Water issues in jurisdictional planning for mining

• Trina Jensen
• National Water Commission

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07 June 2010Water planning is a fundamental tool for achieving the sustainable use of water, and it is a key element of the National Water Initiative (NWI).

Recognising that the interception of water by mining activities has become an increasingly important issue for industry, governments, communities and other water users, the Commission has been undertaking a $1.8 million project, Cumulative Effects of Mining on Groundwater Resources, to investigate current practices across Australia.

The project's first report Water issues in jurisdictional planning for mining assesses the extent to which state and territory mining and environmental assessment processes are consistent with National Water Initiative (NWI) objectives and considers the cumulative effects of mining on groundwater.

The scope of the appraisal includes all state and territory jurisdictional agencies that have responsibility for planning, water, mining and environmental assessment processes. It also encompasses an assessment of Commonwealth jurisdictional requirements that are relevant to groundwater resources or Commonwealth land.

This report finds that although all states and territories have to some degree considered NWI objectives when assessing the cumulative effects of mining on groundwater, there are significant opportunities for improvement.

These include moving to a nationally consistent risk-based approach for considering local and cumulative effects of mining on groundwater, improving communication and coordination between agencies involved in planning and approvals, and developing nationally consistent water accounting, data collection, storage and sharing protocols.

This paper is part of a series of works commissioned by the National Water Commission on key water issues. This work has been undertaken by Trina Jensen of Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd on behalf of the Commission.