The Queensland Government has introduced legislation into
Parliament which, if passed, will tighten environmental laws
regulating the taking of groundwater for mining activities by
resource proponents.
In this alert, Partner Martin Klapper and Law Graduate Ruby
Rayner consider what the Environmental Protection (Underground
Water Management) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016
(the Bill) means for resource companies.
Key Points
- Proponents must carefully consider the water requirements for
their resources projects, and identify whether or not the project
requires a water licence under existing legislation. If a resources
project requires a water licence, but one has not been obtained
before the commencement of the new laws (expected December of this
year), the project will be required to obtain an additional
"associated water licence", or submit to significant new
environmental assessments. These new requirements may have
significant impacts on project
