Part 9 Licensing of water management authorities
(1) In this Part:enforcement order means an order in force under section 192.
lake has the same meaning as it has in Part 2.
river has the same meaning as it has in Part 2.
sub-surface water has the same meaning as it has in Part 5.
sub-surface water basin has the same meaning as it has in Part 5.
water management authority means a person or body referred to in Schedule 3.
water management licence means a water management licence granted under this Part.
water management work means:
(a) a work within the meaning of Part 2, or(b) a bore within the meaning of Part 5.water source means a river, lake or sub-surface water basin.
(2) The Governor may by proclamation amend Schedule 3 so as:(a) to add the corporate name of any body that is to become a water management authority for the purposes of this Part, or(b) to vary the name of any water management authority as a consequence of any change in its corporate name.
(1) The Ministerial Corporation:(a) on the application of a water management authority, and(b) on payment of the appropriate licence fee,may grant to the water management authority a water management licence.(2) The appropriate licence fee is to be determined by the Minister, having regard to the costs incurred by the Ministerial Corporation in dealing with the application for the licence.(3) Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 does not apply to or in respect of the first water management licence granted to a water management authority under this section.
189 Conditions of water management licence
(1) A water management licence is subject to:(a) the conditions imposed on the water management licence from time to time by or under this Act, and(b) such other conditions as are imposed on the water management licence from time to time by the Ministerial Corporation.(2) In determining the conditions to be imposed on a water management licence, the Ministerial Corporation must have regard to any review that it has conducted under section 193.(3) Before imposing any condition on a water management authority’s water management licence, the Ministerial Corporation:(a) must cause written notice of its intention to impose the condition to be given to the water management authority, and(b) must give the water management authority a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions to the Ministerial Corporation in relation to the proposed condition, and(c) must have regard to any submission that is duly made.
190 Duration of water management licence
(1) A water management licence has effect for:(a) such period (not exceeding 20 years) as is specified in the licence, or(b) if that period is extended under this section, for that extended period.(2) At the end of each 5 year period following the date on which its current water management licence was granted, a water management authority may apply to the Ministerial Corporation for an extension of the period of the licence for a further 5 years.(3) In determining whether or not to grant such an extension, the Ministerial Corporation must have regard to the review that it has conducted under section 193 in relation to that 5 year period.
191 Effect of water management licence
A water management licence authorises its holder:(a) to take and use water from any water source, and(b) to construct or use a water management work,subject to the conditions of the licence and the provisions of this Part.
(1) For the purpose of ensuring that a water management authority complies with the conditions of its water management licence, the Ministerial Corporation may from time to time give a written order (an enforcement order) directing the authority to do, or to cease doing, such things as are specified in the order.(2) On the application of the Ministerial Corporation, the Land and Environment Court may direct a water management authority to comply with an enforcement order.
193 Review of water management licence
(1) The activities of a licensed water management authority:(a) may be reviewed at any time, and(b) must be reviewed:(i) before the end of the 6 month period following the date on which its first water management licence was granted, and(ii) before the end of each 5 year period following the date on which its current water management licence was granted.(2) For the purpose of conducting such a review, the Ministerial Corporation must cause notice to be published:(a) in the Gazette, and(b) in a newspaper circulating throughout New South Wales,inviting written submissions from interested persons in relation to the activities of the holder of the licence during the period under review.
(1) A water management authority is liable to pay water management charges to the Ministerial Corporation.(2) The charges so payable are to be fixed by the Ministerial Corporation, having regard to the Ministerial Corporation’s costs in relation to:(a) its conduct of reviews under section 193, and(b) its administration of this Act with respect to the water management authority, and(c) its monitoring of the extraction of water from, and the flow of water along, the rivers and lakes that are affected by the work and activities of the water management authority, and(d) its exercise of any other water resource management function with respect to the water management authority.
195 Offences with respect to water management licences
(1) A water management authority that uses a water management work that is not the subject of a water management licence is guilty of an offence.Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units.
(2) A water management authority does not commit an offence under this section with respect to anything authorised by or under Part 2 or 5.
A certificate that is issued by the Director-General of the Department of Land and Water Conservation and that states that, on a date or during a period specified in the certificate:(a) a specified water management licence was or was not in force, or(b) a specified water management licence was or was not subject to specified conditions, or(c) a specified water management work was or was not the subject of a specified water management licence,is admissible in any legal proceedings and is evidence of the fact or facts so stated.
197 Directions for remedial work
(1) The Ministerial Corporation may, by order in writing, direct a water management authority to take such action as is specified in the order:(a) to protect a water source from any adverse effects of the authority’s activities, or(b) to mitigate any adverse effects on a water source that have arisen from the authority’s activities, or(c) to prevent the wastage or pollution of water from the authority’s water management works.(2) If the water management authority fails to take any action so directed, the Ministerial Corporation may authorise any other person to take that action on behalf of the Ministerial Corporation.(3) A person so authorised has and may exercise such of the functions of the water management authority as are necessary to enable the person to take that action.(4) The amount of any costs and expenses incurred by the Ministerial Corporation as a result of action taken as referred to in subsection (2) is recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Ministerial Corporation from the water management authority.
(1) If satisfied that a water management authority:(a) has contravened the conditions of its water management licence, or(b) has failed to comply with an order under section 197,the Ministerial Corporation may order the authority to pay to the Ministerial Corporation a penalty not exceeding $500,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty not exceeding $20,000 for each day for which the contravention continues.(2) Before making an order under this section, the Ministerial Corporation:(a) must cause written notice of its intention to make the order to be given to the water management authority, and(b) must give the water management authority a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions to the Ministerial Corporation in relation to the proposed order, and(c) must have regard to any submission that is duly made.
(1) A water management authority may appeal to the Land and Environment Court against the following decisions:(a) a decision under section 188 refusing to grant a water management licence,(b) a decision under section 189 imposing a condition on a water management licence,(c) a decision under section 190 refusing to extend the term of a water management licence,(d) a decision under section 192 to give an enforcement order to the water management authority,(e) a decision under section 198 to make an order requiring the water management authority to pay a penalty.(2) The lodging of an appeal does not operate to stay action on the decision appealed against, except to the extent to which the Land and Environment Court otherwise directs.
200 Compensation for loss of certain water rights
(1) This section applies to any holder of a licence under Part 2 where, as a result of a water management authority’s failure to comply with a direction under section 192 (2), water that would otherwise be available to the licensee becomes unavailable.(2) A person to whom this section applies may recover from the water management authority the amount of any loss or damage suffered by the person as a result of the water management authority’s failure to comply with the enforcement order.(3) An action under this section may be commenced at any time within 3 years after the date on which the failure to comply with the enforcement order occurred and may not be commenced after that period.
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Part, for or with respect to any matter that by this Part is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Part.(2) Part 3 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 does not apply to or in respect of the regulations under this Part.
This Part binds the Crown, not only in right of New South Wales but also, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
This Part does not apply to any part of the State to which Part 3 of Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act 2000 applies in relation to water supply work approvals within the meaning of that Act.
203 Exclusion of certain matters
This Part does not apply to or in respect of:(a) the taking or using of water from any water source within the Snowy water catchment (within the meaning of the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997), or(b) the construction or use of any water management work within that catchment.