Emphasizing Environmental Management and Monitoring - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 462

10.2 MANAGEMENT REQUIRES MEASUREMENT

Mitigation measures, although designed in good faith, may fail to live up to their expecta-
tion or potential. Monitoring evaluates the success or failure of environmental management.
Environmental monitoring is a well-researched and documented discipline, not only because
of its importance, but due to the considerable costs involved. The following section captures
some of the considerations that typically guide the design of a monitoring programme. For
detailed reading refer to Artiola et al . (2004), Kim and Platt (2007), and OECC (2000).

Monitoring evaluates the success
or failure of environmental
management.

Monitoring Objectives

Monitoring programmes can be established for a number of purposes, typically:
●

to quantify changes in physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the environ-
ment (such as ambient water quality or vegetation);

●

to ensure that results or conditions are as predicted during the planning stage, and
where they are not, to pinpoint the cause and implement action to remedy the situation;

●

to identify any unpredicted impacts requiring remedial measures;

●

to monitor emissions and discharges to ensure that they meet established standards
(such as stack emissions or decant water from tailings ponds);

●

to verify the evaluations made during the planning process, in particular in risk and
impact assessments and standard and target setting, and to measure operational and
process efi ciency;

●

to measure changes in the inter-relationships of different aspects of the environment
(such as metal contents in water and i sh tissue);

●

to determine whether environmental change is a result of project activities or a result
of other activities or natural variation (such as l uctuations in water levels);

●

to determine whether adopted mitigation measures are effective ('You can only man-
age what you measure.');

'You can only manage what you
measure.'

●

to provide factual data that can be used to refute unfounded claims by opponents of
the project;

●

to monitor whether procedures, for example grievance mechanisms, emergency
response plans or rehabilitation measures, are working effectively; and

●

to provide the basis for mine auditing.

Monitoring will coni rm that management commitments are being met, or not.
Monitoring may take the form of direct measurement and recording of quantitative infor-
mation, such as amounts and concentrations of emissions, for measurement against corpo-
rate or statutory standards, consent limits or targets. It may also require measurement of
ambient environmental parameters in the vicinity of the mine site using ecological or bio-
logical, physical, and chemical indicators. Equally importantly, monitoring programmes
are also concerned with socioeconomic interactions, including local liaison activities and
the assessment of complaints or grievances.
The preventative approach to management may also require the monitoring of process
inputs, for example, type and stocks of chemicals used, resource consumption, and the
efi ciency and performance of plant and equipment. Malfunction of equipment is, in fact,
one of the major contributors to environmental damage, although this is often overlooked.
Where hazardous materials are to be stored, used or processed, an inventory should be
maintained, and the monitoring programme should pay particular attention to the most
labile and most toxic or hazardous of these.

Monitoring programmes are also
concerned with socioeconomic
interactions, including local liaison
activities and the assessment of
complaints or grievances.