New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE HUNTER REGULATED RIVER WATER SOURCE 2003 - REG 34

34 Maintaining compliance with the long-term extraction limit

(1) The long-term average annual extraction from this water source shall not be permitted to exceed the long-term extraction limit specified in clause 32.

(2) Pursuant to subclause (1), the maximum total allocation provided by available water determinations in any water year in respect of supplementary water access licences, and if necessary, regulated river (general security) access licences shall be reduced if:

(a) it has been assessed that the current long-term average annual water extraction from this water source exceeds the long-term extraction limit specified in clause 32 by 3%, or

(b) assessments in accordance with clause 33 for 3 consecutive years indicate that the current long-term average annual extraction from this water source exceeds the long-term extraction limit.

(3) The degree of reduction under subclause (2) shall be the degree that is assessed necessary to return the long-term average annual extraction from this water source to the long-term extraction limit.

(4) The first reduction method used under subclause (2) shall be to reduce the water volumes made available to supplementary water access licences by reducing the value of “A” applied to calculations under clause 40 (4).

(5) Once no extractions under supplementary water access licences are allowed as a result of sub-clause (4), then the limit to the sum of allocations made to regulated river (general security) access licences specified in clause 39 shall be reduced.

(6) If the total volume of water made available in any water year has been reduced as a result of subclause (2), and a subsequent assessment of extractions performed under clause 33 indicates that long-term average annual extractions are below the long-term extraction limit by more than 3%, then previous reductions under subclause (2) may be reversed to the degree that it is assessed necessary to return extractions to the long-term extraction limit.

(7) Any reversal of previous reductions shall:

(a) first be applied to regulated river (general security) access licences, and

(b) not exceed the previous reductions made under subclause (2).

(8) The assessment of the degree of reduction required under subclause (2) or degree of reversal under subclause (6) shall be made using the same computer model used to carry out assessments of extractions compared to the long-term extraction limit under clause 33.