New property owner self reports and avoids prosecution by NRAR
Soon after purchasing a property in the Riverina, an almond farming company realised it had potentially exceeded its bore extraction limit by 449 megalitres.
The company stopped taking water from the bore and self-reported the breach to the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).
NRAR Director Water Regulation, Graeme White said the company had done the right thing by self-reporting and taking accountability for the environmental harm that can be caused by over-extracting from groundwater sources.
“Bore extraction limits protect our fragile groundwater systems. The company did the right thing by self-reporting and as a result have avoided being taken to court,” said Mr White.
As an alternative to a prosecution, NRAR accepted an enforceable undertaking (EU) offer from the company that will see it forfeit water and face costs of more than $73,000, including $10,000 towards an environmental project.
“The company recognised it needed to make amends for its non-compliance and has worked with us on a solution that will have a positive outcome for the environment,” said Mr White.
The company purchased the 3,841-hectare property, including 808 hectares of productive almonds trees and more than 10,000 megalitres of water entitlements in December 2020.
The new owner inherited faulty metering equipment and recorded water taken through the bores in a logbook until the equipment was replaced. After new metering equipment was in place the company became aware that the manual recording had been inaccurate and the company self-reported soon after.
“Although the company inherited the faulty metering equipment and had only recently taken ownership of the property and water entitlements, it had significant responsibilities,” explained Mr White.
“It’s important to know the rules associated with your water entitlements and to keep a close eye on your water take from the moment you take ownership.”
“Telemetry and accurate metering take the guess work out of measuring bore extraction, reduces your reporting requirements and ensures you don’t make costly mistakes.”
The EU came into effect on 27 June 2022 and requires the company to:
*make a payment of $53,880 to NRAR for the volume of water allegedly taken in exceedance of the individual bore extraction limit
*make a $10,000 contribution to Western Landcare NSW for an environmental project
*pay NRAR $10,000 to cover its investigation and legal costs
*forfeit 1122.5ML of water from its water account
*install metering equipment including telemetry on all groundwater works on the property.
The water was taken from the at-risk Lower Lachlan Groundwater Source.
An enforceable undertaking is a legally binding agreement that is an alternative to court proceedings.
Find out more about NRAR’s enforceable undertakings.
