Services
We are based in Western Australia, but we offer our services Australia-wide.
Environmental approvals and licencing
Most of ECA’s environmental approvals experience is on projects in either New South Wales or Western Australia.
Western Australian State environmental approvals are granted under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA). These can include environmental approvals under Part IV or works approvals and environmental licensing under Part V.
In New South Wales, environmental approvals are regulated under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 2000 (NSW).
Annual Environmental Reports (AER’s) and Annual Audit Compliance Reports (AACR’s)
Environmental approvals typically require the preparation of Annual Environmental Reports (AER’s) or Annual Audit Compliance Reports (AACR). We are experienced in reviewing and preparing these reports, and are available to assist with data collection, analysis and interpretation.
Site and soil evaluations (SSE) for wastewater irrigation
Onsite wastewater management systems are used where there is no available reticulated sewer.
Wastewater is treated onsite and is then either beneficially used for irrigation or disposed of in adsorption trenches or beds.
Site and soil evaluations (SSE) assess the capacity of the land to receive treated wastewater from an onsite wastewater management system.
Surface water and groundwater monitoring
Activities such as wastewater irrigation have potential to impact the quality of surface water or groundwater. Many environmental approvals require monitoring of surface and groundwater parameters and reporting of results to the regulatory body.
Dust deposition monitoring
Monitoring of dust deposition is undertaken to discern if the level of deposited dust is considered to be excessive.
Monitoring of dust deposition involves installing dust deposition funnels in the field and measuring the amount of dust that falls over a monthly period.
Soil assessments and monitoring
ECA routinely assesses the suitability of soils for various land-uses (e.g. agricultural land-uses, wastewater irrigation, site rehabilitation etc).
These investigations often include soil test pitting and field logging of soil profiles in combination with recording soil physical properties, measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity and/or collection of soil samples for laboratory analysis.
Electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys
EMI instruments are non-invasive and measure changes in the bulk soil electrical conductivity (ECa) of soil.
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ECA routinely undertakes EMI surveys with a Geonics EM38B to map the ECa of soil to a depth of up to 1.5 metres. This in turn allows for targeted soil sampling to assess potential soil constraints.
Agricultural assessments
ECA provide a range of assessments related to agricultural land capability and agricultural land uses.