When is a declaration required?
The handling of explosion risk goods at a berth in a port in amounts exceeding 30 tonnes requires the berth operator to apply for a special berth (non-explosives) declaration from the department’s Chief Dangerous Goods Officer in accordance with regulation 135H of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007.
A special berth declaration is valid for five years.
Explosion risk goods
Explosion risk goods are defined in regulation 135B of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007. They are a group of seven Division 5.1 dangerous goods that contain either ammonium nitrate or calcium hypochlorite. By far the most common explosion risk goods found in Western Australia are solid ammonium nitrate of UN 1942 and UN 2067. The next most common explosion risk goods are ammonium nitrate emulsions or suspensions or gels of UN 3375.
Refer to r. 135B of Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007 for the definition of explosion risk goods.
Refer to rr. 135H, 135I, 135J and 135K of Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007 for details of the declaration process for special berths.
Who can apply?
An application for a special berth declaration may only be lodged by the harbour master of the port or the berth operator. Where the applicant is a berth operator and the port authority is responsible for the berth, there should be consultation and agreement between those parties on the application submission.
Required information
The completed application must be signed by the authorised person and lodged with
- an aerial photo of the berth and its surroundings on which are marked concentric circles with radii of 500 m, 1,000 m and 2,000 m from the centre of the berth
- a risk assessment of the berth that complies with regulation 135J(1) of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007
- an implementation plan that complies with regulation 135J(2) of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007
- an emergency plan that complies with regulation 75 of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007.
Application fee
See below:
Go to Schedule of fees and charges for more information on licence fees.
Lodging the application
The completed and signed application form must be accompanied by:
- required information
- the fee
- this can be paid by credit card (details on application form)
- by cheque made payable to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
- cash payments can only be made when lodging in person.
Emailed to: cso@dmirs.wa.gov.au
Mailed to:
Dangerous Goods Licensing
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Locked Bag 100
East Perth WA 6892
Lodged in person:
303 Sevenoaks Street (entrance via Grose Avenue)
Cannington WA 6107
Related information
Transporting dangerous goods in limited quantities
Retaining special berth status
A special berth declaration is not renewed. To retain the special berth status, the proponent must apply for a declaration every 5 years, before the previous declaration expires.
Reporting an incident
Special berth operators are responsible for reporting accidents and incidents arising from their activities.
Applicable legislation
Australian Standard AS 3846 The handling and transport of dangerous cargoes in port areas, Standards Australia.
Contact
For any enquiries please contact Dangerous Goods Licensing
Phone: (08) 6251 2300
Email: cso@dmirs.wa.gov.au