Protection of Flora and Fauna

Rare Frogs Calling Steelworks Home

The Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) was once common around areas of NSW, the ACT and Victoria. They are now endangered species.

Large breeding colonies exist at our Port Kembla Steelworks, where a colony of the frogs was discovered in a disused and partially flooded railway cutting in 1996.

BlueScope Steel participates in a Southern Cross University study of the colony, which includes monitoring of population numbers, travel patterns and habitat water quality. The site represents the third largest colony of Green and Golden Bell Frogs in New South Wales.

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Keeping Fish and Eels on the Move at New Zealand Steel

The migration of eels and fish past a water supply dam on New Zealand's Wainui Stream is being made easier, thanks to a purpose-designed fish-pass.

The dam, constructed in the early 70s, supplies water for the Taharoa iron sand mine operated by New Zealand Steel.

The development of the fish-pass at Taharoa has been ongoing since 1972. It is now thought to be suitable for all fish species except the juvenile grey mullet. This particular species is a very slow swimmer, and is believed to avoid even the slightest obstruction to its passage (such as the fish-pass entrance).

To solve the problem, a trial was conducted by New Zealand Steel involving the transfer of juvenile grey mullet from below the dam into Lake Taharoa. In terms of capture and release, the trial was successful. Continuing monitoring will determine whether the juveniles are surviving.

With the agreement and cooperation of the local Maori community, New Zealand Steel intends to undertake further transfer operations.

Studies are also being undertaken by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to see what can be done to improve the migration rate for elvers (juvenile eel) which climb the wall of the dam.

Once past the dam wall, the fish and eels have to be protected from being sucked into the water abstraction intakes.

Additional studies conducted for New Zealand Steel by biological consultants have found that the protection measures in place at the two water abstraction points were working well in protecting the juvenile fish and eel.

These protection measures include siting of one of the intakes some 20 metres from the river bank and jet-spraying water over the intake to create turbulence, and siting the second intake off the main river channel by creating an artificial channel from the river bank, with placement of fine mesh screens over the intake point. Additionally, gates are lowered across both intakes when not in use.

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The Birds of Port Kembla

A recent bird census at our Port Kembla Steelworks revealed no less than 39 species have been observed on at least one occasion. Of these, it is believed half are permanently resident within the Works, while most of the remainder are frequent visitors.

Wading birds appear to be particularly attracted to the harbour, the open drainage channels, and the various ponds situated within the Steelworks. Many of these water bodies support substantial fish populations and other food sources for the wading birds.

Ducks, moorhens and coots are known to breed on the ponds at the north-west end of the Processing Area.

The diversity of species and individual bird numbers at Port Kembla Steelworks is evidence of the environmental well-being of bird life at the site. The ongoing greening of the site is playing a part in creating a suitable environment for the birds.

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The Greening of BlueScope Steel Sites

At Port Kembla, hundreds of thousands of trees, shrubs and groundcovers have been established in 180 individual gardens around the Steelworks.

Australian native plants have been used for the majority of plantings, with preference given to local species. Large open areas and areas bordering car parks are planted to resemble forests, with both groundcovers and trees. These plantings provide a natural screen around the manufacturing areas, as well as successfully controlling windborne dust. Avenue plantings are being developed along major internal roads, and gardens built around maintenance areas and office complexes.

Local schools and employees are actively involved in the greening program, the success of which has been acknowledged with a number of community awards.

At New Zealand Steel, partial restoration of the site landfill has been undertaken to return the area to pasture.

Trees and shrubs have also been planted along the coastline of the Waiuku Estuary, and in the greenbelt surrounding the Iron and Steel Zone.

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Landscaping of Coal Wash Emplacements

Coalwash - the dirt and shale that is washed out of coal as part of the steelmaking process - has been transformed into a green landscape outside of Wollongong.

Coalwash from the Port Kembla Steelworks was taken to a site near the village of Wongawilli, where it was carefully contoured, top soiled, sown with grass and planted with trees.

This work was overseen by a consultative group comprising representatives from Wollongong City Council, the Environmental Protection Authority, the Department of Land and Water Conservation and ourselves.

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Replacing a Wetland at Ohio

Together with our partner North Star Steel, we have created a unique replacement wetland at the site of our mini-mill in Delta, Ohio, in the USA.

As part of the initial development approval in 1995, the partners were required to replace two hectares of wet forest land that would form part of the developed site with three hectares of similar wet forest land in another area.

Recognising a broader responsibility, we decided to replace the two acres with eight acres rather than three. The principal objective was to produce a forested wetland that would recreate the original habitat and support wildlife and recreational uses.

The site chosen for the new wetland was a fallow agricultural field. The topsoil was removed and stockpiled (to be returned as the final surface layer). The bottom was graded to create an impermeable basin, a series of deeper depressions dug with interconnecting channels to form ponds, and a low head dam created to regulate high water levels. The stockpiled surface soils were then replaced.

Several loads of topsoil excavated from the original wetland were also spread on the surface to "seed" the new wetland with plants from the natural wetland. Additional native wetland species were planted.

An ongoing monitoring program has been in place to ensure the wetlands are serving their functions - one of which is to educate the community and local schools. Trails and plaques have been placed in the wetlands to inform visitors of wetland functions and values, and a partnership established with the local school system to use the wetland as an outdoor classroom.

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