New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE LOWER MURRUMBIDGEE GROUNDWATER SOURCES 2003 - REG 20

20 Adaptive environmental water

(1) Water may be committed in these groundwater sources for environment purposes by an adaptive environmental water condition pursuant to section 8B of the Act.

(2) The holder of an access licence may request that the Minister impose an adaptive environmental water condition in respect of the whole or a part of the share component of the access licence.

(3) The condition imposed under subclause (2) will continue until the holder requests its removal.

(4) An access licence may be held by the Minister, a catchment management authority or other public body to the extent that the whole or part of that access licence has been surrendered as a result of on farm water savings made by works or other improvements, subject to:

(a) the share component of the access licence held being equal to the value of the on-farm water savings made,

(b) the access licence held being the highest priority category in these groundwater sources, other than a specific purpose category, and

(c) an adaptive environmental water condition being imposed on the access licence and that condition not being removed.

(5) The adaptive environmental water condition specified in subclause (1) and the plan for implementation of that condition, as required by section 8E (7) of the Act:

(a) are to be established by the Minister, and

(b) shall be such as to ensure that there will be a contribution to the objectives of this Plan.

(6) The allocation of water for access licences with an adaptive environmental water condition will be in accordance with the available water determination for the relevant category of access licence under this plan.

(7) If the adaptive environmental water condition on an access licence requires the water to be left in the water source for environmental purposes, then the water allocation account is to be debited when the water is available in accordance with the adaptive environmental water condition on the access licence.

(8) If the adaptive environmental water condition requires the environmental water to be taken from the water source then the water allocation account is to be debited when it is taken.

(9) For the purposes of auditing compliance with the long-term extraction limit under this plan, water credited to an access licence that has been committed as adaptive environmental water shall be accounted for as extraction where it occurs pursuant to a licence under subclause (2) or subclause (4).

(10) To the extent that the water allocation of an access licence which is subject to an adaptive environmental water condition is not required to meet the requirement of the condition it may be the subject of an assignment dealing in accordance with the Dealings Rules in this plan.

(11) Notwithstanding subclause (10) an access licence with an adaptive environmental water condition may be the subject of any other dealing permitted by the Dealing Rules in this plan, provided the benefit to the environment provided for in the adaptive environmental condition is not diminished.

(12) At the commencement of this clause, there were no access licences with an adaptive environmental water condition in these groundwater sources.