AgForce has welcomed new laws that were introduced into State Government last week which will help take the pressure off landholders dealing with resources companies on underground water issues.
The impact on vital agricultural water supplies by resource projects remains a key concern for primary producers, and these proposed new environmental laws are a positive step towards improved groundwater management.
Primary producers want up-front certainty that their access to water will be secure and will not be interrupted or impaired by mining or gas sector activities.
This means having confidence that the risk to water assets are understood, that impacts are avoided in the first instance and that any residual impacts can be managed and ‘made good’.
These proposed new laws will address a number of issues for landholders, and will assist landholders in engaging and negotiating with resource companies about managing impact on groundwater.
AgForce is particularly pleased that resource companies would cover the costs of landholder’s access to independent hydrogeological expertise to help them understand the potential impacts of resource projects and to better negotiate effective ‘make good’ agreements.
This puts landholders in a much stronger position and needs to be matched with disclosure by the resource company of all relevant field data and analysis results and their future plans.
The amendments also clarify that make good obligations on the resource sector will apply where there is a likelihood, rather than a certainty, that their activities cause or contribute to water supply problems.
This should take some of the pressure off landholders having to prove that resource companies were in fact responsible for groundwater impacts where uncertainty exists.
Extending make good obligations to include gassy bores, the requirement for resources companies to cover the costs of alternative dispute resolution processes and including a cooling-off period for make good agreements were all positive proposals.
AgForce will review the detail of the proposed legislation in coming weeks, and provide further comment through the Parliamentary committee process.