, either hard copy or intranet, that keeps all staff up to date on stormwater based actions happening within Council.

5.2 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPAL PLANNING

One of the major focuses of stormwater quality protection research over the last two years has been the development of a uniform approach to stormwater management within the planning system. The Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) (of


which the City of Melbourne is a member) has undertaken the Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program Stormwater Implementation Project: Statutory Framework and Standards. The ABM project has specifically investigated the issue of using local government planning schemes to address urban stormwater impacts. It has found that the planning schemes can effectively set design, construction and operational stormwater management standards for development, and has developed a model framework for the inclusion of stormwater management issues in municipal planning schemes. Incorporation of stormwater management considerations in the planning scheme, supported by enforcement and education campaigns, is considered to be one of the most effective ways of improving stormwater management.

The ABM project has concluded that a coordinated and integrated approach to stormwater management is currently lacking in most municipalities. The Melbourne Planning Scheme has limited reference to best practice stormwater management, however, it does include a strong focus on sustainability. The current review of the MSS has included some minor references to stormwater, however these are limited in scope and do not form part of an overall framework approach as recommended in the ABM project. The City of Melbourne should include a framework for stormwater management under it’s existing sustainability theme. The City of Melbourne has undertaken considerable work in sustainability and while stormwater forms part of this work, it is more in relation to minimising the amount of stormwater produced due to runoff, using landscaping that requires less water and other water saving ideas. It tends not to address the issues of the quality of stormwater during construction, but looks more at the design parameters at an operational level. The Sustainable Policy and Planning team has indicated it will consider this reports recommendation to include the ABM model planning provisions for incorporation into the Melbourne Planning Scheme. The current MSS amendment (C60) is not able to include the insertion of the ABM model provisions as this change would be too significant without re-exhibition. However the policy team are likely to include some minor changes in the MSS in line with ABM recommendations, and consider the LPPF changes in a future review.


The Policy team is also interested in reviewing the effectiveness of the ABM provisions (due for release in September 2003) as they will be soon applied at Bayside and Kingston. This future MSS/LPPF review would likely be about twelve months before the provisions were adopted, if indeed they are considered appropriate for the City of Melbourne (given the particular conditions experienced in the municipality such as lack of on site storage space for materials). The Policy team should also include stormwater provisions in the proposed new Ecologically Sustainable Buildings policy. Green Building Rating Tools are becoming increasingly likely to be incorporated into planning schemes. These tools represent another opportunity to address stormwater that the City of Melbourne should consider. The consideration of these options by the Policy team is good progress, as the team was not previously aware of the ABM tool and are now fully briefed and prepared to consider.

5.2.1 ABM PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS The ABM project notes that the strength of the municipal planning scheme lies in converting state wide objectives to meaningful and successful outcomes that can be achieved within individual planning schemes. As outlined in Section 2, the objectives of the SPPF include reference to water quality and stormwater management, it is therefore a logical progression to develop stormwater management further at the local level. The project has suggested that it is possible to develop a stand alone model planning scheme provision that can be incorporated into a municipal planning scheme with minimal tailoring to existing content. A model framework is provided that should be tailored to meet the City of Melbourne’s individual circumstances. It contains examples of both MSS and local policy amendments and provides information on how and when to apply the suggested standards. Introduction of a framework, such as the one suggested by the ABM project, should be undertaken to provide a formalised process for the consideration of stormwater issues at the planning stage. It’s introduction will offer a clearer direction to Council officers in their application of planning permit conditions for stormwater management. The ABM project identifies not only building sites, but planning provisions that look at design, construction and affects of land use and treatment performance assessment tools. The relevant sections of the report have been attached in Appendix A. A copy of the report can be obtained from www.abmonline.asn.au/cmpp/stormwater.cfm. It is the recommendation of this report that the City of Melbourne adopts the ABM Planning Framework for improved stormwater quality management. Part of this framework may include developing a list of tools that are commonly available to the industry (i.e. from other Councils, CRC-CH, MAV) as an easily accessible reference list.


5.2.2 PLANNING PERMIT CONDITIONS There is some debate as to the nature of conditions that can be placed on a permit. Notwithstanding the general requirements in the SPPF and the LPPF relating to environmental considerations, sustainability and water quality protection, there are instances when the need for a planning permit is triggered by a specific provision (e.g. a permit is required to alter a building covered by a heritage overlay). The question is whether permit conditions can only relate to the reason under which a permit is required or can be applied more broadly (e.g. can a stormwater consideration be placed on a permit that is only required for heritage issues?). VCAT and its predecessors have often imposed construction conditions on a permit and have endorsed the notion that once a permit is required all matters can be considered, not just those related to the reason as to why the permit was required. Many permits in the City of Melbourne are required for heritage and other specific requirements and as such the imposition of permit conditions relating to construction (including the protection of stormwater) may, and should, be placed on the permit. Assuming a suitable planning framework exists, it is recommended that stormwater management conditions be included in the approval of a planning applications, whether as a condition of a planning permit or as a general requirement of the Melbourne Planning Scheme.

5.3 APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PLAN (CMP) The requirement for the developer to provide a construction management plan (or works management plan) is currently triggered through one of two ways:

• the requirement for a construction management plan may be triggered by the Building Certification and Inspection unit when they are notified about the commencement of works. Notification can occur through: written notification at least 48 hours prior to commencement of works; lodgement of a building permit; or receipt of a site services permit. A short fall in this trigger method is that considerable construction works may have already taken place on the site (e.g. site clearance and preparation) before notification is required. The requirement for the construction management plan is at officer discretion and will usually depend on their concerns over site management (e.g. traffic, noise, hoardings) and not necessarily stormwater;

• the requirement may also be generated at the assessment stage of a planning permit application at which point the requirement is at the discretion of the planning approvals assessing officer. There is no formally documented process to identify which developments will require a construction management plan. The requirement is generally imposed on applications that have received objections; are located within the CBD or the CBD fringe; require a basement to be dug; or raise other concerns with the engineers upon referral.


In both of these instances, there are no formally documented requirements for the content of the construction management plan. Specific issues that must be addressed are decided upon at the officer’s discretion. Traditionally the intent of the construction management plan has been to manage safety and public amenity issues rather than environmental concerns; hence stormwater management may not necessarily form part of the requirement. There is also no formal process for the assessment and approval of construction management plans and these need to be introduced as part of the process. A process should be developed that identifies:

• how the need for a construction management plan is triggered;

• what are the required contents of a construction management plan;

• how the construction management plan will be assessed (both for the applicant and assessing staff);

• how the construction management plan requirements will be enforced (both for the applicant and assessing staff).

Council currently has external consultants drafting a checklist of issues that should be considered in a construction management plan. This is an excellent initiative and an important step in creating a robust and easy to understand process for both Council officers and proponents. The process should be further improved by also developing a framework to articulate the triggering of a construction management plan and the process that is used to review and approve it. Furthermore, the opportunity exists to link requirements for the construction management plan should be linked with the introduction of the model planning framework in order to have greater strategic basis for its use.

5.4 LOCAL LAWS The City of Melbourne has two local laws that can be used to enforce construction site stormwater pollution: Activities Local Law 1999 , enforced primarily by the Building Certification and Inspection unit and the Environment Local Law 1999 , enforced mainly by the Engineering Services Group. An effective tools used at other Councils (e.g. Kingston City Council, Casey City Council, Hume City Council) has been the use of local laws that require the builder/developer to show that they have put in stormwater measures to improve stormwater management from their sites as opposed to enforcement officers having to ‘catch them doing them doing the wrong thing’.


5.4.1 ENVIRONMENT LOCAL LAW 1999 The Environment Local Law 1999 contains an incorporated Environment Management Plan which all people living and working in the mu nicipality must adhere to. The Environment Management Plan contains general environmental management provisions, largely related to waste, and while construction sites must adhere to them, they are not specific to stormwater management. The only reference to stormwater is expressed in terms of drainage (i.e. the owner and occupier of the premises must ensure that the stormwater connection from the premises remains in good order and repair and free from blockages and must not put substances down the drain). As such, it could be argued that it does not provide protection to stormwater quality (i.e. as long as the drains remain free flowing, the Environment Local Law 1999 is complied with). Council officers currently rely on the Environment Protection Act 1970 to give on the spot fines relating mostly to rubbish and chemical pollution.

5.4.2 ACTIVITIES LOCAL LAW 1999 The Activities Local Law 1999 allows Council to require a Works (Construction) Management Plan as outlined above in Section 5.3. The law also contains provisions aimed at the good management of construction sites, however these are largely aimed at preventing nuisance issues and protecting public amenity and safety rather than stormwater management. The local laws should be strengthened in the area of stormwater management on construction sites. For example, all applicants should be made aware of the relevant local laws through information provided to them when they apply for a building permit. There is also the opportunity for the inclusion of additional provisions in the Activities Local Law 1999 that are specifically aimed at good site management and preventative stormwater management procedures. Enforcement of preventative measures (e.g. the requirement to have a litter cage on site) means that pollutants are prevented from entering run-off (i.e. source control). This can be more effective than attempting to enforce requirements to prevent discharge of polluted run-off from site. Model local laws are available that address building and construction sites and should be modified to suit City of Melbourne’s particular situation such as lack of on site space for material storage. Site Services has advised that the team is committed to preparing guidelines for construction management plans. This work commenced at he beginning of June and a fact sheet setting out construction management plan trigger points and requirements will be developed by early August. Development of the construction management plan guidelines, recently initiated with the checklist, should then continue with the Building team who intend to use the construction of new Council House as a model for best practice construction and will be developing case studies and guidelines in response to this development. The construction management plan guidelines will provide important trigger points for stormwater consideration. The construction management plan guidelines will inform the development planners of when a construction management plan is required under a planning permit.

5.5 CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION AND ENFORCEMENT The Building Certification and Inspection branch within the Sustainable Regulatory Services unit is responsible for building permits enforcement, which largely focuses on public safety and amenity. There is a need to increase levels of inspection and enforcement of regulation in the building and construction sector. Enforcement programs benefit from education campaigns provided in parallel and this should be a priority for the City of Melbourne. Training of City of Melbourne enforcement officers and liaison staff and the constructions industry is also required to increase the knowledge of stormwater management in the municipality.

5.6 OTHER STORMWATER RELATED COUNCIL PROGRAMS The City of Melbourne has number of projects and programs they are involved with that may be used in improving stormwater management within the municipality.


ABM–PORT PHILLIP COASTAL AND MARINE PLANNING PROGRAM—STORMWATER IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT: STATUTORY FRAMEWORK AND STANDARDS

The ABM comprises ten Bayside councils, including the City of Melbourne. Part of a larger initiative, this project has developed model planning scheme provisions that provide the necessary detail and statutory force to assess development proposals and to guide selection of appropriate best practice stormwater management techniques for different urban sites, conditions and development scenarios. Stage 2 of the overall program looks at issues surrounding implementation in day-to-day use and the final report and CD-Rom will be available September 2003. The current version released August 2001 is available at Association of Bayside Municipalities: Reports. This report has recommended the adoption of a similar framework for the City of Melbourne (refer Section 5.2).

SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The draft version of the Sustainable Water Management Strategy has been rewritten and considerable changes made. The Strategy was presented to Council for endorsement on 16 June 2003. As part of the rewrite, stormwater quality management is to be included in Part 2 of the Strategy which is yet to be developed. Part 1 addresses issues related more to sustainability, reuse, water use minimisation, etc. and not with the management of site runoff and quality issues as addressed in this report.

WASTE WISE 2002–2005—A WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The Waste Wise 2002–2005 project established a plan for Council’s Waste Management Services. It is designed to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and to reduce the amount of waste produced. It is primarily directed towards minimisation, storage, sorting and recycling of wastes. Reference to pollution caused by waste (in storage areas) is a minor part of the strategy and is discussed more in relation to the Environment Local Law 1999 and its Environment Management Plan and is designed for owners and occupiers of premises. Except for the recycling of demolition and building waste, the environmental impact of construction sites does not feature in the strategy. This report should be amended to include a direct reference to the impact of construction site waste on the environment and waterways, as well as the economic effects of preventing drains silting up or blockages causing flooding. Construction and building site wastes can include: packaging, left over materials (e.g. plaster, paint, plastic sheeting and wiring) and wet cement. These are wastes that are not necessary able to be recycled but need to be contained and managed on site to ensure that they do not enter the stormwater system either by wind or rain.

5.7 OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

5.7.1 CONTRACTS Any contracts with Council that include works should include appropriate and enforceable clauses regarding environmental protection through stormwater management of sites. The local government professional organisation, LGPro, has received funding from VSAP to undertake a project to develop a series of contract specifications to ensure stormwater quality is protected. The specifications have been designed to be flexible enough to suit the needs of various Councils, are easily implemented by contractors and incorporate best practice. The specifications can be applied at all scales of work and for all models of Council managed projects. A copy of the specifications can be obtained from http://www.lgpro.com/media/final_spec_storm.pdf.

5.7.2 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN The City of Melbourne is implementing a range of strategies and recommendations from its stormwater management plan. The plan provides a range of prioritised strategies, with implementation of the strategies able to improve stormwater management within the City of Melbourne. The City of Melbourne should continue to implement strategies from its’ plan.


5.7.3 STORMWATER AGREEMENT It is recommended that Council become a signatory to the agreement when the opportunity arises. While signing the agreement would not introduce any statutory obligations for the City of Melbourne, it would provide renewed impetus to stormwater management within the City of Melbourne by raising awareness of Council’s involvement in stormwater protection and enabling the City to be involved in key stormwater projects undertaken by the driving organisations in this field.


6 Business case—improved stormwater quality enforcement regime

This business case provides an outline of the benefits and disadvantages of pursuing enforcement as a means of improving stormwater management in the City of Melbourne.

6.1 INTRODUCTION—THE CASE FOR CHANGE In line with current policies to promote infill housing and development, inner-city areas, including the City of Melbourne, are experiencing large amounts of construction activity in both large scale residential and retail development and public building (e.g. QV building, Federation Square) and small scale construction such as demolition and renovations of individual lots. Research has shown that construction activities can have a detrimental impact on the quality of stormwater through pollutants, such as sediments, litter and chemicals, being washed off-site and into the stormwater system (Urban Stormwater—Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines, 1999).

KEY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES WITHIN THE CITY OF MELBOURNE The Melbourne Stormwater Management Plan identifies a range of activities and land uses that pose a threat to stormwater quality within the City of Melbourne, one of which is construction site activity. Interviews with members of the Building Certification team have indicated that many of the construction site problems that impact on stormwater quality relate to:

• litter and waste management

• sediment control

• control of other pollutants (e.g. paint, plaster, chemicals)

• pumping out of contaminated stormwater from construction ‘holes’

• cleanliness of vehicles leaving the site

• blockage of drains due to concrete being disposed of down them

• a lack of on site space to properly stockpile materials.


Previous sections of this report that outline tools available for stormwater protection and opportunities for improving stormwater management within the City of Melbourne directly inform this business case. The previous sections will be referred to as a source of further detail regarding aspects of Council’s current arrangements.

CURRENT SITUATION Protection of stormwater quality from construction activities is undertaken predominantly through three avenues:

• Council’s ability to require a construction management plan, which may include stormwater provisions, through the Activities Local Law 1999;

• Council’s ability to impose conditions on planning permits;

• through other provisions of the Activities Local Law 1999 and Environment Local Law 1999.

The EPA can also take action under the Environment Protection Act 1970. Enforcement rates are currently low, with a dedicated Council stormwater officer issuing only approximately four infringement notices during a twelve month appointment (Building Certification branch, personal communication, May 2003). Anecdotal evidence suggests this may be due to the officer focussing on education of offenders rather than prosecution. There is a significant opportunity for the City of Melbourne to improve its approach to stormwater management and to become a leader in this area within local government. This will require both a framework that allows for the statutory enforcement of best practice stormwater management and a strong commitment to enforcement.

BENEFITS OF PROPOSAL An improved enforcement framework and regime for stormwater quality protection will achieve improved water quality in the Yarra Catchment and Port Phillip Bay, thus supporting the City of Melbourne’s corporate goal of being an Environmentally Responsible City and achieving sustainable development. Enforcement will also result in asset protection, with the City of Melbourne’s drainage network experiencing fewer maintenance problems each year thereby increasing the City’s capability to provide the expected level infrastructure to its citizens. Introduction of an appropriate enforcement framework and regime is recommended by bodies such as the MAV and peak industry and environmental research organisations such as the SIAV, the Port Phillip Catchment and Land Protection Board and the CRC-CH.


6.2 PURPOSE The purpose of enforcement is to improve the level of stormwater quality discharged from the City of Melbourne through ensuring that best practice stormwater management is adhered to on construction sites. The protection of stormwater quality within the City of Melbourne is a priority issue for Council because of the increasing need to preserve and conserve declining aquatic environments and habitats. This is important to fulfil the City of Melbourne’s role as a leader in environmental sustainability and management, and to protect the City’s valuable underground infrastructure. In support of the development and implementation of an enforcement program, research from the CRC- CH published in the paper, ‘City-wide or regional erosion and sediment control programs - what works’ utilises case studies, the authors experience and literature reviews to determine key elements of successful projects. The paper identifies two main elements for successful sediment and erosion control projects:

• programs must be multi-faceted and well balanced, containing the following elements:

– strong commitment form relevant politicians and senior management;

– a comprehensive education program;

– a strong regulatory framework;

– strategies to ensure that the government bodies own operations set standards in this area;

– a strong enforcement program;

– an annual auditing program;

– initiatives that provide an incentive for best practice and/or innovative sediment control measures;

– an effective administration system;

• a well designed vigorous and ongoing enforcement program is essentia l in substantially increasing the performance of erosion and sediment control on construction sites. The report notes that programs need to run for at least a decade.

The findings of this paper clearly indicate the importance of a strong enforcement framework.

6.3 ISSUES THAT MAY AFFECT THE SUCCESS OF AN ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM There are a range of issues that have the ability to impact on the success of a stormwater oriented enforcement program. These issues can generally be grouped around the following themes:

• Corporate support: acceptance of the enforcement program is needed at all levels of Council for it to be successful. This can be achieved by an education program to ensure those responsible for enforcement and enforcement directives are themselves aware of the importance of protecting stormwater quality.

• Clear policy: the basis for the enforcement (e.g. MSS, local law, permit conditions) must be clear, with no ambiguity regarding requirements. Similarly, such policy must be written in such a way as to encourage enforcement and make it achievable (e.g. instead of making activities such as discharge of contaminated stormwater the only finable offence, make the lack of provision for disposal of contaminated stormwater an offence).


• Tools: Council has a range of stormwater protection methods available to it. These tools and the ways in which responsible authorities can use them to enforce best practice stormwater management on construction sites are outlined in Section 2 of this report. Council currently uses few of these tools to their full extent. Under Council’s current practices, stormwater management on construction sites is largely the responsibility of the Building Certification branch through the use of the construction management plan and the Activities Local Law 1999. Section 3 of this report provides an overview of current roles and responsibilities with respect to stormwater management for construction sites. This report has identified a series of opportunities (refer Section 5) for Council to improve their framework for the protection of stormwater quality and to achieve best practice stormwater management. Foremost amongst these opportunities is the creation of a strategic framework within the planning scheme which will enable best practice stormwater management to be enforced.

• Resources: enforcement can be a resource intensive activity with requirements for officer time to inspect sites, issue infringements and provide administrative backup.

• Knowledge (Council staff, construction industry, community): staff must have adequate knowledge of: the impacts of various activities on stormwater; the range of mitigation measures available; the options available to them for enforcement; and the policy that supports enforcement (i.e. local law, relevant Act). Members of the construction industry must have access to information regarding best practice measures for building sites and also their obligations under the enforcement regime and the consequences of ignoring these obligations (both to themselves and the environment). The community must be made aware of why the City of Melbourne is undertaking an enforcement program (i.e. the consequences for the environment and amenity if they do not), and also their rights to report incidents they see or that cause them a loss of amenity or safety (e.g. dirty stormwater running down drains).

• Integration: research has shown that the most successful programs are those with strong support networks for education and with partnerships with educational, environmental and industry groups.


6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS In response to the above mentioned issues, the following recommendations are made:

1. Corporate support: it is essential that corporate support be secured for the measures required to improve stormwater management within the City of Melbourne. Support is needed from Councillors, the CEO and relevant branch managers in order for the amendments to the framework to take place and achieve acceptance within Council. Such support can be achieved predominantly through education including activities such as presentations to senior management and workshops to discuss the importance of enforcement and presentation of this business case. The inclusion of good stormwater management as a corporate environmental goal will also increase the level of corporate support.

2. Clear policy: there is the need to review policy at all levels (e.g. MSS, local policy, local laws, planning permit conditions) and amend where necessary to ensure there is no ambiguity and the intention of all policy can be easily understood by all involved. This should be done during the next review of the MSS (exhibition of current amendments has recently been completed) and as soon as possible for the Local Laws (the laws provide for amendment for time to time). Despite recent amendments to all of these documents there is the need for further review and amendment to focus more fully on stormwater quality protection.

3. Tools: amendment to MSS and local policy: much work has been done in the area of stormwater protection through use of strategic frameworks within the planning scheme. Resources such as the Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program Stormwater Implementation Project: statutory framework and standards (ABM, September 2001) are available to inform Council’s own framework development. Development of the strategic framework to enable enforcement will involve amendments to:

• Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS): the MSS should contain the policy framework that establishes the strategic rationale for stormwater management requirements that will be contained elsewhere in the scheme. The model developed by ABM recommends the MSS contain an explanation of current stormwater issues in the municipality; the benefits of achieving best practice; relevant issues that the framework will deal with; and the Council’s response to address the issues;

• Local Planning Policy: a new local policy should be introduced to the scheme which would highlight the basis for the stormwater provisions (which will address the design and operation of new development as well as construction standards), and outline of the decision making pathway and site standards for stormwater management as well as guidance as to how to use the policy:

– amendments to the MSS and local policy should inform the use of planning permit conditions for stormwater management.


• Amendment of Local Laws: the local laws should be amended to provide a stronger basis for the enforcement of best practice stormwater management on site. The Activities Local Law 1999 would likely be most appropriate for this task. In particular, it is recommended that provision be made for overall site management requirements and for enforcement of source control (preventative) measures. Council should utilise model local laws developed by other municipalities to inform its own amendments;

• Guidelines: Melbourne City Council should make full use of the guidelines prepared as part of this project for educating both staff and those involved in the management of building and construction sites.

4. Resources: there is the need to assess resources in the area of enforcement and ensure that adequate resourcing is applied to both education and enforcement roles. There are currently approximately forty staff delegated, under the Local Government Act 1989, with the ability to issue infringements under the City’s local laws. These staff include Neighbourhood Officers and staff from the Building Certification and Inspection, Street Activity, Facilities Management, Melbourne Certificate, Site Services, Health Services and ESG units. Responsibilities in this area must be clarified in order to apply the resources most efficiently. A targeted campaign of enforcement of best practice stormwater management at construction sites should be undertaken by delegated officers from a unit involved in construction sites.

5. Knowledge: it is vital to raise understanding of the importance of stormwater management amongst all stakeholders. To this end it is recommended that a strong educational focus be provided in order to increase knowledge and understanding and acceptance of the program. An education campaign for staff, industry representatives and workers and the general community should be employed to raise awareness. Such a campaign should build on the guidelines and training provided through this project and should contain elements such as workshops, distribution of brochures and media advertisements.

6. Integration: it is important to garner support for the enforcement program from all sectors. It is therefore recommended that Council utilise the support available to it from other organisations such as the ABM, SIAV and VSAP and from projects such as the Stormwater Agreement. Support from educational materials, particularly the guidelines produced for construction sites, should also be used. It is also important to provide the necessary support to staff and development proponents (predominantly through education) to enable them to understand the importance of stormwater management and their roles and responsibilities.

The case for enforcement is directly related to a VSAP funded project that the City of Melbourne is involved with, ‘Keeping stormwater clean—a guide for building sites’. The framework and enforcement regime will provide statutory justification for the requirement and enforcement of many of the methods identified as best practice and recommended to construction sites as part of this project.


6.5 KEY ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AN ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM

There are many benefits in enforcing best practice stormwater management on construction sites including: achieving relevant goals within the City of Melbourne’s corporate structure, successful outcomes for social, economic and environmental areas when considered under a triple bottom line approach; and meeting state legislative requirements relevant to water quality. Disadvantages in the enforcement approach are limited primarily to resourcing issues, with amendments of the planning scheme and local laws, and subsequent enforcement of these amendments, requiring adequate manpower to be undertaken.

A review of the benefits and disadvantages of implementing an enforcement framework is provided below.

DISADVANTAGES The disadvantages of an enforcement framework are the need to adequately resource the program by providing:

• education programs to both the public and staff;

• adequate staff numbers to enforce sites across the city;

• administrative support to the enforcement program;

• resources to amend the planning scheme to provide the framework for enforcement.

Care must be taken to ensure enforcement is not viewed as discouraging development in the City of Melbourne. With adequate education of the construction sector this should not occur, with developers instead seeing improved construction site management as a means of avoiding fines and creating efficiencies in operation, which will provide savings in their business operations.

ACHIEVING COUNCIL’S CORPORATE GOALS Council has a series of corporate goals expressed in its key planning and budgetary documents. Many of these goals relate directly to sustainability and environmental protection and, as such, protection of stormwater quality from the impacts of construction sites will aid in achieving them. Specific examples include:

CITY PLAN 2010 City Plan 2010 contains a vision for the City of Melbourne to be a thriving and sustainable city. In order to achieve this vision Council will pursue environmental quality. In addition to this vision, one of four key strategic directions for the City of Melbourne is environmental responsibility.


In order to achieve a sustainable city through pursuit of environmental quality and application of environmental responsibility all aspects of the environment, including stormwater, must be managed in a sustainable manner. Polluted stormwater has a detrimental impact on the environmental quality of the City of Melbourne’s water resources. Enforcement of stormwater protection measures will protect the ability of future generations to enjoy and use water resources and improve the water quality of key assets such as the Yarra River. Consideration of stormwater quality issues at the planning stage and subsequent enforcement of best practice stormwater management requirements will fulfil the goals of pursuing environmental quality and achieving environmental responsibility.

CORPORATE PLAN 2002–2005 Council’s key corporate values incorporate accountability. The City of Melbourne’s objectives under accountability include to ‘consider the environmental impact of actions to ensure responsible environmental management and minimal waste’. A consideration of the environmental impact of construction activities on stormwater quality must play an integral part in achieving the stated objective of the City of Melbourne being environmentally accountable. Goals of the Corporate Plan include: ‘improve the City of Melbourne’s water quality’ and ‘implement the stormwater management plan’. Research in the US has shown that programs with strong enforcement elements often reduce pollutant loadings by 50 per cent or greater (Lehner et al., 1999 cited in Taylor, A. 2002a), while in Australia it is anticipated that overall pollutant removal efficiency may be in the order of 42 per cent over a decade of enforcement. There is therefore little doubt that enforcement will lead to an improvement in quality of water discharged to the City of Melbourne’s waterways and to Port Phillip Bay. Implementation of an adequate enforcement framework through amendment to the planning scheme will achieve the goal of implementing the Stormwater Management Plan as outlined in the Annual Plan section.

ANNUAL PLAN 2002–2003 The Annual Plan sets out more specifically those goals from within the Corporate Plan that Council wishes to achieve in a twelve month period. Goals of the Environmentally Responsible City strategic direction include: displaying leadership among Australian local governments on environmental issues, particularly in relation to green house gas mitigation and urban water management; and implementing Stormwater Management Plan actions identified for 2002/2003’. Best practice management of urban stormwater continues to be a very topical issue, with large amounts of resources being applied to research and implementation of strategic projects. Many such projects involve increasing the enforcement of stormwater related planning conditions and local laws. By not adapting its planning framework to be more amenable to enforcement and enforcing those regulations available to it, the City of Melbourne risks being left behind in best practice environmental management. Development of a strategic framework for enforcement will enhance Melbourne’s position as a leader in local government on environmental issues and, combined with enforcement, will also fulfil actions from the Management Framework recommendations of the Stormwater management Plan. (Relevant actions include those from Strategy 2, Advocate and Use Best Practice Models for Stormwater Management, Strategy 3, Incorporate Stormwater Management and Best Practice in Land Use Planning and Urban Design, Strategy 4, Incorporate Stormwater Management in the Planning Scheme and Planning Approval Process and Strategy 5, Incorporate Stormwater Management in Other Council Approvals Such As For Construction Sites and Land Use Activities).

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting is not only the approach Council has taken in the management of its core business, but a growing trend in Australian reporting and accounting in general. The City of Melbourne has a series of sustainability targets that form the basis of performance measurements against the Corporate Plan and City of Melbourne programs and operations. A qualitative assessment of implementing a strong enforcement regime shows clear benefits in terms of the three (TBL) indicators: social, economic and environment.

SOCIAL Social benefits to come from the enforcement of improved stormwater management measures on construction sites centre on City of Melbourne amenity. Through enforcement visual amenity is protected for residents and day users due to:


• a reduction in litter;

• footpaths and roads are free of sediment and debris;

• the visual appearance of water in the Maribyrnong River, Moonee Ponds Creek, Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay will be improved.

The beneficial uses of the waterways (e.g. boating, fishing, swimming) will also be protected for the City of Melbourne’s residents and visitors. The City of Melbourne will also be a safer place for pedestrians and vehicles with reduced incidence of dangerous pollutants (such as slippery mud or concrete wash water) on footpaths and roads.

ECONOMIC The economic benefits of enforcement are applicable both to Melbourne City Council and the businesses involved in construction in the City of Melbourne. Strong enforcement of adequate stormwater management at the planning stage of projects will result in fewer fines for business and also in more instances of environmental bonds being returned to developers rather than kept by Council to remediate damage caused by poor management practices. Similarly Council will have fewer instances of having to do costly repairs to assets damaged during construction (e.g. such as drains blocked by concrete). Although ultimately 100 per cent compliance and hence no issue of fines is the ultimate goal, research suggests that successful sediment control programs are self-funding, with revenue from enforcement (e.g. fines) funding all other components of the program (Taylor, 2002a).


Environmental The impacts of poorly managed construction sites on water quality are known to be detrimental (Urban Stormwater Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines, 1999) with pollutants such as sediment, concrete wash water, paints, litter and chemicals entering waterways through the stormwater system. Improved management of construction sites to lower the input of these pollutants must therefore lead to an improvement in the water quality and hence environmental quality of waterways. CRC-CH research suggests it is reasonable to assume that well designed, implemented and maintained sediment controls on construction sites would remove up to 70 per cent of suspended solids (Taylor, 2002a). Further more, even with total compliance unlikely across any urban area, overall removal of suspended solids may be as high as 42 per cent over a decade (Taylor, 2002a). Improvement in water quality can aid in the protection of aquatic habitats in both the City of Melbourne’s waterways and ultimately in Port Phillip Bay.

LEGISLATIVE BASIS There is a strong legislative basis for the protection of water quality as outlined in Section 2. In particular, improved management of stormwater will lead to compliance with State Planning Policy clause 15, the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the relevant SEPPs under this Act.

6.6 CONCLUSION The case for an enforcement program for improved stormwater management on building and construction sites is a strong one. The key benefits include:

• contribution to Council’s corporate goal of a sustainable city;

• improved environmental condition of the City of Melbourne’s waterways and ultimately Port Phillip Bay;

• adherence to triple bottom line reporting objectives;

• reduced instances of asset damage due to poor site management practices;

• reduced infrastructure costs due to less desludging and flooding from blocked drains.

Increased enforcement does not solely include increased resources to pound the street and issues infringement notices. A successful enforcement program will also include:

• education programs to both the public and staff;

• adequate staff numbers to enforce sites across the City of Melbourne;

• administrative support to the enforcement program;

• resources to amend the planning scheme to provide the framework for enforcement.


Implementation of the recommendations within the business case should result in a greater level of understanding amongst both Council staff and those involved in building and construction of their roles and responsibilities. Undertaken with a multi-pronged approach, an enforcement program, together with an education program, relevant training and sufficient resources, will enable the City of Melbourne to greatly improve the environmental impact of building and construction sites within the municipality.


7 Monitoring and review

7.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING AND REVIEW As part of this project, a series of best practice stormwater guidelines have been produced specifically for different sectors of the community involved with construction. The aim of the guidelines is to inform people of their responsibilities for stormwater management on construction sites and the methods that they can use to protect the receiving environment from polluted stormwater from their sites.

The guidelines are one tool available to the City of Melbourne to raise awareness of stormwater management amongst those in the construction industry. It is important that any educational and awareness raising tools are functional and provide the intended outcome. To this end a monitoring and review program is an important aspect of any awareness program.

The monitoring program seeks to answer the question, ‘Have the guidelines been effective in increasing awareness of the importance of stormwater management and of best practice management techniques that can be used amongst:

• those involved with building and construction

• those in Council involved in approving and regulating building and construction?’

It is anticipated that greater awareness of stormwater and increased enforcement of best practice stormwater management will lead to an improvement in water quality.

7.2 COUNCIL’S EXISTING PERFORMANCE MEASURES Council currently has in place a triple bottom line (TBL) approach to monitoring both its services to the community and its internal management performance. The Corporate Plan 2002–2005 sets out the specific performance measures for the economic, social and environmental indicators that are used to monitor the City of Melbourne’s progress against its corporate objectives. The TBL approach has a strong focus on sustainability, with many of the environmental performance measures being associated with reductions in waste and energy consumption. There is no performance measure directly linked to awareness of environmental issues and, as such, the current performance measures are not amenable to monitoring of the success of the guidelines in improving stormwater awareness and management.


A monitoring and review program is proposed in the following sections to assess the awareness raising capability of the guidelines. It is suggested that Council expand this monitoring program as the enforcement framework and program develop in order to assess the success of the overall program in achieving improvements in water quality against a series of TBL indicators.

7.3 SUGGESTED MONITORING AND REVIEW FRAMEWORK As the aim of the guidelines is to raise awareness, the initiative will be considered successful if:

• those involved in the construction and building industry have a clearer understanding of stormwater requirements, how to address them in planning and building applications, and how to achieve them;

• Council’s planning and building staff become more confident in requiring better stormwater protection and can understand the principles and processes for dealing with stormwater in the municipality.

Table 7.1 identifies a range of options available to monitor the success of the guidelines in raising awareness of stormwater management amongst those involved in aspects of building and construction. It is suggested that the most rigorous monitoring program include a suite of methods in order to gain the most comprehensive understanding of the level of success achieved.

Table 7.1 Potential monitoring methods

Monitoring method Description and outline of purpose

SURVEYS With any survey it is important to determine a baseline level. As such surveys should be undertaken both before and after distribution of the guidelines.

Developers/site managers survey

A simple questionnaire with yes/no answers, e.g.

Do you have a management plan that considers stormwater?

Are you aware of the penalties for non-compliance with stormwater management requirements?

The questions would ascertain both the level of knowledge regarding stormwater issues and the effectiveness of Council service with respect to development issues. Surveys can be conducted on an ongoing basis both before distribution of the guidelines and after, through either a mail out or a site visit.

Council staff survey A simple questionnaire with a mix open and closed questions, e.g.

Are you aware of the Melbourne Stormwater Management Plan? Do you refer to it in your work?

Does the State Planning Policy Framework have any relevancy to stormwater protection?

The surveys should be conducted before the staff training sessions on the guidelines to determine the existing level of knowledge and again some time after these sessions to determine if overall awareness has increased as a result of the guidelines and training in their use.


Table 7.1 continued

Monitoring method Description and outline of purpose

QUANTITATIVE METHODS As with surveys, it is important to have some knowledge of the existing conditions to compare with data collected after issue and use of the guidelines. It may therefore be necessary to collate data on various issues as part of the monitoring of quantitative outcomes.

How often are stormwater issues raised by the applicant during pre-application meetings?

Most large scale development will involve a pre-application meeting with planning and possibly other departments. Even small scale applicants (e.g. renovations of a single dwelling) will often have some level of consultation with a Council officer prior to submitting an application. An increase in applicants raising the issue of stormwater management for their site will indicate an increase in awareness.

The data could be collected by staff involved with meetings keeping a brief record of issues raised.

How many applications contain a construction management plan at submission?

This is referring to unsolicited CMPs being submitted prior to any request to include one. The number of applications that contain a construction management plan that includes stormwater management considerations will be indicative of the level of awareness amongst applicants.

Does the number of infringement notices decrease over a 5 year period?

This monitoring method is dependant on the enforcement program being implemented. Initially, a strong enforcement program should see an increase in the number of infringement notices issued, however this should begin to decrease as awareness increases.

Based on the outcomes of the monitoring process, the guidelines and their distribution should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they are appropriate for the audience.

7.4 LINKS TO OTHER INFORMATION Links to references used in this report and other relevant materials is supplied in the extensive bibliography in Section 9.


8 Training

8.1 PURPOSE The purpose of the training is threefold:

• firstly to increase understanding amongst Council staff of the potential impacts that stormwater may have on the environment;

• secondly to inform staff of the tools that are available to enforce best practice stormwater management on construction sites within the City of Melbourne;

• thirdly to provide an overview of the guidelines developed by KBR and how the guidelines and tools can be used in day-to-day work practices.

8.2 SCOPE The training sessions will be aimed at those members of City of Melbourne staff that are in the best position to educate applicants and enforce stormwater management practices. It is anticipated that these staff will include officers predominantly from Sustainable Regulatory Services, particularly the Building Certification & Inspection unit and the Development Planning unit, however it will also be worthwhile for officers from the Community Liaison and Engineering Services Contract groups to attend to increase their knowledge of why stormwater management needs to be improved on construction sites. Attendance by officers from other groups is encouraged if places are available. The training sessions are intended to inform Council officers on the content of the report and include sessions on:

• stormwater—what it is: provide an overview on the potential impacts on waterways and Council assets if it is not managed properly; and provide an overview of the management techniques available to Council (approximately 15 minutes);

• tools: provide an overview of the legislative framework that addresses stormwater quality protection (approximately 15 minutes);

• the main mechanisms currently available to the City of Melbourne to enforce better management of stormwater and how these can be implemented (approximately 30 minutes, including group discussion);

• an outline of goals or enforcement measures to aim for in the future (e.g. amendments to the planning scheme to allow for stronger enforcement) (approximately 15 minutes);

• explanation of the guidelines and how they should be used in informing developers of their obligations (approximately 30 minutes including discussion with group);

• an overview of the work that has been done in the area of stormwater management and where staff can access/direct developers to further information that may be helpful to them (approximately 15 minutes).

It is proposed that the training sessions will be interactive, with formal presentations broken up with question and answer sessions and discussion between the presenters and participants on the various roles


and responsibilities of each of the partic ipants and their departments. Important material such as references will be provided as handouts to aid implementation. The draft guidelines developed as part of this project will be used in the training.

8.3 TIMING It is proposed to hold two training sessions, one in July and the other in late August, although this is negotiable dependant on Council’s requirements. It is anticipated that each session will last approximately 2 hours. A morning session is preferable.


9 Reference material

9.1 MELBOURNE REFERENCES

Author Date Title

Emails: Information provided by emails answering specific questions.

ABM September 2001 Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program. Model for Coastal and Marine Issues in Planning Schemes. September 2001.

ABM September 2001 Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program. Stormwater Implementation Project: Statutory Framework and Standards. September 2001.

Bayside City Council Website Greywater Reuse.

Bayside City Council Website Rainwater Tanks.

Brimbank City Council et al. Website Site Management Plan (SMP) Guidelines.

Brimbank City Council et al. Website Stormwater Management.

City of Ballarat Undated Copy of some standard environmental protection clauses for works in the Ballarat area.

City of Yarra Undated Builders’ Code of Practice & Waste Management Guidelines for Construction and Demolition Sites.

Elias, Denise September 2001 Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne—Bulletin 4.

Elias, Denise September 2002 Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne—Bulletin 5.

EPA 1991 Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control. Publication No. 275.

EPA 1996 Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites. February. Publication No. 480.

EPA 1996 Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites.

EPA 2001 Draft State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria). Draft Policy and Policy Impact Assessment. Publication 795.

EPA 2003 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria). Policy and Policy Impact Assessment. Publication 795.

EPA Website Stormwater Update Summer 2003.

Stormwater Management

VSAP Information

EPA (Ed) 2002 Keeping Our Stormwater Clean: A Guide for Building Sites.

EPA et al 2002 Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites: An information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with council regulations.


Author Date Title

EPA et al Undated pamphlet Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites: Keep Sediment and Litter on Site.

EPA Victoria 1999 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria—Schedule F7 Waters of the Yarra Catchment)

EPA, MAV and MW 2002 Protecting our Bays & Waterways: Partnership Agreement between EPA, MAV and Melbourne Water for urban stormwater management in the Port Phillip and Westernport catchments.

Greater Shepparton City Council 2002 Copy of Planning Scheme amendments relating to proposed references to stormwater management planning.

Hume City Council 2001 Local Law No. 1 (Amendment) Local Law.

Kingston City Council Website Local Law: Improvement to Building Site Practices for Stormwater Protection.

Kingston City Council (Ed) 2003 Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites—Draft Final Project Report. February.

Knox City Council 2002 SiteSmart—Best Practice Guide for Building Site Management.

Knox City Council Undated pamphlet SiteSmart—Construction Site Best Practice Guide.

Knox City Council Undated pamphlet SiteSmart—Management practices to control litter, sediment, erosion and wastes on your building site.

Knox City Council Undated pamphlet SiteSmart—Management practices to prevent pollution from your site.

MAV Website 2002 Victorian Local Government Environment Management Survey: Programs, Resources and Management Approaches. Main Report. 2002.

MAV Website Local Government and Environmental Management of Stormwater—Case Study Number 7. 2001.

MAV/SIAV 2003 Stormwater Management Kit: Building Sites. CD with a compilation of information available on managing building and construction sites. March.

Melbourne City Council Corporate Plan 2002–2005: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

Melbourne City Council 1999 Activities Local Law 1999 No. 1.

Melbourne City Council 1999 Creating a Sustainable Melbourne. Your complete guide to the Environment management Plan for the City of Melbourne.

Melbourne City Council 1999 Environment Local Law 1999 No. 2.

Melbourne City Council 2002 City Plan: The City of Melbourne’s Municipal Strategic Statement 1999.

Melbourne City Council 2003 Draft Municipal Strategic Statement 3 Year Review.

Melbourne City Council Current Building Unit–Interpretation Manual Ver1. Internal intranet.

Melbourne City Council Current COM –Building & Construction Permits (website).

Melbourne City Council DOI website Planning Scheme Extracts—references to stormwater.

Melbourne City Council February 2002 Waste Wise 2002–2005.

Melbourne City Council Intranet Organisational Structure and Information.

Melbourne City Council June 1999 Public Safety and Amenity: A Code of Practice at Construction Sites.

Melbourne City Council June 2002 City Plan 2010: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

Melbourne City Council March 2000 Fact Sheet: Building Works (Nuisance Abatement).


Author Date Title

Melbourne City Council March 2000 Fact Sheet: City of Melbourne Waste Services.

Melbourne City Council March 2000 Fact Sheet: City of Melbourne Waste Services–Recycling Household Organic Waste.

Melbourne City Council March 2000 Fact Sheet: Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites Project Victorian Stormwater Action Program VSAP.

Melbourne City Council October 2002 Annual Plan 2002–2003: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

Melbourne City Council October 2002 Draft Sustainable Water Management Strategy.

Melbourne City Council September 1999 Town Planning Standard Conditions and Reasons for Refusal.

Melbourne City Council Undated Intranet

Building Branch Induction Manual Ver1.

Melbourne City Council Undated Fact Sheet: Clean Up Your Butts Melbourne!

Melbourne City Council Undated Fact Sheet: Dilapidated, Dangerous and Unsightly Premises.

Melbourne City Council Undated (as at 5/5/2003)

Extract of Standard Environmental Contract Clauses.

Melbourne City Council Website Organisational Structure and Information.

Melbourne Water Website Media releases—$1.8 million upgrade or major city stormwater drain—(Elizabeth Street Drain).

Melbourne Water Website Media releases—$2 million Narre Warren wetland to treat stormwater.

Melbourne Water Website Media releases—$510,000 Project to help clean up Moonee Ponds Creek.

NABCWMB Undated Do It Right—Clean Site Information Sheets Series.

NSW EPA 2002 Environmental Best Management Practice Guideline for Concreting Contractors. October 2002.

PPK 2002 Site Management Plan Guidelines for Hobsons Bay, Brimbank and Wyndham City Councils. 19 July 2002.

PPK 2002 Site Management Plan Guidelines prepared for Hobsons Bay, Brimbank and Wyndham City Councils.

Sheridan Blunt 6 February 2003 Sustainable Water Program Steering Group. Minutes of Meeting.

Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils

Undated The Drain Is Just For Rain. Series of Fact Sheets—Doing It Right On Site.

Taylor, A. C 2002a City-wide or Regional Erosion and Sediment Control Programs—What Works.

Taylor, A. C 2002b Non-structural stormwater quality best practice management practices—guidelines for monitoring and evaluation. Working Document 02/6. October. CRC for Catchment Hydrology.

Walker, T. A and Wong, T.H.F 1999 Effectiveness of Street Sweeping for Stormwater Pollution Control. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Technical Report. Report 99/8. December 1999.

WBM 2000 Melbourne Stormwater Management Plan—Volume 1.


WBM 2002 Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection. Prepared for LGPro.


9.2 OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Author Date Title

ANZECC 2000a Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.

ANZECC 2000b Australian Guidelines for Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting – Summary.

Arcadian Solutions 2002 Do’s and Don’ts—Resourceful Construction and Demolition. An Arcadian Solutions Publications.

Casey City Council 2002 Corporate Plan 1 July 2002–June 2005.

CRC for Catchment Hydrology 2002 MUSIC—Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation. Version 1.00. User Manual. May 2002.

EPA 1991 Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control. May.

EPA New South Wales 2002 Environmental Best Management Practice Guideline for Concreting Contractors. October 2002.

EPA Victoria 1970 Environment Protection Act 1970.

EPA Victoria 1988 State Environment Protection Policies (Waters of Victoria).

EPA Victoria 199 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria).

EPA Victoria 1996 Code of Practice—Septic Tanks. EPA Publication 451.

EPA Victoria 1996 Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites. February 1996.

EPA Victoria 1997 Code of Practice—Septic Tanks.

EPA Victoria 1997 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria)—Schedule F6 Waters of Port Phillip Bay No S101 1997.

EPA Victoria 1999 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria—Schedule F7 Waters of the Yarra Catchment).

EPA Victoria 2000 Environmental Health of Streams in the Yarra River Catchment. February 2000.

EPA Victoria 2001 Land Capability Assessment for Onsite Domestic Wastewater Management. EPA Publication 746.

EPA Victoria 2002 Corporate Plan 2002–2003.

EPA Victoria et al. 2002 Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites: An information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with council regulations. A VSAP funded project.

EPA Victoria et al 2002a Protecting our Bays & Waterways—Partnership Agreement between EPA MAV and Melbourne Water for urban stormwater management in the Port Phillip and Westernport catchments.

EPA Victoria et al. 2002b Keeping our Stormwater Clean: A Guide for Building Sites. A VSAP funded project.

Evangelisti & Associates, et al. 1997 Evaluation of Constructed Wetlands in Perth. Prepared for Waters and Rivers Commission. December 1997.

Glenelg Hopkins CMA 2002 Glenelg Hopkins Regional Catchment Strategy 2002/2007. Goudey Rob and Lloyd-Smith Bill

1999 Statistical Assessment of Compliance with Water Quality Objectives. EPA Victoria. December 1999.

Jaquet F. 2002 Water Sensitive Urban Design—A Landscape Architect’s perspective. Laycock and Jaquet Landscape Architects. Proceedings of AWA/SIAV Changing Colours of Water Seminar. October 2002 Melbourne.

KBR 2001 Manningham Stormwater Management Plan.


Author Date Title

Kingston City Council 2002 Building Site Local Law.

Kingston City Council 2002a Corporate Plan 2002–2005.

Kingston City Council 2002b Improvement to Building Site Practices for Stormwater Protection. Kingston City Council website.

Knox City Council 2002

Lewis, Justin 2002 Effectiveness of Stormwater Litter Traps for Syringe and Litter Removal. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Report prepared for Melbourne Water Corporation.

Lloyd, Sara D. 2001 Water Sensitive Urban Design in the Australian Context: Synthesis of a conference held 30–31 August 2000, Melbourne, Australia. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Technical Report 01/7. September 2001.

Manningham City Council 2000 Maintenance of septic tanks systems—Pamphlet.

Manningham City Council 2002 Manningham Domestic Wastewater Management Plan June 2002.

Manningham City Council 2002a Future Manningham Our Corporate Plan 2002/2005.

Manningham City Council August 2001 Manningham’s Health 2001—2004: The Manningham Municipal Public Health Plan

Manningham City Council August 2001 Manningham’s Health 2001—2004: The Manningham Municipal Public Health Plan.

Manningham City Council June 2002 Manningham Domestic Wastewater Management Plan.

Manningham City Council undated What you need to know about how septic tank systems work and how to maintain them.

Manningham City Council 2002b Don’t flush it away —Caring for our water. Flyer.

Manningham City Council 2002c Manningham Municipal Public Health Plan 2002–2005.

MAV 2001 Model Municipal Domestic Wastewater Management Plan. October 2001.

MAV 2002a 2002 Victorian Local Government Environment Management Survey—Programs Resources and Management Approaches. Main Report.

MAV 2002b Municipal Domestic Wastewater management Planning: Issues and Options Paper (Draft for Comment) February 2002.

Melbourne City Council Corporate Plan.

Melbourne City Council City Plan 2010.

Melbourne City Council 1999 Activities Local Law 1999 1999.

Melbourne City Council 1999 Environmental Local Law 1999.

Melbourne Water 1999a Melbourne Water Corporation Environment and Community Obligation Report 1998/99.

Melbourne Water 1999b Litter Trap Selection Procedure. Draft Guidelines. November 1999.

Melbourne Water 2001a Infostream: Water quality monitoring, indicators and tests.

Melbourne Water 2001a Infostream: Summary Waterway Water Quality Data 2001.

Melbourne Water 2001b Infostream: Yarra River.

Melbourne Water undated Managing our Water Resources.

Melbourne Water undated Water quality —Providing healthy waterways information. Melbourne Water—Stormwater website.


Author Date Title

Mitchell, Grace, Mein, Russell and McMahon, Tom

1999 The Reuse Potential of Urban Stormwater and Wastewater. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Industry Report. Report 99/14. December 1999.

Mudgway, L. B, Duncan, H. P, McMahon, T. A, Chiew, F. H. S

1997 Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines for Urban Stormwater. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Report 97/7. October 1997.

Pamminger F. 2002 Rainwater Tanks in the Context of Sustainable Water Management. Yarra Valley Water. Proceedings of AWA/SIAV Changing Colours of Water Seminar. October 2002Melbourne.

Port Phillip City Council 2002 Corporate Plan 2002/2003.

Robinson David 1999 Audit Protocol for the Victorian Water Quality Monitoring Network. EPA Victoria. June 1999

SIAV and MAV 2002 Stormwater Capacity Building Project—Project background and objectives. A VSAP funded project.



Taylor A. C. 2002a Non-structural stormwater quality best practice management practices—guidelines for monitoring and evaluation. Working Document 02/6. October. CRC for Catchment Hydrology.

Taylor A. C. 2002b The value of non-structural stormwater quality best management practices. Draft Technical Report. July. CRC for Catchment Hydrology.

Taylor A. C. and Wong, Tony 2002c Non-structural stormwater quality best management practices—An overview of their use, value, cost and evaluation. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Technical Report. Report 02/11. December 2002.

Taylor, André 2002d Citywide or Regional Erosion and Sediment Control Programs – What Works, paper by André Taylor, Research Fellow, Urban Stormwater Quality Program, Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology (CRC-CH), 2002.

Victorian Stormwater Committee 1999 Urban Stormwater—Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines. CSIRO Publisher.

VSAP et. al. undated Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites—AN information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with council regulations. EPA Victoria.


Waterwatch Information Sheet undated Waterwatch website.


Wong T.H.F. 2000 Improving Urban Stormwater Quality—From Theory to Implementation. Water. November/December 2000.

Wong, Tony H. F and Walker, Tracey

2002 Peer review and development of a stormwater Gross Pollutant Treatment Technology Assessment Methodology. Report prepared for NSW Environment Protection Authority. October 2002.

Yarra Valley Water 2002 Rainwater Tanks: A fresh approach to saving water. (Pamphlet).


9.3 USEFUL WEBSITES www.bayside.vic.gov.au www.brimbank.vic.gov.au www.calpboard.vic.gov.au www.casey.vic.gov.au www.catchment.crc.org.au www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au www.epa.vic.gov.au www.kingston.vic.gov.au www.manningahm.vic.gov.au www.mav.asn.au www.melbournewater.com.au www.portphillip.vic.gov.au www.stormwater.asn.au www.stormwater.melbournewater.com.au http://www.lgpro.com/media/final_spec_storm.pdf

Attachment 2 Agenda Item 5.2

Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee 12 February 2004

1

Protecting our waterways through stormwater management Did you know? Rubbish and other pollutants washed down the drains in the City of Melbourne end up in the Yarra River, Moonee Ponds Creek or Maribyrnong River and, ultimately, Port Phillip. They are often washed into our waterways by stormwater. Urban development has led to an increase in the quantity of stormwater and amount of pollution entering our waterways. This fact sheet is the first of five fact sheets providing information on how you can help prevent the discharge of pollutants into the City of Melbourne’s waterways. What is stormwater? Stormwater is rainfall that is collected from roofs, car parks, footpaths and other hard surfaces which flows into the drains and then into Port Phillip. As stormwater flows over roads, footpaths and gutters, it collects rubbish, sediment and other pollutants that exist in these areas. Unlike sewerage, stormwater is not treated. Therefore rubbish, sediment and other pollutants that stormwater carries are discharged directly into the waterways.

Source: BP

EM

G 1999

2

Floating litter trap designed to capture litter floating down the River Yarra.

City view beyond the River Yarra What causes the pollution? There are many activities that can cause stormwater pollution, including: • dropping of litter • dumping of wastes • dropping of cigarette butts • spillage of paints and chemicals • runoff of herbicides and pesticides • runoff of soil, sediments and other materials

from construction sites • discharge of contaminated water from

construction sites, swimming pools, etc. Who is responsible for keeping our waterways clean? Everyone! As individuals we not legally allowed to litter or pollute our waterways. EPA requirements The Environment Protection Act 1970 prohibits the discharge of pollutants to waterways. This includes accidental and deliberate discharges of pollutants either directly to the waterways or through the stormwater drainage system. There are harsh penalties including a fine of up to $240,000 or imprisonment.

Council requirements City of Melbourne has local laws (i.e. Environmental Local Law 1999 and Activities Local Law 1999) which are designed to keep the City clean and tidy. Under the Activities Local Law, Council may require a construction management plan for larger construction sites. It can also place conditions on planning permits to control nuisance and polluting activities. If you do not comply with these laws and conditions you may be fined up to $1,000. What can you do? There are many ways in which you can help to prevent the pollution of our waterways. Building and construction • Develop and implement a construction

management plan, especially for large construction sites.

• Prevent sediment, paint and other materials being washed into the drain.

• Do not tip or wash anything into a drain. • Do not store anything in the gutter or over a

drain grate. • Provide catch drains around stockpiles of

material to stop runoff. • Put packaging and rubbish into a bin or skip

or wire basket. • Wash excess dirt from vehicles before

leaving site. Refer to guidelines prepared by Council for building and construction activity. Rubbish • Place litter in bins and where possible • Provide recycling bins for recyclable goods. • Ensure that bins and skips are well

maintained and that rubbish will not blow out of them.

• Compost green waste. • Sweep leaves and grass clippings out of the

drain and put them in a compost bin. • Pour oils or grease into a resealable bucket

for deferred disposal rather than down the drain.

Source: City of M

elbourne

3

Litter is one of the main sources of pollution.

Sediment control

• Minimise erosion. • Be careful not to spill soil on roadways. • Avoid the storage of soil, screenings, etc.

on the nature strip. • Use sediment detention devices (e.g. hay

bales) to prevent soil being washed into drains.

Sediment from construction sites and soil stockpiles are major sources of pollution. Vehicle washing • Wash your vehicle at a car wash that

recycles water or wash it on the lawn. • Avoid washing vehicles in the driveway or

on the street.

Street sweeping • Sweep up leaves and grass clippings and

put them in the compost. • Sweep paths or driveways rather than

wasting water when using a hose.

Leaves and soil can block drains and pollute waterways: sweep them up and compost them. Waste water • Pouring polluted or contaminated water

down the stormwater drains pollutes our waterways.

• Use filters when dewatering construction sites.

• Empty swimming pool or spa bath water on to the garden or nature strip rather than down the stormwater drain.

Source: Keeping S

tormw

ater clean EP

A 2003

Source: BP

EM

G 1999

Source: City of C

asey

4

Animal control • Control animals in public spaces. • Pick up your dog’s or horse‘s faeces.

Pick up after your dog: Council provides bags and bins in most of its parks. Chemical use and disposal • Manage and dispose of chemicals carefully:

do not pour them down the drain. • When washing paint brushes, avoid

discharging the wash water down the drain. • Be careful using herbicides, pesticides and

oils so they do not spill into drains or waterways.

Where can I get more information? There are many documents available to help you prepare your site management plan and decide on the appropriate stormwater management techniques for your site including the following: Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection (LGPro, 2002) This booklet provides information about the sorts of specifications you can give to contractors to ensure their practices do not result in pollution on your site. It is available at: http://www.lgpro.com/media/final_spec_storm.pdf Keeping Our Stormwater Clean—a guide for building sites (VSAP, 2003) This booklet has many ideas for sediment and erosion control on smaller sites and many of the ideas area applicable to larger construction sites. The booklet has useful contacts and supplier information for products for use in sediment and erosion control Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control (EPA Publication 275, 1991) This booklet is aimed at larger construction sites and offers a number of options for sediment prevention and control. This document is incorporated into the State Planning Policy Framework. It must therefore be considered by the Responsible Authority when it assesses development applications. Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA Publication 480, 1996) This booklet provides detailed information on all aspects of site management for environmental protection, including stormwater management. Site Management Plan Guidelines (Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Wyndham City Council, July 2002) This booklet provides guidance on developing site management plans for sites greater than one hectare. While developed specifically for these councils, it provides general information that can be applied to sites within the City of Melbourne.

Source: C

ities of Wyndham

, Hobsons B

ay & B

rimbank

5

Who to contact Many of the listed documents are available from the internet or from the Sustainable Regulatory Services Branch of City of Melbourne by visiting www.melbourne.vic.gov.au or calling on 9658 9100 This department can also provide advice on preparing management plans. The following organisations have all been active in researching and preparing material on best practice management of stormwater. Their web sites provide valuable information on stormwater management and also links to other relevant projects and programs. Victorian Stormwater Action Program http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Programs/Stormwater/ Stormwater Industry Association Victoria http://www.stormwater.asn.au/vic/ Municipal Association of Victoria http://www.mav.asn.au/ Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology http://www.catchment.crc.org.au/ Clearwater Program www.clearwater.asn.au Melbourne Water www.melbournewater.com.au

This project has received Victorian Government funding through EPA Victoria as part of the Victorian Stormwater Action Program.

6

Source: Lascorpw

ebsite

Stormwater management for large construction sites Did you know? Rubbish and other pollutants washed down the drains of the City of Melbourne flow into the Yarra River, Moonee Ponds Creek or Maribyrnong River and, ultimately, Port Phillip. Construction activity is one of the major sources of pollution. If not managed properly, paints and chemicals as well as sediment from material stockpiles and excavation sites can be washed down the drain and into the waterways. Apart from being unattractive, the pollutants in waterways can kill fish and pose a risk to human health. Any concrete washed into drains can set in the drains thus blocking the drains and causing flooding and costly repairs.

It is important that all construction projects, whether large or small are managed to prevent stormwater pollution. Reasons for managing construction sites to avoid pollution: • It will reduce safety hazards at construction

sites • It will help to keep the City of Melbourne’s

waterways clean. • It will enable compliance with State and local

laws What does this fact sheet provide?

This fact sheet provides information for managing activities at large construction sites to eliminate pollution. It includes information on: o stormwater and environmental

responsibilities for major construction sites o the consequences of not managing

stormwater correctly o what you should and should not do to

prevent stormwater pollution o where to get more information. What controls exist for managing pollution from construction sites? City of Melbourne has two local laws that allow for enforcement of good stormwater management practice: o Environment Local Law 1999 o Activities Local Law 1999 Under the Activities Local Law, the Council may require a construction management plan for larger construction sites. It may also require a bond. The Environment Protection Act 1970 prohibits the discharge of pollutants to waterways. This includes accidental and deliberate discharges of pollutants either directly to the waterways or through the stormwater drainage system. Your responsibilities… Developers and site managers are responsible for ensuring their construction sites do not cause pollution and it management complies with comply with both State and local laws.

7

What happens if the controls are not complied with? The Council and the EPA have officers authorised to inspect construction sites and issue infringement notices. Members of the public are able to report pollution problems to the Council and the EPA. There are harsh penalties for non-compliance including fines of up to $1,000 from the Council for the breach of local laws and up to $240,000 from the EPA. Serious offences can result in jail. The EPA has recently prosecuted a number of companies for allowing sediments and other materials to be washed from construction sites into local waterways. What should be done on major construction sites? Irrespective of whether you have a small or large construction site, the ultimate aim is to avoid the discharge of any pollutants from the site into nearby drains and waterways. On larger construction sites implementing environmental best practice can be achieved through careful site planning and management. Implementing best practice means taking action to prevent stormwater pollution before it occurs. This is the best way to avoid pollution and ensure compliance with stormwater and pollution requirements. A construction management plan may be required for larger sites. The Council has some discretion in determining when a construction management plan is required. It may require a construction management plan: o as a condition of planning approval o on receipt of a building permit application o on notification that building activities are to

commence. Council officers can explain the requirements and advise whether you must prepare a construction management plan for your site.

How can management practices be developed? One of the most important steps in stormwater management is site planning. You will save time and money by planning before construction begins. This can be done as part of the construction management plan. The construction management plan must consider stormwater and also the control of noise, dust, traffic management, placement of hoardings, skips, site safety and any other issues required by the Council.

Identify the lowest point of the site and the point of discharge for stormwater and plan your management techniques around this. Your construction management plan should include a site plan, drawn to scale. The plan should show information such as: o existing and proposed works o site gradients o the lowest point o drainage systems o boundaries o soil conditions o access points. The plan should consider: o Vehicle access: where will it be and how will

mud on vehicle wheels be prevented from leaving the site?

o Stock piles: these must be located away

from drainage lines and covered or stabilised to prevent material washing or blowing away.

o Waste storage and disposal: this includes

waste such as construction materials, general litter, cements, paints and slurries—where will they be stored and how will they be disposed of?

o Water discharge: will water need to be

pumped from the site? Is there a place to treat the water before it is pumped out?

8

Source: K

nox City C

ouncil Building S

ite Brochure

o Sediment and erosion control: what methods are appropriate for the site? Are the soils highly erodible? How can all sediment be contained on site? Methods to consider include: sediment control fences, straw bale filters, gravel inlet filters.

o Dust control: will dust from brick and cement

cutting end up in the drain? Are coolant and containment waters properly disposed of?

o Concrete cutting: will concrete and brick

cutting be required? where can it be conducted on site? how will the dust and wash water be managed to prevent its discharge to drains?

The plan should also reinforce good practices: Concrete: excess concrete and water from washing out trucks should be contained on site in a pond which allows excess water to drain and concrete to set. Avoid washing cement down the drain.

Landscaping: stabilise, re-grass and mulch disturbed areas to prevent soil erosion and runoff. Install efficient irrigation systems and use drought tolerant plants to reduce water consumption and runoff. Litter and packaging: put all rubbish in a suitable container (e.g. large bin or skip). Where possible recycle or reuse materials. Painting and plastering: brush off excess paint and plaster onto newspaper and put it in the bin. Any excess paint or wash-up liquids should be stored in a container and allowed to evaporate or be discharged on site. Do not wash them down the drain. Stockpiles: sand, soil and other landscape materials should be stored on site. Cover the piles with plastic and install cut off drains and filters such as hay bales to prevent runoff. Coordinate deliveries of soil, screening and mulch so that they can be used the same day.

Example of site plan

Source: K

nox City C

ouncil Building S

ites Brochure

9

Chemical wastes: do not pour any chemicals, (including herbicides and pesticides) down the drain. Brick works and cutting: when cutting bricks and paving use some type of filter to collect the sediment. Undertake the cutting on site. Do not allow polluted water to run off site into the gutter. Connecting stormwater drainage: connect drainage systems as soon as possible to prevent sites becoming excessively boggy. How should the plan be implemented? The plan should be administered by the site manager. All contractors and workers on the site should be required to comply with the plan. Where to get more information? Further Information There are many publications available to help you prepare your site management plan and decide on the appropriate stormwater management techniques for your site, including the following: Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection (LGPro, 2002) This booklet provides information about the sorts of specifications you can give to contractors to ensure their practices do not result in pollution on your site. It is available at: http://www.lgpro.com/media/finalspecstorm.pdf Keeping Our Stormwater Clean—a guide for building sites (VSAP, 2003) This booklet has many ideas for sediment and erosion control on smaller sites and many of the ideas are applicable to larger construction sites. The booklet has useful contacts and supplier information for products for use in sediment and erosion control. Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control (EPA Publication 275, 1991) This booklet is aimed at larger construction sites and offers a number of options for sediment prevention and control. This document is incorporated into the State Planning Policy Framework. It must therefore be considered by the Responsible Authority when it assesses development applications. Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA Publication 480, 1996) This booklet provides detailed information on all aspects of site management for environmental protection, including stormwater management. Site Management Plan Guidelines (Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Wyndham City Council, July 2002) This booklet provides guidance on developing site management plans for sites greater than one hectare. While developed specifically for these councils, it provides general information that can be applied to sites within the City of Melbourne. Who to contact Many of the above documents are available on the internet or from the Sustainable Regulatory Services Branch of City of Melbourne. This department can also provide advice on preparing management plans on 9658 9100. The following organisations have all been active in researching and preparing material on best practice management of stormwater. Their web sites provide valuable information on stormwater management and also links to other relevant projects and programs.

10

Victorian Stormwater Action Program http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Programs/Stormwater Stormwater Industry Association Victoria http://www.stormwater.asn.au/vic Municipal Association of Victoria http://www.mav.asn.au Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology http://www.catchment.crc.org.au Clearwater Program www.clearwater.asn.au Melbourne Water www.melbournewater.com.au


11

Source: C

ity of Casey

Stormwater management for small construction sites Did you know? Rubbish and other pollutants washed down the drains in the City of Melbourne flow into the Yarra River, Moonee Ponds Creek or Maribyrnong River and, ultimately pollute Port Phillip. Construction activity is one of the major sources of pollution. If not managed properly, paints and chemicals as well as sediment from material stockpiles and excavation sites can be washed down the drain and into the waterways. Apart from being unattractive the pollutants in the waterways can kill fish and pose a risk to human health. Any concrete washed into drains can set in the drains thus blocking the drains and causing flooding and costly repairs.

It is important that all construction projects, whether large or small, are managed to prevent stormwater pollution. Reasons for managing cons truction sites to avoid pollution: • Reduce safety hazards at construction sites • Help to keep the City of Melbourne’s

waterways clean. • Enable compliance with State and local laws

What does this fact sheet provide? This guideline provides information for managing activities at small construction sites so they avoid causing pollution. It includes information on: o what you should do to prevent stormwater

pollution o the consequences of not managing

stormwater correctly o where to get more information. What controls exist for managing pollution from construction sites? The Environment Protection Act 1970 prohibits the discharge of pollutants to waterways. This includes accidental and deliberate discharges of pollutants either directly to the waterways or through the stormwater drainage system. There are strong penalties for non-compliance including fines of up to $1,000 from the Council for the breach of local laws and up to $240,000 from the EPA. Serious offences can result in jail. The EPA has recently prosecuted a number of companies for allowing sediments and other materials to be washed from construction sites into local waterways.

What can you do to prevent pollution from small constructions sites? Before you start work, think about how you will prevent stormwater pollution. Brick works and cutting When cutting bricks and paving use some type of filter to collect the sediment. Undertake the cutting on site. Do not allow polluted water to run off site into the gutter.

12

Chemical wastes Do not pour any chemicals (including herbicides and pesticides) down the drain. Connecting stormwater drainage Connect drainage systems as soon as possible to prevent sites becoming excessively boggy. Concrete Excess concrete and water from washing out trucks should be contained on site in a pond which allows excess water to drain and concrete to set. Avoid washing cement down the drain. Litter and packaging Put all rubbish in a suitable container (e.g. large bin, skip or wire basket). Where possible recycle or re-use materials. Landscaping Stabilise, re-grass and mulch disturbed areas to prevent soil erosion and runoff. Install efficient irrigation systems and use drought tolerant plants to reduce water consumption and runoff. Painting & Plastering Brush off excess paint and plaster onto newspaper and put it in the bin. Any excess paint or wash-up liquids should be stored in a container and allowed to evaporate or be discharged on site. Do not wash them down the drain. Stockpiles Sand, soil and other landscape materials should be stored on site. Cover the piles with plastic and install cut–off drains and filters such as hay bales to prevent runoff. Coordinate deliveries of soil screening and mulch so they can be used the same day. What if the site is very small? Many residential sites in the City of Melbourne do not have sufficient room to store building materials and rubbish on-site. You need to discuss with Council the best option for your situation. This will depend on front and rear access, the size of footpaths and the area in which you live. Materials can be stored in a stock pile inside a

skip and once the material is used the skip can be used for rubbish. Where to get more information? There are many publications available that contain information on how to prevent stormwater pollution from construction sites. They include: o Best Practice Guide for Building Site

Management and SiteSmart Brochures (Melbourne Water)

o Keeping Our Stormwater Clean—a guide for building sites (VSAP, 2003)

o Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control (EPA Publication 275)

o Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA Publication 480)

o Site Management Plan Guidelines (Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Wyndham City Council, July 2002)

o Demolition Handbook (EcoRecycle) Many of the above documents are available on the internet or from the Sustainable Regulatory Services branch of City of Melbourne. The following organisations have all been active in researching and preparing material on best practice management of stormwater. Their web sites provide valuable information on stormwater management and also links to other relevant projects and programs. o Victorian Stormwater Action Program

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Programs/Stormwater/ o Municipal Association of Victoria

http://www.mav.asn.au o CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRC-CH)

http://www.catchment.crc.org.au/ o Clearwater Program

www.clearwater.com.au o Melbourne Water

www.melbournewater.com.au


13

Source: Lascorp w

ebsite

Stormwater management for building and construction workers

Did you know? Your rubbish and other pollutants washed down the drains in the City of Melbourne flow into the Yarra River, Moonee Ponds Creek or Maribyrnong River and, ultimately, Port Phillip. Construction activity is one of the major sources of pollution. If not managed properly, paints and chemicals as well as sediment from material stockpiles and excavation sites can be washed down the drain and into the waterways. Apart from looking ugly in the waterways, the pollutants can kill fish and pose a risk to human health. Any concrete washed into drains can easily set and cause blockages, often resulting in flooding and costly repairs.

It is important that all construction projects, whether large or small, are managed to prevent stormwater pollution. Reasons for managing construction sites to avoid pollution: • Reduce safety hazards at construction sites • Help to keep the City of Melbourne’s

waterways clean. • Enable compliance with State and local laws

What does this fact sheet contain? This fact sheet provides information on what you should do prevent stormwater pollution. What controls exist for managing pollution from construction sites? City of Melbourne has two local laws which allow for the enforcement of good stormwater management practice. Under the Activities Local Law, the Council may require a construction management plan for larger construction sites. The Environment Protection Act 1970 prohibits the discharge of pollutants to waterways. This includes accidental and deliberate discharges of pollutants either directly to the waterways or through the stormwater drainage system. Developers and site managers are responsible for ensuring their sites do not cause pollution and they must comply with both State and local laws. Anyone who does not comply with Council’s local laws or who causes pollution can be prosecuted. There are harsh penalties for non-compliance including fines of up to $1,000 from the Council for the breach of local laws and up to $240,000 from the EPA. Serious offences can result in jail. The EPA has recently prosecuted a number of companies for allowing sediments and other materials to be washed from construction sites into local waterways. The following page provides information on how building and construction workers can prevent stormwater pollution.

14

What can you do to prevent stormwater pollution? Brick works and cutting o Undertake cutting on site, not over the

gutter. o Do not allow cooling or lubricating water to

run off site into the gutter. Concrete o Do not wash out concrete mixers, trucks or

tools into drains. Chemical wastes o Do not pour any chemicals including paints,

solvents, herbicides and pesticides) oils or greases down the drain.

o Be careful when using herbicides, pesticides and oils so they do not spill into drains or waterways.

Painting and plastering o Do not pour paint or plaster down the drain. o Dry painting and plastering equipment in

newspaper. Stockpiles o Ensure sand, soil and other landscape

materials are stored on site. o Coordinate deliveries so that sand, soil and

other landscape materials are not dumped in the street in drains or over grates.

Ensure sand, soil and other landscape materials are stored on site .

Litter and packaging o Put all rubbish in on-site bins. o Where possible recycle or reuse materials. Stormwater drains o Do not cut existing on site drains without the

site manager’s approval. Cleaning o Brush or wash mud from tyres before trucks

leave the site. o Do not wash vehicles or equipment in the

driveway or on the street. o Do not hose down paths and driveways,

sweep them instead. Landscaping o Minimise excavations and the clearing of

vegetation. o Stabilise steep banks and disturbed areas to

prevent erosion. Where to get more information? An environmental management plan or construction management plan will have been prepared for major construction sites. See the site manager or environmental officer for more details. Further information can be obtained from the Sustainable Regulatory Services Branch of City of Melbourne, call 9658 9100 or visit the website: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au


Source: City of M

elbourne

15

Stormwater management for construction and building sites Information for council staff

Stormwater Management at City of Melbourne. With an increasing focus on environmental protection from building and construction activities, Council staff need to be aware of all the information that is available to them. This fact sheet summarises stormwater management requirements for Council, identifying key units, responsibilities and regulation. Relevant publications have also been listed for further information. This fact sheet should be referred to in conjunction with the other four fact sheets in this series. Why improve stormwater management? Besides legislative requirements to protect the environment, improving site management of building and construction sites can also have benefits: • for the developer (less material loss and

minimise the risk of fines) • workers (safer work place and less clean up

required); and • Council (more liveable city and better amenity). Economics When sediment and other building rubbish is washed or blown into the drainage system it can cause blockages which in turn can cause flooding. Regular cleaning out of drains or replacing infrastructure is expensive and time consuming and can greatly impact on the community while roads are closed to undertake works. Social Sediment and other construction waste affects the community by affecting the amenity of the municipality. Sediment and rubbish on the footpath and roads can create safety issues, while litter is unsightly and materials stored off-site can affect access of road and footpath traffic. Environment Sediment, cement, paint and other chemicals, rubbish and general building and construction wastes can have a major impact on the environment and ecological health of waterways. Litter can strangle or choke animals, while sediment will

smother plants, choke animals or prevent animals from finding food. Responsibilities within Council There are several branches within Council that have some responsibility for stormwater management with the municipality. Sustainable Regulatory Services (Planning and Building Certification and Inspection) has primary responsibility, while City Assets and Services and City Projects (Contract Management) also have roles to play. Planning Council currently has limited opportunity to improve stormwater management through its Planning Scheme. The Council has some general environmental conditions that may be included on a Planning Permit, however they are not commonly used. If a particular planning application causes concern or receives a number of environmental based objections, the planning team may require a construction management plan as a planning permit condition (see below). Building Certification and Inspection The Building Certification and Inspection Branch, play a major role in building and construction site management. The branch is responsible for enforcing the Activities Local Law 1999 and construction management plan. When the branch is notified about a site, either through the planning system or through the Activities Local Law requirement to notify about the commencement of works, a proponent may be required to prepare a construction management plan. (see later section) Contract Management The Contract Management Branch has some general environmental conditions for inclusion in Council contracts. They are fairly general and do not specifically deal with off-site discharges.

16

Civil Infrastructure Contract Management This group primarily manages the CityWide contract and is primarily responsible for drain cleaning and maintenance. CityWide has developed an environment management plan for its activities however there is still a need to improve the reporting and auditing process from the Council perspective. Construction Management Plan The construction management plan was initially introduced to manage public safety issues around construction sites. A construction management plan may be requested by the Building Certification and Inspection Branch if they believe there are specific issues with a site, e.g. traffic management, noise control, use of items such as hoardings, skips, barriers and any other relevant issue which may impact on public safety and amenity. A construction management plan usually identifies the risks associated with a site and how they are to be mitigated or addressed. As part of the construction management plan, it may be necessary to develop a site environmental management plan to address off-site pollution risks and how they can be prevented or mitigated. The site environmental management plan may be as simple as a one page site layout diagram identifying risks and mitigating actions, or be more involved running into many pages. This will depend on the size of the site, specific site issues or risks. If required to develop a construction management plan, it is necessary to discuss with the Building Certification and Inspection Branch the specific details of the plan. Call City of Melbourne hotline: 9658 9658

Local Laws Council has two local laws which are used to protect the environment from building and construction site discharges. Activities Local Law 1999 The Activities Local Law has several clauses that pertain to building and construction sites. Part 8 of the Activities Local Law contains provisions to improve the amenity of the municipality, in particular residential areas, by minimising nuisances caused by building works. Nuisances include: noise, dust, discharges or spillage, vibrations, obstructions to pedestrians or traffic and conditions that pose a risk to public safety and amenity. As part of the Activities Local Law, 48 hours notice must be provided to Council informing them of the intention to commence works. At this time the Building Certification and Inspection Branch may require the development of a construction management plan to address certain issues, which may include pollution risks and stormwater management on-site. Environment Local Law 1999 The Environmental Local Law aims to promote and achieve responsible land management and environmental quality. The primary Environmental Local Law tool is an environmental management plan. Particular clauses within this plan to protect stormwater include: • the need to accept and demonstrate

responsibility for the cleanliness of the area adjacent to a premise

• the need to ensure that stormwater drainage connection from a premises remains in good order and repair

waste material must not be poured, emptied, swept, thrown or otherwise discharged onto a road or into a drain What Do other Authorities Require? When assessing planning applications it may be necessary to refer the application to another authority for comment. The planning scheme outlines when this is required.

17

EPA The Environment Protection Act 1970 gives power to any other agency which has responsibility under any other Act within Victoria with respect to the environment. The Council therefore has responsibility to ensure that they uphold environmental protection in all actions they undertake, approve or have responsibility over. The State Environment Protection Policy Schedule F7. Waters of the Yarra Catchment contains specific clauses (e.g. clause 22 and 23) directing Councils to manage all facets of run-off from urban land, built-up areas and main roads, including earthworks. The EPA website is a good source of information about best practice techniques for preventing off-site pollution. Melbourne Water Melbourne Water (MW) has primary drainage and waterway responsibility within the metropolitan area. Unless otherwise specified in the local planning scheme there is no need to refer planning applications to MW for construction and building activities unless there is a direct affect on MW infrastructure. MW is a good source of information about best practice techniques for preventing off-site pollution and have produced many practical reports on site management techniques. Key Stormwater Site Issues Associated with Building and Construction Sites. Key issues associated with building and construction sites are identified in the other facts sheets in this series (see below). Depending on the site, they vary from the storage of materials to the disposal of rubbish and packaging, disposal of paints and other chemicals, cutting bricks and paving and discharging rainwater from excavations. There are many sources of information available to help identify the risks associated with your site and how they can be addressed. The publications listed below identify many of these risks. Web addresses have been provided for easy navigation.

Types of Site Management Techniques There are many different types of site management techniques available and those required will depend on the specifics of the site. City of Melbourne has particular constraints as most construction sites have little or no off-site space there is a need to be innovative and to manage material deliveries and storage. Many site management techniques which use on-site measures or grassed areas to help mitigate sediment movement are not appropriate for our council. As well as this, many sites do not have off-site areas and are required to apply to Council to place skips and other materials on footpaths and roads. The requirements for a particular site need to be identified on a construction management plan or site management plan and discussed with a Council Building Certification and Inspection Branch officer to ensure all Council requirements are met. There are many good practices that can be implemented to effectively manage a site. Useful reports and additional information is available to assist you. A list of relevant publications with appropriate web addresses has been compiled for your interest. Other Facts Sheets in this series. There are five (5) facts sheets developed in this series to inform various parties about the management of off-site discharges from building and construction sites. The other four include: Facts Sheet 1 – Protecting our Waterways through Stormwater Management. This facts sheet gives a general overview of: • what stormwater management is • why it is important • where the stormwater goes • its effect on the environment • who is responsible for stormwater

management • what we can do to improve stormwater

management.

18

Facts Sheet 2 – Stormwater Management of Construction Sites. This facts sheet discusses: • the effect that construction sites can have on the

environment • what the developers responsibilities are • the benefits of better site management. Facts Sheet 3 – Stormwater Site Management for Small Building & Construction Sites This facts sheet outlines: • what needs to be addressed on a small building

or construction site to manage off-site discharges

• Council regulations and tips on how to manage environmental risks.

Facts Sheet 4 – What does Stormwater Management have to do with Me? (for Building and Construction Workers) This facts sheet summarises: • who is responsible for stormwater management • why it should happen from a workers

perspective • some helpful tips • diagrams and photos that show good practice. All four facts sheets contain a reference list of further information sources regarding general site management and best practice techniques. Further Information There are many documents, tools and other information available to help Council staff and the building and construction industry identify how they can correctly manage off-site discharges and decide on the appropriate stormwater management techniques for a site. The list below will help you get started. Many of these documents are available on the internet at the web addresses provided or from the Sustainable Development Division within Council.

References Contract Specifications for Stormwater Quality Protection (LGPro, 2002) This booklet provides information about the sorts of specifications you can give to contractors to ensure their practices do not result in pollution on your site. http://www.lgpro.com/media/final_spec_storm.pdf Keeping Our Stormwater Clean-a guide for building sites (VSAP, 2003) This booklet shows many ideas for sediment and erosion control on smaller sites. Many of the ideas are applicable to larger construction sites. The booklet also has useful contacts and supplier information for sediment and erosion control products. Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control (EPA Publication 275, 1991) This booklet is aimed at larger construction sites and offers a number of options for sediment prevention and control. This document is incorporated into the State Planning Policy Framework therefore it must be considered by the responsible authority when they assess development applications. Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites (EPA Publication 480, 1996) This booklet provides detailed information on all aspects of site management for environmental protection, including stormwater management. Site Management Plan Guidelines (Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Wyndham City Council, July 2002) This booklet provides guidance in developing site management plans for sites greater that one hectare. While developed specifically for these Council’s, it provides general information that can be applied to sites within the City of Melbourne. MAV/SIAV Capacity Building Program (CD)—Stormwater Management Kit - Building Sites This CD contains a range of information about building site best practice and includes copies of much of the information. It can be obtained from

19

Helpful Websites The following are some of the organisations involved in researching and preparing material on best practice management of stormwater. Their websites provide valuable information on stormwater management and also links to other relevant projects and programs. o Victorian Stormwater Action Program (VSAP)

www.epa.vic.gov.au/Programs/Stormwater/ o Stormwater Industry Association Victoria

http://www.stormwater.asn.au/vic/ o Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)

www.mav.asn.au/stormwater. o Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment

Hydrology (CRC-CH) http://www.catchment.crc.org.au/

o Melbourne Water www.melbournewater.com.au http://stormwater.melbournewater.com.au/

o Clearwater Program www.clearwater.asn.au


20

References

Author Date Title

Emails: Information provided by emails answering specific questions.

ABM September 2001

Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program. Model for Coastal and Marine Issues in Planning Schemes. September 2001.

ABM September 2001

Port Phillip Coastal and Marine Planning Program. Stormwater Implementation Project: Statutory Framework and Standards. September 2001.

ANZECC 2000a Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.

ANZECC 2000b Australian Guidelines for Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting – Summary.

Arcadian Solutions 2002 Do’s and Don’ts—Resourceful Construction and Demolition. An Arcadian Solutions Publications.

Bayside City Council Website Greywater Reuse.

Bayside City Council Website Rainwater Tanks.

Brimbank City Council et al. Website Site Management Plan (SMP) Guidelines.

Brimbank City Council et al. Website Stormwater Management.

Casey City Council 2002 Corporate Plan 1 July 2002–June 2005.

City of Ballarat Undated Copy of some standard environmental protection clauses for works in the Ballarat area.

City of Yarra Undated Builders’ Code of Practice & Waste Management Guidelines for Construction and Demolition Sites.

CRC for Catchment Hydrology 2002 MUSIC—Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation. Version 1.00. User Manual. May 2002.

Elias, Denise September 2001

Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne—Bulletin 4.

Elias, Denise September 2002

Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne—Bulletin 5.

EPA 1970 Environment Protection Act 1970.

EPA 1988 State Environment Protection Policies (Waters of Victoria).

EPA 1991 Construction Techniques for Sediment Pollution Control. Publication No. 275. May

EPA 1996 Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites. February. Publication No. 480.

EPA 1996 Code of Practice—Septic Tanks. EPA Publication 451.

EPA 1997 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria)—Schedule F6. Waters of Port Phillip Bay No S101 1997.

EPA 1999 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria—Schedule F7 Waters of the Yarra Catchment)

EPA 2000 Environmental Health of Streams in the Yarra River Catchment. February 2000.

EPA 2001 Draft State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria). Draft Policy and Policy Impact Assessment. Publication 795.

EPA 2001 Land Capability Assessment for Onsite Domestic Wastewater Management. EPA Publication 746.

EPA 2002 Corporate Plan 2002–2003.

EPA 2003 State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria). No. S 107.

EPA Website Stormwater Update Summer 2003.

Stormwater Management

VSAP Information

EPA (Ed) 2002 Keeping Our Stormwater Clean: A Guide for Building Sites.

EPA et al 2002a Protecting our Bays & Waterways—Partnership Agreement between EPA MAV and Melbourne Water for urban stormwater management in the Port Phillip and Westernport catchments.

21

Author Date Title

EPA et al Undated pamphlet

Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites: Keep Sediment and Litter on Site.

EPA et al. 2002 Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites: An information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with council regulations. A VSAP funded project.

EPA et al. 2002b Keeping our Stormwater Clean: A Guide for Building Sites. A VSAP funded project.

EPA New South Wales 2002 Environmental Best Management Practice Guideline for Concreting Contractors. October 2002.

EPA, MAV and MW 2002 Protecting our Bays & Waterways: Partnership Agreement between EPA, MAV and Melbourne Water for urban stormwater management in the Port Phillip and Westernport catchments.

Evangelisti & Associates, et al. 1997 Evaluation of Constructed Wetlands in Perth. Prepared for Waters and Rivers Commission. December 1997.

Glenelg Hopkins CMA 2002 Glenelg Hopkins Regional Catchment Strategy 2002/2007.

Greater Shepparton City Council 2002 Copy of Planning Scheme amendments relating to proposed references to stormwater management planning.

Hume City Council 2001 Local Law No. 1 (Amendment) Local Law.

Jaquet F. 2002 Water Sensitive Urban Design—A Landscape Architect’s perspective. Laycock and Jaquet Landscape Architects. Proceedings of AWA/SIAV Changing Colours of Water Seminar. October 2002 Melbourne.

KBR 2001 Manningham Stormwater Management Plan.

Kingston City Council 2002 Building Site Local Law.

Kingston City Council 2002b Improvement to Building Site Practices for Stormwater Protection. Kingston City Council website.

Kingston City Council Website Local Law: Improvement to Building Site Practices for Stormwater Protection.

Kingston City Council (Ed) 2003 Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites—Draft Final Project Report. February.

Knox City Council 2002 SiteSmart—Best Practice Guide for Building Site Management.

Knox City Council Undated pamphlet

SiteSmart—Construction Site Best Practice Guide.


SiteSmart—Management practices to control litter, sediment, erosion and wastes on your building site.


SiteSmart—Management practices to prevent pollution from your site.

Lewis, Justin 2002 Effectiveness of Stormwater Litter Traps for Syringe and Litter Removal. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Report prepared for Melbourne Water Corporation.

Lloyd, Sara D. 2001 Water Sensitive Urban Design in the Australian Context: Synthesis of a conference held 30–31 August 2000, Melbourne, Australia. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Technical Report 01/7. September 2001.

Manningham City Council 2002b Don’t flush it away —Caring for our water. Flyer.

MAV 2001 Model Municipal Domestic Wastewater Management Plan. October 2001.

MAV 2002a 2002 Victorian Local Government Environment Management Survey—Programs Resources and Management Approaches. Main Report.

MAV 2002b Municipal Domestic Wastewater management Planning: Issues and Options Paper (Draft for Comment) February 2002.

MAV Website 2002 Victorian Local Government Environment Management Survey: Programs, Resources and Management Approaches. Main Report. 2002.

MAV Website Local Government and Environmental Management of Stormwater—Case Study Number 7. 2001.

MAV/SIAV 2003 Stormwater Management Kit: Building Sites. CD with a compilation of information available on managing building and construction sites. March.

City of Melbourne 1999 Activities Local Law 1999 No. 1.

22

Author Date Title

City of Melbourne 1999 Creating a Sustainable Melbourne. Your complete guide to the Environment management Plan for the City of Melbourne.

City of Melbourne 1999 Environment Local Law 1999 No. 2.

City of Melbourne 2002 Corporate Plan 2002–2005: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

City of Melbourne 2002 City Plan 2010.

City of Melbourne 2002 City Plan: The City of Melbourne’s Municipal Strategic Statement 1999.

City of Melbourne 2003 Draft Municipal Strategic Statement 3 Year Review.

City of Melbourne Current Building Unit–Interpretation Manual Ver1. Internal intranet.

City of Melbourne Current COM–Building & Construction Permits (website).

City of Melbourne DOI website Planning Scheme Extracts—references to stormwater.

City of Melbourne February 2002

Waste Wise 2002–2005.

City of Melbourne Intranet Organisational Structure and Information.

City of Melbourne June 1999 Public Safety and Amenity: A Code of Practice at Construction Sites.

City of Melbourne June 2002 City Plan 2010: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

City of Melbourne March 2000 Fact Sheet: Building Works (Nuisance Abatement).

City of Melbourne March 2000 Fact Sheet: City of Melbourne Waste Services.

City of Melbourne March 2000 Fact Sheet: Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites Project Victorian Stormwater Action Program VSAP.

City of Melbourne October 2002

Annual Plan 2002–2003: Towards a Thriving Sustainable City.

City of Melbourne October 2002

Draft Sustainable Water Management Strategy.

City of Melbourne September 1999

Town Planning Standard Conditions and Reasons for Refusal.

City of Melbourne Undated Fact Sheet: Clean Up Your Butts Melbourne!

City of Melbourne Undated Fact Sheet: Dilapidated, Dangerous and Unsightly Premises.

City of Melbourne Undated Intranet

Building Branch Induction Manual Ver1.

City of Melbourne Undated (as at 5/5/2003)

Extract of Standard Environmental Contract Clauses.

City of Melbourne Website Organisational Structure and Information.

Melbourne Water 1999a Melbourne Water Corporation Environment and Community Obligation Report 1998/99.

Melbourne Water 1999b Litter Trap Selection Procedure. Draft Guidelines. November 1999.

Melbourne Water 2001a Infostream: Water quality monitoring, indicators and tests.

Melbourne Water 2001a Infostream: Summary Waterway Water Quality Data 2001.

Melbourne Water 2001b Infostream: Yarra River.

M elbourne Water Undated Managing our Water Resources.

Melbourne Water Undated Water quality —Providing healthy waterways information. Melbourne Water—Stormwater website.

Melbourne Water Website Media releases

—$1.8 million upgrade or major city stormwater drain—(Elizabeth Street Drain).

—$2 million Narre Warren wetland to treat stormwater.

—$510,000 Project to help clean up Moonee Ponds Creek.

Mitchell, Grace, Mein, Russell and McMahon, Tom

1999 The Reuse Potential of Urban Stormwater and Wastewater. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Industry Report. Report 99/14. December 1999.

Mudgway, L. B, Duncan, H. P, McMahon, T. A, Chiew, F. H. S

1997 Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines for Urban Stormwater. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Report 97/7. October 1997.

NABCWMB Undated Do It Right—Clean Site Information Sheets Series.

23

Author Date Title

NSW EPA 2002 Environmental Best Management Practice Guideline for Concreting Contractors. October 2002.

Pamminger F. 2002 Rainwater Tanks in the Context of Sustainable Water Management. Yarra Valley Water. Proceedings of AWA/SIAV Changing Colours of Water Seminar. October 2002. Melbourne.

PPK 2002 Site Management Plan Guidelines for Hobsons Bay, Brimbank and Wyndham City Councils. 19 July 2002.

PPK 2002 Site Management Plan Guidelines prepared for Hobsons Bay, Brimbank and Wyndham City Councils.

Robinson David 1999 Audit Protocol for the Victorian Water Quality Monitoring Network. EPA Victoria. June 1999

Sheridan Blunt 2003 Sustainable Water Program Steering Group. Minutes of Meeting. 6 February 2003

SIAV and MAV 2002 Stormwater Capacity Building Project—Project background and objectives. A VSAP funded project.



Taylor A. C. 2002 Non-structural stormwater quality best practice management practices —guidelines for monitoring and evaluation. Working Document 02/6. October. CRC for Catchment Hydrology.

Taylor A. C. 2002 The value of non-structural stormwater quality best management practices. Draft Technical Report. July. CRC for Catchment Hydrology.

Taylor A. C. and Wong, Tony 2002 Non-structural stormwater quality best management practices—An overview of their use, value, cost and evaluation. CRC for Catchment Hydrology. Technical Report. Report 02/11. December 2002.

Taylor, André 2002 Citywide or Regional Erosion and Sediment Control Programs – What Works, paper by André Taylor, Research Fellow, Urban Stormwater Quality Program, Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology (CRC-CH), 2002.

Victorian Stormwater Committee 1999 Urban Stormwater—Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines. CSIRO Publisher.

VSAP et. al. Undated Protecting Stormwater Quality from Building and Construction Sites—An information kit designed to help you protect stormwater quality from your building site and comply with council regulations. EPA Victoria.


Waterwatch Information Sheet Undated Waterwatch website.



WBM 2002 Specification for Stormwater Quality Protection. Prepared for LGPro.

Wong T.H.F. 2000 Improving Urban Stormwater Quality—From Theory to Implementation. Water. November/December 2000.

Wong, Tony H. F and Walker, Tracey

2002 Peer review and development of a stormwater Gross Pollutant Treatment Technology Assessment Methodology. Report prepared for NSW Environment Protection Authority. October 2002.

Yarra Valley Water 2002 Rainwater Tanks: A fresh approach to saving water. (Pamphlet).

24

Useful websites www.bayside.vic.gov.au www.brimbank.vic.gov.au www.calpboard.vic.gov.au www.casey.vic.gov.au www.catchment.crc.org.au www.clearwater.asn.au www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au www.epa.vic.gov.au www.kingston.vic.gov.au www.lgpro.com/media/final_spec_storm.pdf www.manningahm.vic.gov.au www.mav.asn.au www.melbournewater.com.au www.portphillip.vic.gov.au www.stormwater.asn.au www.stormwater.melbournewater.com.au

Attachment 3 Agenda Item 5.2

Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee 12 February 2004

1

SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT


CONNECTED AND ACCESSIBLE CITY

1: Transport Systems

What effect will the proposal have on the level of public transport and number of transport options/connections with the City of Melbourne?

AIMS:

Ensure a sustainable and highly integrated transport system services City needs and links key assets. (SD 1.5)

Deliver and provide access to facilities and services to support those living in, visiting and working in the City. (SD 3.2)

ISSUES

What additional capacity (i.e no of people/services, kms) will there be for sustainable transport options such as walking, cycling and public transport?

How will the proposal encourage increases (or declines) in pedestrian access, bicycle access and public transport connections between key services, public spaces and City assets?

How will the proposal improve (or reduce) the mobility of Melbourne's visitors, workers and residents especially people with a disability, older people, people with children inprams and low-income earners?

Impact: No impact

[no description of impact was required]

2: Transport Infrastructure

What effect will the proposal have on Melbourne's transport infrastructure?

AIMS:

Ensure that the City's transport infrastructure is world competitive and supports the Victorian economy (SD 1.1)

ISSUES

To what extent will the proposal increase (or decrease) the number (or frequency) of transport connections (sea, air, water, road) between Melbourne and local, national and international locations?

How will the proposal provide transport users with more (or fewer) transport options?

How will the proposal lead to a reduction (or increase) in transport costs within or between Melbourne and its local, national and international markets?

Impact: No impact


3: Communications Infrastructure

What effect will the proposal have on Melbourne's information technology and telecommunications infrastructure?

AIMS:

Ensure information and communication infrastructure and capacity meets world standards, is competitive and serves community and city needs. (SD 1.2)

2

ISSUES

Quantify or describe the increase in (or reduction) of the speed of telecommunication connections between Melbourne and local, national and international locations?

How many more people/businesses will have access to telecommunications services and technology as a result of this proposal?

Impact: No impact


INNOVATIVE AND VITAL BUSINESS CITY

1: Development of Key Business Sectors

What effect will the proposal have on the number and type of businesses and level of business investment in the City of Melbourne?

AIMS:

Promote and extend the City's role as Victoria's principal centre for commerce, professional, business and financial services (SD 2.3)

Develop and sustain a world class retail experience within the City core (SD 2.4)

Enhance the City's reputation as a 'start up city' by supporting the establishment and growth of small to medium sized businesses (SD 2.5)

Develop sustainable industrial clusters in advanced manufacturing and logistics. (SD 2.6)

Grow Melbourne's competencies as a globally-recognised, entrepreneurial and competitive 'Knowledge City' (SD 2.1)

ISSUES

How many new businesses will be attracted to (or lost from) the City of Melbourne as a result of this proposal?

Quantify or describe how the proposal will encourage increases in the number of start-up businesses and/or business incubators in the City of Melbourne?

What level of business investment will the proposal attract to Melbourne?

What will be the increase in turnover/revenue for businesses as a result of the proposal?

What effect will the proposal have on Melbourne's finance, retail, communications technology, biotechnology, environmental management, advanced manufacturing and tertiary education sectors?

How many more (or fewer) small to medium sized businesses will start up or relocate to Melbourne?

How will the proposal encourage a greater variety of small to medium sized businesses in the City?

Impact: Not applicable


2: Business Innovation

What effect will the proposal have on research and development in Melbourne?

AIMS:

Foster a civic and business culture that encourages and supports innovation in the pursuit of opportunity (SD 2.2).

ISSUES

Quantify the amount or percentage increase (or decreased) levels of investment in research and development in Melbourne?

Quantify the amount or percentage increase (or decrease) in the level of R and D funding and / or venture capital available to Melbourne enterprises?

How many strategic alliances or industry/business clusters will be created (or lost) as a result of the proposal?



3

3: Job Creation

What effect will the proposal have on the number and types of jobs available in the City of Melbourne?

AIMS:

Develop sustainable industrial clusters in advanced manufacturing and logistics. (SD 2.6)

Grow Melbourne's competencies as a globally-recognised, entrepreneurial and competitive 'Knowledge City' (SD 2.1)

Promote and extend the City's role as Victoria's principal centre for commerce, professional, business and financial services (SD 2.3)

Develop and sustain a world class retail experience within the City core (SD 2.4)

Enhance the City's reputation as a 'start up city' by supporting the establishment and growth of small to medium sized businesses (SD 2.5)

ISSUES

How many jobs will be created (or lost) as a result of the proposal? Will the jobs be long or short term?

What types of job will the proposal generate?

How many jobs opportunities will the proposal create (or remove) for the City's key sectors (ie retail, finance, communications technology, biotechnology, environmental management, advanced manufacturing and tertiary education sectors)?

Impact: No impact


INCLUSIVE AND ENGAGING CITY

1: Community Services

What effect will the proposal have on the quality, quantity and accessibility of education, leisure, cultural, health and other community services?

AIMS:

Deliver and provide access to facilities and services to support those living in, visiting and working in the City. (SD 3.2)

ISSUES

What will be the increase (or decrease) in the range and number of education, leisure, cultural, health and other services available to the community?

How will the proposal promote an improvement (or decline) in the quality of education, leisure, cultural, health and other services available to the community?



2: Active and Engaged Community

What effect will this proposal have on the development of a culturally diverse, healthy, equitable, active and involved community in Melbourne?

AIMS:

Welcome and facilitate all sectors of the community to participate in City life (SD 3.1)

Promote, celebrate and further develop Melbourne as a City for the Arts and a sporting capital with a rich and vibrant cultural life (SD 3.3)

ISSUES

How will the proposal increase (or decrease) the level of cultural activities within the public domain?

4

How will the proposal encourage more (or fewer) people to participate (actively and/or passively) in cultural, leisure and/or recreational activities?

How will the proposal lead to a reduction (or escalation) of health impacts and improvements (or declines) in community health?

Will the proposal provide more (or fewer) stakeholders with the opportunity to participate in Council's decision making processes?

Does the proposal reflect the multicultural nature of Melbourne's community?

Impact: No impact


3: Cultural and Heritage Value of Built Form

What effect will this proposal have on the cultural heritage of Melbourne's neighbourhoods and buildings?

AIMS:

Protect Melbourne's distinctive physical character and ensure it continues to develop a 'strong sense of place and identity' (SD 3.5).

ISSUES

Will the proposal facilitate the protection (or loss) of buildings, precincts or areas of significant cultural or heritage value in Melbourne?

Will the proposal be compatible with the existing built form and streetscape?



4: Welcoming and Safe Public Space

What effect will the proposal have on the safety and amenity of the public environment eg streets, laneways, parks and gardens?

AIMS:

Welcome and facilitate all sectors of the community to participate in City life (SD 3.1)

Enhance the quality of the existing public and private built form and further develop the City as an exemplary urban environment. (SD 3.6)

ISSUES

How will the proposal facilitate a reduction (or increase) in crime in the City's public spaces?

How will the proposal improve (or undermine) public perception of safety in the City?

How will the proposal improve physical safety?

How will the proposal lead to an increase (or decrease) in the amenity of the public environment (eg toilets, seating, street furniture, tactile surfaces, signage)?

What increase will there be in the amount and accessibility of public spaces available to meet the community's diverse needs?

Is the proposal compatible with surrounding land use?

Does it require a change in land use?

Impact: Positive impact Magnitude: Minimum Likelihood: Low


5

ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE CITY

1: Energy Use and Greenhouse Emissions

What effect will the proposal have on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with Council and/or community activities?

AIMS:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated in the City of Melbourne (SD 4.1)

ISSUES

By what percentage / amount will this proposal reduce (or increase) the Council's or the municipality's total energy consumption?

Quantify and/or describe improvements (or decline) in the energy efficiency of the Council's operations and/or community activities?

Has the built form been designed to maximise energy efficiency?

By what percentage / amount (tonnes) will this proposal reduce (or increase) total greenhouse gas emissions arising from Council and community activities?

What will be theincrease (or decrease) of availability of renewable energy for Council and/or community use?

How will the proposal encourage (or discourage) the substitution of high emission fuels with lower emission alternatives?

Impact: No impact


2: Resource Use and Waste Generation

What effect will the proposal have on the total quantity and type of waste, including prescribed waste, generated by Council and/or community activities?

AIMS:

Encourage efficiencies in resource use and waste reduction within the City (SD 4.2)

ISSUES

How, and by what amount, will the proposal encourage (or discourage) greater rates of waste recovery, reuse and/or recycling?

What will be the reduction (or increase) in the quantity of non-renewable materials used by the Council and/or the community?

How, and by what amount, will the proposal encourage (or discourage) greater use of renewable, recyclable and recycled materials?

By what percentage / amount will this proposal reduce (or increase) the total quantity of waste generated by Council activities and/or in the municipality?

How and by what amount (tonnes/ litres) will this proposal reduce (or increase) the amount of prescribed waste generated by Council activities and/or in the municipality?

Impact: Positive impact Magnitude: Moderate Likelihood: Medium


3: Pollution

What effects will the proposal have on the use of hazardous materials and levels of pollution (air, noise, soil, and water) in the region?

AIMS:


ISSUES

How will the proposal result in an improvement (or decline) in local air quality (ie from mobile or stationary sources)?

6

How will the proposal facilitate an improvement (or decline) in the levels of noise pollution effecting commercial and private residents?

Will the proposal lead to a vehicle load increase/compaction of soil (or decrease) on sites?

How will the proposal facilitate an improvement (or decline) in the quality of stormwater run-off?

How will the proposal encourage (or discourage)the substitution of non-renewable materials and / or hazardous materials with resources that are less environmentally harmful?

Impact: Positive impact Magnitude: Moderate Likelihood: High


4: Water Consumption

What effect will the proposal have on the quantity of water consumed and disposed of by the Council and/or in the municipality?

AIMS:


ISSUES

By what percentage/amount will this proposal reduce (or increase) the Council's (or municipality's) total water consumption?

How much wastewater will be generated annually by the proposal?

How much waste or stormwater will be recovered and reused per annum (percentage/litres)?

Impact: Positive impact Magnitude: Minimum Likelihood: Low


5: Flora and Fauna

What effect will this proposal have on flora and fauna in the City of Melbourne on private and public land and in the aquatic environment?

AIMS:

Protect and enhance the City's biodiversity (SD 4.3)

ISSUES

What will be the net increases (or decrease) in the total number of native plants and animals found within the City of Melbourne?

What will be the increase (or decrease) in the number of species in the City of Melbourne?

What will be the impact on the health and habitat of native vegetation and animals?

Impact: Positive impact Magnitude: Moderate Likelihood: Medium


Sheridan Blunt

Sustainable Water Program Coordinator

Manager Approval: _____________________________ Date: __ / __ / __

Director Approval: _____________________________ Date: __ / __ / __

Agenda Item 5.2 Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee

12 February 2004

FINANCE ATTACHMENT

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION SITES

The project was primarily funded through a grant of $22,000 received in 2001/02 from the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Victoria Stormwater Action Program.

Additional funding will be considered as part of the forthcoming 2004/2005 budget.

Kerrie Jordan Acting Manager Financial Services

Agenda Item 5.2 Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee

12 February 2004

LEGAL ATTACHMENT

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION SITES

The Regulatory Framework contained in the Stormwater Guidelines for Building and Construction (Attachment 1 to the report) provides a comprehensive overview of the legislative powers available to Council relating to stormwater management.

Kim Wood Acting Manager Governance Services