This document may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written consent of Marshall Day Acoustics Limited Rp 001 R0 20210601 SJP (Waihi North Noise Assessment) ISSUE 19 of 79 3.3 WUG Surface Facilities Area – Ambient Noise Levels The WUG Surface Facilities Area (SFA), outside of the Department of Conservation (DOC) administered land, is zoned Rural in the Hauraki District Plan. We note that the DOC land is zoned as Conservation (Indigenous Forest) Zone, with a Significant Natural Area overlay. The most significant man-made noise source is road traffic, primarily from State Highway 25 (Waihi-Whangamata Road). However, noise from other local roads will also contribute to the ambient noise environment at times. There is also an established quarry around 1 km north-east of the portal site, off Corbett Road. We have undertaken a programme of ambient noise monitoring in the area to establish the typical range of noise levels experienced. Two noise monitors were installed at the locations shown in Figure 9. Noise levels were recorded continuously between 16 and 30 July 2020. Further details of the measurement instrumentation are provided in Appendix B. Measured noise levels (excluding adverse weather events) are summarised in Table 5, with the complete recorded dataset at each position shown in Appendix B. The measured noise levels at the DOC land during the day show ambient noise levels are reasonably quiet, indicating that the site is typical of a bush setting. We note that the background noise level is somewhat elevated primarily due to natural sounds in the vicinity of the microphone. This is not unexpected. At night the background noise levels are much lower. The maximum noise levels during the day are likely to be from natural sources, such as birds or wind gusts in trees. The measured noise levels during the day at the Willows Road site indicate a reasonably quiet rural environment. Background noise levels are slightly lower than at the DOC site during the day, but significantly higher during the night. In our experience these noise levels are typical of a rural environment that is not subject to significant intrusion from nearby roads. Despite being quite close to SH25, the noise levels at Willows Road are not overly dominated by this source of noise during the day. At night however, the area is quiet with minimal local noise sources, mainly comprising of natural sounds in the vicinity (wind in trees, water noise etc.), but with some more significant discrete contribution from the nearby roading network (SH25) (i.e. logging trucks). In summary, the noise levels in the Conservation Zone and Rural Zone in the vicinity of the project are reasonably low and consistent with our expectations of such areas. Table 5: Summary of noise measurement data Site Measurement Location Time Period Measured Noise Level, dB LAeq LA90 † LAmax ‡ MP7 MP7 – DOC Land Day (0700 - 2200 hrs) 41 33 72 Night (2200 - 0700 hrs) 38 31 69 MP8 MP8 – Willows Rd Day (0700 - 2200 hrs) 45 37 75 Night (2200 - 0700 hrs) 46 39 76 † LA90 is the mean of the 5 minute noise levels arithmetically averaged over each day or night period. ‡ LAmax is the mean of the maximum noise levels recorded in each day or night period through the survey. Figure 9: WUG SFA Ambient noise measurement locations
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