Contents
- Division 1 Preliminary
- Division 1A One-off adjustment to cumulative balances for surface water SDL resource units
- Division 2 Method for determining compliance—surface water
- 7.08A Constraints relaxation implementation roadmap
- 7.16A Contribution to adjustments from additional HEW entitlements
- Division 1—Requirement for water quality management plan
- Division 2—Surface water
- 10.30 WQM Plan to identify key causes of water quality degradation
- S6A.01 Simplified outline of this Schedule
- S6A.02 Interpretation
- S6A.03 Proposed plan area limits and proposed Basin limit
- S6A.04 Net effect of the total supply contribution and the total efficiency contribution
- S6A.05 Calculation of SDL adjustment amounts—net effect greater than 543 GL per year
- S6A.06 Calculation of SDL adjustment amounts—net effect less than or equal to 543 GL per year
Contents
2,663 provisions, too many to show on one page. Open a part or section to read it with its history and connections, or search inside the text.
- Division 1 · Preliminary
- 6.08 Register of take
- (1) The Authority must establish and maintain a register of take for each SDL resource unit in accordance with this Part.
- (2) The purpose of the register of take is to assist with determining, for each water accounting period, whether there has been compliance with the long-term an
- Note: See section 4 of the Act for the meaning of long-term annual diversion limit. Under the Basin Plan, the long-term annual diversion limit is the same as th
- (3) For each surface water SDL resource unit, the register of take must include:
- (a) a debit column to record the amounts referred to in subsections 6.11(1) and (3); and
- (b) a credit column to record the amounts referred to in subsections 6.11(2) and (3); and
- (c) a cumulative balance column to record the amounts referred to in subsection 6.11(4).
- (3A) For each groundwater SDL resource unit, the register of take must include a record of amounts for determining compliance, as set out in Division 3.
- (4) The register may also include any other matters the Authority considers relevant to determining whether there has been compliance with the long-term annual
- (5) The register of take commences in the first water accounting period after 30 June 2019 following the commencement of a water resource plan.
- (6) When the register of take commences for a surface water SDL resource unit, it must record a cumulative balance of zero.
- (7) The Authority must publish the register of take on its website.
- 6.08A Content of action plan
- 6.08C Content of report
- Division 1A · One-off adjustment to cumulative balances for surface water SDL resource units
- 6.08D Determining one-off adjustment to cumulative balances from 1 July 2019
- (1) The Authority must make a one-off adjustment, in accordance with this Division, to the cumulative balance for each surface water SDL resource unit, unless t
- (2) If the register of take for a surface water SDL resource unit for which the Authority must make a one-off adjustment has already commenced as at the commenc
- (3) If the register of take for a surface water SDL resource unit for which the Authority must make a one-off adjustment has not already commenced as at the com
- 6.08E Step 1—Calculation of annual permitted take and annual actual take for one-off adjustment
- Division 2 · Method for determining compliance—surface water
- 6.09 Method for determining compliance with long-term annual diversion limit—surface water
- (1) The method for determining compliance with the long-term annual diversion limit for a surface water SDL resource unit in a water accounting period is to fol
- (2) The method applies to each water accounting period after 30 June 2019 following the commencement of a water resource plan relating to the SDL resource unit.
- 6.10 Step 1—Calculation of annual permitted take and annual actual take
- (1) For a water accounting period, sum the maximum quantity of water permitted to be taken by each form of take for consumptive use from the SDL resource unit,
- Note: Section 10.10 requires a water resource plan to set out a method for determining the maximum quantity of water permitted to be taken by each form of take
- (2) For the same water accounting period, sum the quantity of water actually taken by each form of take for consumptive use from the SDL resource unit (annual a
- Note: See section 10.15.
- 6.11 Step 2—Record difference between annual actual take and annual permitted take
- (1) If the annual actual take is greater than the annual permitted take, the difference must be recorded on the register of take for the SDL resource unit as a
- (2) If the annual actual take is less than the annual permitted take, the difference must be recorded on the register of take as a credit.
- (3) If there is no difference between the annual actual take and the annual permitted take, a zero must be recorded on the register of take in both the debit co
- (4) As a result of the record made under subsections (1) to (3):
- (a) determine the new cumulative balance of the difference between annual permitted take and annual actual take for the SDL resource unit; and
- (b) record this balance on the register of take as either a cumulative debit, cumulative credit, or a zero.
- (5) If, in the previous water accounting period, the circumstances mentioned in the example in paragraph 6.12(4)(b) applied, the cumulative balance for the SDL
- 6.12 Step 3—Determine whether there is non-compliance
- Note: See paragraphs 71(1)(g) and (h) of the Act.
- (1) There is non-compliance with a long-term annual diversion limit for a surface water SDL resource unit in a water accounting period if:
- (a) the cumulative balance for the SDL resource unit, adjusted to account for any disposal or acquisition of held environmental water, is a debit amount equal t
- (b) the Basin State does not have a reasonable excuse for the excess.
- (2) For subsection (1):
- (a) the Victorian Murray, Kiewa and Ovens SDL resource units may be treated as a single SDL resource unit; and
- (b) the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe and Loddon SDL resource units may be treated as a single SDL resource unit.
- (3) A Basin State may not rely on a claim that there is a reasonable excuse for an excess unless:
- (a) it has provided a report to the Authority and to the Inspector-General setting out the reasons for the excess, with evidence for the claim; and
- (b) the Inspector-General is satisfied that the Basin State has a reasonable excuse as claimed.
- Note 1: If the Inspector-General is not satisfied that there is a reasonable excuse, there will be non-compliance on the part of the Basin State requiring an ac
- Note 2: It is open to the Inspector-General to consult with the Authority and other bodies as appropriate.
- (4) A Basin State is taken to have a reasonable excuse for an excess if the excess arises as the result of:
- (a) the operation of the water resource plan for the SDL resource unit; or
- (b) circumstances beyond the Basin State’s control (for example where, for reasons beyond the Basin State’s control, the Commonwealth has not achieved the water
- (5) A Basin State that relies on a claim it has made in accordance with subsection (3) must provide the Authority and the Inspector-General, in writing, with a
- Note 1: The Basin State will not need to take steps to reduce the cumulative balance to the extent it will be adjusted under subsection 6.11(5).
- Note 2: The Inspector-General may conduct, or appoint or establish a person or body to conduct, an audit in relation to compliance using the Inspector-General’s
- Division 3—Method for determining compliance—groundwater
- 6.12A Method for determining compliance with long-term annual diversion limit—groundwater
- (1) The method for determining compliance with the long-term annual diversion limit for a groundwater SDL resource unit in a water accounting period is to follo
- (2) The method applies to each water accounting period after 30 June 2019 following the commencement of a water resource plan relating to the SDL resource unit.
- 6.12B Step 1—Calculation of annual permitted take and annual actual take
- (1) For a water accounting period, sum the maximum quantity of water permitted to be taken by each form of take for consumptive use from the SDL resource unit,
- Note: Section 10.10 requires a water resource plan to set out a method for determining the maximum quantity of water permitted to be taken by each form of take
- (2) For the same water accounting period, sum the quantity of water actually taken by each form of take for consumptive use from the SDL resource unit (annual a
- Note: See section 10.15.
- 6.12C Step 2—Determine whether there is non-compliance
- Note: See paragraphs 71(1)(g) and (h) of the Act.
- (1) There is non-compliance with a long-term annual diversion limit for the groundwater SDL resource unit in a water accounting period ending on or before 30 Ju
- (a) the sum of annual actual take in the water accounting periods since 1 July 2019 is greater than the sum of annual permitted take for those water accounting
- (b) the Basin State does not have a reasonable excuse for the excess.
- Note: The effect of the subsection above is the same as the effect of section 6.12 which applies in relation to surface water SDL resource units.
- (2) There is non-compliance with a long-term annual diversion limit for the groundwater SDL resource unit in a water accounting period ending after 30 June 2028
- (a) the average annual actual take over the 10 year period ending with that water accounting period is greater than the average annual permitted take over the 1
- (b) the Basin State does not have a reasonable excuse for the excess.
- (3) A Basin State may not rely on a claim that there is a reasonable excuse for an excess unless:
- (a) it has provided a report to the Authority and to the Inspector-General setting out the reasons for the excess, with evidence for the claim; and
- (b) the Inspector-General is satisfied that the Basin State has a reasonable excuse as claimed.
- Note 1: If the Inspector-General is not satisfied that there is a reasonable excuse, there will be non-compliance on the part of the Basin State requiring an ac
- Note 2: It is open to the Inspector-General to consult with the Authority and other bodies as appropriate.
- (4) A Basin State is taken to have a reasonable excuse for an excess if the excess arises as the result of:
- (a) the operation of the water resource plan for the SDL resource unit; or
- (b) circumstances beyond the Basin State’s control (for example where, for reasons beyond the Basin State’s control, the Commonwealth has not achieved the water
- (5) A Basin State that relies on a claim it has made in accordance with subsection (3) must provide the Authority and the Inspector-General, in writing, with a
- Note 1: The Basin State will not need to take steps to the extent there will be an adjustment under paragraph (1)(a) or (2)(a).
- Note 2: The Inspector-General may conduct, or appoint or establish a person or body to conduct, an audit in relation to compliance using the Inspector-General’s
- Part 5—Allocation of risks in relation to reductions in water availability
- 6.13 Risks arising from reduction in diversion limits
- Note: If the SDL for an SDL resource unit is reduced, section 75 of the Act requires the Basin Plan to specify the reduction, and the proportions of the reducti
- Section 78 of the Act required the original Basin Plan to specify the limits that applied, immediately before the SDLs imposed by the Basin Plan took effect, to
- (1) This section sets out the matters required by Subdivision A of Division 4 of Part 2 of the Act.
- (2) For subsection 78(2) of the Act, the long-term average limit on the quantity of water that can be taken from an SDL resource unit that the Authority is sati
- Note: See section 1.07 for the meaning of BDL.
- (2A) For subsection 75(1) of the Act, the reduction is any reduction in the SDL for a SDL resource unit, compared with the limit specified for subsection (2), t
- (3) For paragraph 75(1)(a) of the Act, the amount of the reduction is the amount by which the BDL for the SDL resource unit exceeds the long-term annual diversi
- (4) For paragraph 75(1)(b) of the Act, the Commonwealth Government policy component of the reduction is 100% of the reduction.
- (5) For paragraph 75(1)(c) of the Act, the new knowledge component of the reduction is zero.
- (6) For paragraph 75(1)(d) of the Act, the Commonwealth’s share of the reduction is 100% of the reduction.
- 6.14 Risks arising from other changes to the Basin Plan
- Nothing in the Basin Plan requires a change in the reliability of water allocations of a kind that would trigger Subdivision B of Division 4 of Part 2 of the Ac
- Chapter 7—Adjustment of SDLs
- Note: The SDLs will constitute limits from 1 July 2019. The surface water SDLs set out in Schedule 2 on the commencement of the Basin Plan in 2012 were based on
- This Chapter provides for the Authority to propose adjustments to the SDLs under section 23A of the Act. These will be made by amendment of the Basin Plan under
- Under Part 2, the Authority can propose adjustments to surface water SDLs to take account of:
- (a) supply measures and efficiency measures that are notified by a process set out in section 7.12 and will come into operation by 31 December 2026; and
- (b) additional HEW entitlements that are acquired from time to time and specified by the Minister under section 7.08B.
- In this Chapter a ‘supply measure’ is a measure that increases the quantity of water available before take for consumptive use. The measure may do this either b
- The additional water provided by supply measures will be made available for consumptive use (as it will no longer need to be recovered from such use). An adjust
- An ‘efficiency measure’ is one that makes savings in the amount of water required for consumptive purposes. Examples include investment in more efficient irriga
- An ‘additional HEW entitlement’ is a water access right, water delivery right or irrigation right that was previously used for consumptive purposes, but will no
- Part 1—Preliminary
- 7.01 Simplified outline
- (1) This section sets out a simplified outline of this Chapter.
- (2) This Chapter provides a mechanism for the Authority to propose adjustments to the SDLs under section 23A of the Act on the basis of:
- (a) new measures that will increase the supply of water or the efficiency of water use (Part 2); or
- (b) new acquisitions of held environmental water that was previously used for consumptive purposes (Part 2); or
- (c) new or improved information relating to groundwater SDL resource units (Part 4).
- 7.02 Interpretation
- (1) In this Chapter:
- additional efficiency entitlement, for a surface water SDL resource unit, is a water access entitlement that:
- (a) is sourced from the unit; and
- (b) is held environmental water; and
- (c) is acquired before 1 January 2027 by the Commonwealth or another person in conjunction with, or to take advantage of the water savings achieved by, an addit
- additional efficiency measure means an efficiency measure that has been notified under subsection 7.12(2).
- additional HEW contribution has the meaning given by Division 4 of Part 2 (in particular section 7.16A).
- additional HEW entitlement means a water access right, a water delivery right or an irrigation right, or part of such a right, specified by the Minister under s
- additional supply measure means a supply measure that has been notified under subsection 7.12(2A).
- affected unit means a surface water SDL resource unit that is an affected unit for a notified measure or additional efficiency measure under paragraph 7.12(4)(b
- anticipated measure means a measure that is part of the benchmark conditions of development.
- Note: This includes various measures expected to be in operation by 2019, including as a result of investments that the Commonwealth is committed to funding, th
- benchmark conditions of development means the conditions of development that were assumed in the benchmark model described in Schedule 6 when the model was used
- Note 1: These conditions include the infrastructure, rules and practices that were assumed in the benchmark model, including certain measures that were not yet
- Note 2: The Authority will, in consultation with the Basin Officials Committee, prepare and publish a report detailing the benchmark conditions of development a
- benchmark environmental outcomes has the meaning given in subsection 7.15(2).
- constraint measure means a measure that removes or eases a physical or other constraint on the capacity to deliver environmental water to the environmental asse
- Note: Examples include:
- raising of bridges to allow higher regulated flows in watercourses and floodplains;
- acquisition of easements to allow inundation of private land in conjunction with making regulated releases of environmental water.
- efficiency contribution has the meaning given by Division 4 of Part 2 (in particular section 7.16).
- efficiency entitlement, for a surface water SDL resource unit, means a water access entitlement that:
- (a) is sourced from the unit; and
- (b) is held environmental water; and
- (c) is acquired before 1 January 2027 by the Commonwealth or another person in conjunction with, or to take advantage of the water savings achieved by, a notifi
- efficiency measure has the meaning given by section 7.04.
- measure means a set of works or measures undertaken or funded by the Commonwealth or a Basin State, including but not limited to the following:
- (a) changes to water infrastructure;
- (b) changes to other infrastructure that affect the hydrology of the Basin;
- (c) changes to legal requirements, including to Commonwealth or State laws, that affect the way water is used;
- (d) changes in river management and river operational practices;
- (e) changes in methods of delivering water.
- notified measure means a measure that has been notified under subsection 7.12(1) or (1A), and notified efficiency measure and notified supply measure have corre
- reference time has the meaning given by subsection 23A(5) of the Act.
- supply contribution has the meaning given by Division 4 of Part 2 (in particular section 7.15).
- supply measure has the meaning given by section 7.03.
- varying HEW contribution has the meaning given by section 7.21.
- (2) A reference in this Chapter and in Schedule 6A to a water access right, a water delivery right, an irrigation right or a water access entitlement includes a
- 7.03 Meaning of supply measure
- A supply measure is a measure that operates to increase the quantity of water available to be taken in a set of surface water SDL resource units compared with t
- Note: Examples include:
- re-configuring suitable lakes or storage systems to reduce evaporation;
- reducing the quantity of water required to deliver water at a particular place, whether for purposes of consumptive use or for environmental use;
- changing the methods of environmental watering in such a way that equivalent environmental outcomes can be achieved with a smaller quantity of water than was re
- 7.04 Meaning of efficiency measure
- An efficiency measure is a measure that operates to decrease the quantity of water required for one or more consumptive uses in a set of surface water SDL resou
- Note: Examples include:
- lining channels to reduce water losses within an irrigation network;
- replacement of less efficient irrigation methods with drip irrigation.
- 7.05 Consultation with Basin Officials Committee
- (1) In determining the amounts of proposed adjustments in accordance with this Chapter, the Authority must seek and consider advice from the Basin Officials Com
- (2) The Authority must seek the advice of the Basin Officials Committee at least 1 month before proposing adjustments in accordance with this Chapter.
- 7.06 Public consultation
- Before finalising a determination of the amounts of proposed adjustments in accordance with this Chapter, the Authority must:
- (a) publish a draft determination of the amounts of the proposed adjustments on its website, with an account of how they were arrived at and the reasons for dec
- (b) invite the public to make submissions about the draft determination within a period of not less than 1 month.
- 7.07 Combined proposals
- (1) The Authority may make proposals under Parts 2 and 4 at the same time.
- (2) Where this is done, the Authority may, for the purpose of section 23B of the Act, treat the proposals as a single proposal and prepare a set of amendments t
- 7.08 Constraints management strategy
- (1) Within 12 months after the commencement of the Basin Plan, the Authority must prepare a constraints management strategy that:
- (a) identifies and describes the physical, operational and management constraints that are affecting, or have the potential to affect, environmental water deliv
- (b) assists all jurisdictions to participate in constraint measures in order to allow environmental water to be used to maximum effect and to maximise the benef
- (c) evaluates options, opportunities and risks to water users, communities and the environment, associated with addressing key constraints, including through co
- (d) assesses the impacts of modifications of constraints on environmental water delivery and third parties, as well as downstream impacts, and assesses options
- (e) identifies mechanisms by which impacts on third parties can be addressed.
- (2) The strategy, and any substantive amendments to the strategy, must be prepared in consultation with the Basin States and the public.
- (4) The Authority must publish the strategy on its website.
- 7.08A Constraints relaxation implementation roadmap
- 7.16A Contribution to adjustments from additional HEW entitlements
- Division 1—Requirement for water quality management plan
- Division 2—Surface water
- 10.30 WQM Plan to identify key causes of water quality degradation
- S6A.01 Simplified outline of this Schedule
- S6A.02 Interpretation
- S6A.03 Proposed plan area limits and proposed Basin limit
- S6A.04 Net effect of the total supply contribution and the total efficiency contribution
- S6A.05 Calculation of SDL adjustment amounts—net effect greater than 543 GL per year
- S6A.06 Calculation of SDL adjustment amounts—net effect less than or equal to 543 GL per year
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