Companies seeking to exploit the lucrative NSW coal seam gas reserves are likely to face a new federal regulatory barrier as the independent MP Tony Windsor prepares to use his balance-of-power position to require region-wide water assessments before new mining proceeds.
Mr Windsor told the Herald he wanted to force miners to conduct ''bio-regional assessments'' of the cumulative impact of their controversial projects on surface and groundwater, preferably before exploration licences were issued, but if necessary before mining proceeded.
He said he would implement the plan either by amending the Water Act, which covers the Murray-Darling Basin region, or the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act, which would mean the new rules applied nationwide.
''I want the federal government to be involved in the assessment process right at the outset, so if a region is assessed as being of high risk, the miners don't even bother going there,'' Mr Windsor said.
''The process would also allow us to assess the cumulative effects of multiple mines in a region, rather than each being assessed separately.''
When he proposed a similar amendment to the Water Act in 2008 Labor opposed it, as did the Coalition after initially offering support.
But the federal MP for New England now wields extra clout as one of the three MPs who delivered government to Labor and as chairman of the parliamentary committee into the politically sensitive Murray-Darling Basin plan, which begins hearings this month.
The issue of coal seam gas mines on the rich NSW Liverpool Plains farmland has also been a fraught issue for Mr Windsor's former colleagues and now fierce rivals, the National Party.
Two of the scores of companies with licences to explore for coal seam gas in NSW are chaired by former National Party leaders: Aston Resources by Mark Vaile and Eastern Star Gas by John Anderson.
Farmers and environmental groups have called for a mining moratorium until fears about groundwater contamination are resolved.
On Friday the national water commissioner, Chloe Munro, said the coal seam gas industry needed to be better managed because it could have a ''significant'' impact on surface and groundwater. ''The commission acknowledges that the coal seam gas industry represents a significant economic opportunity for Australia,'' she said, releasing a position statement on it.
''However, we also recognise that if not adequately managed and regulated, the industry risks significant, long-term and adverse impacts on surface and groundwater systems.''
She said the commission believed coal seam gas developers should operate under the same rules as other water users.
Last month the Water Minister, Tony Burke, approved $35 billion worth of coal seam gas projects in Queensland, but documents released later showed his department had ''significant concerns'' about it and said the gas extraction could have implications for the Murray-Darling Basin.
Email a friend