New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE PATERSON REGULATED RIVER WATER SOURCE 2007 - REG 31

31 Maintaining compliance with the long-term average annual extraction limit

(1) The long-term average annual extraction from this water source shall not be permitted to exceed the long-term average annual extraction limit specified in clause 29 of this Plan.

(2) Pursuant to subclause (1), the maximum available water determination made in any water year for supplementary water and the maximum sum of available water determinations made in any water year for 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 average annual extraction limit specified in clause 29 by 3%, or

(b) assessments in accordance with clause 30 for 3 consecutive years indicate that the current long-term average annual extraction from this water source exceeds the long term average annual 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 average annual extraction limit.

(4) The first reduction to available water determinations under subclause (2) shall be to the maximum available water determinations made for supplementary water access licences under clause 36.

(5) Once no extractions under supplementary water access licences are allowed as a result of subclause (4), then the limit to the sum of available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences specified in clause 35 shall be reduced.

(6) If action has been taken under subclause (2), and a subsequent assessment of extractions performed under clause 30 indicates that long-term average annual extractions are below the long-term average annual 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 average annual 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 average annual extraction limit under clause 30.