A REQUIRED review has recommended changes to all 31 water sharing plans across NSW.
Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said she had agreed to proposed changes to the plans, which began in 2004, as recommended by the Natural Resources Commission and NSW Office of Water.
“Our water sharing plans apply for a period of 10 years from their commencement, meaning there are now 31 plans across NSW due to expire in June 2014,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“After considering advice provided from both the Natural Resources Commission and the NSW Office of Water, I have decided it is appropriate to make some degree of change to all 31 of these plans.
“These changes will improve the transparency, comprehensiveness and consistency of the first-round plans, while ensuring a more integrated approach with other landscape management and associated monitoring.”
Ms Hodgkinson said work would be undertaken to ensure the replacement plans were consistent with the current legislative framework, including policy initiatives started since 2004.
“The first-round water sharing plans covered both inland and coastal areas of NSW and also included both surface water and groundwater sources,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“It is important to note, however, that the degree of change for plans in inland NSW during this review will be limited.
“This is due to the ongoing concerns regarding any future move to water resource planning under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
“If and when NSW signs the intergovernmental agreement with the Commonwealth, there will be a need to undertake preparatory work during the three years following that point to inform this process.”
For inland NSW, this work will inform a more detailed assessment of a number of plan provisions, which will be progressed over this longer timeframe, Ms Hodgkinson said.
“In all plan areas the NSW Office of Water will undertake complementary work to provide improvements in the plan’s implementation, monitoring and evaluation procedures.”
