B-6 – Area 6 – Assessment of Environmental Effects 63 5.12 LIGHTING EFFECTS An assessment of effects on the surrounding environment from artificial lighting associated with the WNP is provided in Pederson Read (2022), a copy of which is provided in Part H of these application documents. The construction of the NRS will occur in proximity to existing mining operations, being located north of existing TSFs, and east of the existing Waihi SFA. The Waihi SFA presently includes artificial lighting required to support existing operations within the site, while the NRS will be set against the backdrop of this existing operational site and require artificial lighting to enable operations outside of daylight hours. Mobile lighting plant has the most potential to create glare5 and sky glow6 effects, given the need to illuminate large construction activities and/or changing operational areas. In the case of the NRS, Pederson Read (2022) considers the effects are expected to be minor given the proximity to existing mining operations and ensured by OGNZL following its Standard Operating Procedure to position the lighting towers so that they do not shine towards a public road or buildings. Permanent lighting associated with the NRS is likely to be of a similar form to that presently installed throughout the existing mine, albeit with lesser effects from glare and sky glow due to the change to LED lighting technology and appropriate luminaire selection. The effects are expected to be less than minor in the context of the existing mine lighting. 5.13 HISTORIC HERITAGE EFFECTS An assessment of the potential effects of the Waihi North Project on historic heritage values is provided in Clough (2022), a copy of which is provided in Part H of these application documents. With regard to the location of the NRS, Clough reports that there is extensive heritage and archaeological knowledge of the area pertaining to numerous surveys which have been undertaken of this area. There is only one recorded or known site, being the Queen of Waihi mining shaft, which is located in proximity of the NRS. The proposed footprint of the NRS and associated infrastructure will avoid impacting on the Queen of Waihi Shaft, however, for safety reasons the shaft will need to be backfilled with rock stripped from the adjacent area and capped. This will not have a significant impact on the heritage value of this feature. However, Clough (2022) also recommends undertaking a detailed record of the feature prior to construction of the NRS. Clough 5 Defined by AS/NZS 4282: 2019 as a condition of vision in which there is discomfort or a reduction in ability to see, or both, caused by an unsuitable distribution or range of luminance, or to extreme contrasts in the field of vision. 6 Defined by AS/NZS 4282: 2019 as the brightening of the night sky that results from radiation (visible and nonvisible), scatter from the constituents of the atmosphere (gaseous, molecules, aerosols and particulate matter), in the direction of observation.
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