Latest news with #NRAR
ABC News
07-08-2025
- General
- ABC News
Toorale National Park water flows halted to address reporting concerns
The NSW natural water regulator has issued a stop-work order at Toorale National Park to halt environmental water flows, citing a lack of reporting. Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) chief regulatory officer Greg Barnes said it had been investigating the 91,000 hectare park, 80 kilometres south-west of Bourke, for the past 12 months over concerns it was not following water licence rules. "We've done an exhaustive evaluation of Toorale — been out on site on a number of occasions, sought evidence by a number of parties, and have evaluated that evidence — to now be confident in our position that water must be accounted for against the water access licence in order to ensure that it meets the public's expectations," he said. Mr Barnes said it appeared the water flows were not recorded because it was not stipulated as necessary in an operational maintenance plan. For that to be rectified, the park's operator, the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), must comply with the NRAR's stop-work order. Toorale National Park, which is located at the junction of the Darling and Warrego rivers, was purchased by the Australian and NSW governments in 2008 for $24 million. Prior to that, it had been a sheep and cropping station. According to landholders downstream of Toorale National Park, its conversion to a national park was intended to help return water to the Murray-Darling river system. But in 2020 the NSW government built a three-gate Boera Dam regulator to release water into the Western flood plain from the Warrego River. A spokesperson for DCCEEW said it was fully co-operating with the NRAR's investigation and welcomed any recommendation to further improve the transparency and effectiveness of its operations. Despite issuing the stop-work order, the regulator said it did not believe Toorale National Park had exceeded its water entitlement of 17 gigalitres per year. Mr Barnes said hydraulic models had been used to determine that about 3,000 megalitres of water had been diverted to the Western flood plain over the past two and a half years. The models show the park has been doing the right thing, and the stop-work order relates solely to its reporting obligations. "The stop-work order places additional obligations on how the water that is recorded is then reported publicly in a timely manner," Mr Barnes said. The report follows calls for an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry into the management of Toorale National Park from state MP for Barwon Roy Butler. However, Mr Barnes said the stop-work order at Toorale had nothing to do with Mr Butler's referral to ICAC. "While acknowledging it's (the referral) been done, [it] has had no bearing on our investigations, nor the decision that I took yesterday [to issue stop-work order]," he said. Australian Floodplain Association president Justin McClure from Kallara Station, downstream of Toorale National Park, said the stop-work order was a "step in the right direction". "For those communities that live on the river, we need to go back to the intent of the purchase [of Toorale] and that was to return the water to the river, and that river being the Darling," he said. "And to stop prioritising man-made environmental assets upstream." An independent water researcher said the NRAR was holding the government to a higher standard than irrigators. Maryanne Slattery said by the regulator's own reporting, only 43 per cent of licensed water holders in the Barwon, Darling and West area were meeting metering rules. "NRAR should be explaining, in detail, how the treatment of environmental watering is consistent with the treatment of irrigators that have failed to comply with the non-urban metering requirements," she said. A bill introduced by NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson is currently before state parliament to give the NRAR stronger powers. The Water Management Legislation Amendment (Stronger Enforcement and Penalties) Bill 2025 is intended to introduce civil breaches and increase penalties for water theft and other breaches. But Greens MP and water spokesperson Cate Faehrmann is urging the government not to reduce criminal penalties. "The Greens don't support the reduction of any criminal offence to a civil penalty. We do support introducing measures to improve the likelihood of successful prosecutions, but not where this will remove the disincentive of criminal prosecution," she said. "If this bill was a genuine attempt to disincentivise breaches of the law, why hasn't it addressed the unworkable regulatory framework for water in Northern NSW?"
ABC News
01-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Record $2.9m penalty for mine's unlicensed water take to fund rehab of heritage-listed swamp
An agreement between the New South Wales water regulator and a mining company that drained millions of litres of surface water from Sydney's drinking catchment without a permit will fund the rehabilitation of a heritage-listed swamp. The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) The watchdog found the mine drained up to 5 megalitres of water a day, the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools, between 2018 and 2023 without a licence. At the time the EU was agreed, it dwarfed the previous largest agreement obtained by the watchdog, which was approximately $360,000. NRAR confirmed that as part of the deal, Illawarra Coal Holdings would fund a three-year program to restore 340 hectares of Wingecarribee Swamp in the NSW Southern Highlands. Wingecarribee Swamp is a unique montane peatland rich in flora and home to the endangered giant dragonfly. Wingecarribee Swamp is a remnant of a late glacial swamp overlying prehistoric sandstone. ( Supplied ) NRAR director of investigations and enforcement Lisa Stockley said the swamp was an important area in the Sydney drinking water catchment. "While they did have groundwater licences, they didn't actually have surface water licences," she said. " [Wingecarribee Swamp] was chosen because water was taken from the Sydney water drinking catchment and it plays a very important part in the water quality. " Lisa Stockley says funding the rehabilitation project at Wingecarribee Swamp is a great outcome. ( Supplied ) Improved surface water monitoring Established in 2002, Dendrobium Mine is an underground mining operation at Kembla Heights that primarily produces metallurgical coal. It is a supplier to Australia's biggest steelmaker, Bluescope Steel, at nearby Port Kembla. Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd was owned by South32 at the time of the breach, before it was sold to mining consortium GM3 in August 2024. Dendrobium Mine at Kembla Heights, south of Sydney, is now owned by company GM3. ( ABC Illawarra: Kelly Fuller ) Ms Stockley said GM3, as the mine's current owner, had responsibility for managing "the expenditure of the funds". "[Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd] was required to pay a sum of money to NRAR in regard to the investigation costs and monitoring costs of this EU," she said. "They are looking at a whole range of compliance agreements and are looking at better ways of monitoring surface water take." Historical damage to stay According to NRAR, Wingecarribee Swamp has a long history of environmental disturbance, including peat mining in the 1960s, the creation of a reservoir in 1974 that flooded 50 per cent of the original swamp, and a huge structural collapse of the peat beds in 1998. Ms Stockley said the rehabilitation project, involving the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and landholder Water NSW, would not be able to fix some of these significant historical issues. The endangered giant dragonfly is found in Wingecarribee Swamp. ( Supplied ) "We acknowledge it's not a restoration project. It can't be restored, but the area can certainly be improved," she said. The restitution works are expected to facilitate training and employment opportunities and will include vegetation surveys and weed removal, as well as the identification of threatened species like the critically endangered Wingecarribee gentian and endangered leek orchid. Ms Stockley said the project was a great example of "restorative justice", delivering direct benefits to the community and the environment. "It's a good outcome," she said. Calls for environmental rehab fund Ms Stockley said EU's were "really effective enforcement tool" that could help avoid lengthy court processes. "But if the undertakings aren't abided by, NRAR would take the matter back to court," she said. Georgina Woods is head of research and investigations at the Lock The Gate Alliance. ( Supplied ) Georgina Woods, from national grassroots organisation Lock The Gate Alliance, echoed this sentiment but said there should be more ways to hold mines accountable and for rehabilitation works to occur. "NSW doesn't have in place a fund to ensure there is money in the future for long-term rehabilitation from coal mining," she said. "This outcome … draws attention to the need to put in a place a fund so that we can keep on funding project like this." The rehabilitation is expected to be complete by mid-2027. GM3 and South32 declined to comment.
