Irrigator fined over bore water extraction

Timothy Mitchell Commins pleaded guilty and was convicted of a single breach of the NSW Water Management Act, for pumping an additional 1,351.1 megalitres than licenced to from a water bore.

Commins grows cotton, barley and canola on a farm near Whitton.

The court handed down a $56,000 fine for the over-extraction of water and ordered he pay legal costs of the NSW Natural Resource Access Regulator of $70,000.

NRAR said the offence took place between July 2017 and July 2019, and the investigation was part of the agency's Operation Drawdown aimed at enforcing water extraction limits in the Lower Murrumbidgee and other groundwater sources across the state.

READ MORE

In the Land and Environment Court, Justice Rachel Pepper accepted that the breach was "inadvertent".

The court heard a letter had been sent to Commins advising him of a new water extraction limit but he had not sought to understand what the change meant and hadn't acted on it.

Justice Pepper said the over-extraction of water "undermined" the objectives of water regulation.

"The importance of adhering to the conditions of a water supply work approval and of ensuring the orderly management of a valuable and increasingly scarce resource cannot be understated," Justice Pepper said in her judgment.

"I therefore find that it was reasonably foreseeable that failing to monitor any conditions on the approvals would harm the environment and other water users."

NRAR Director of Investigation and Enforcement Lisa Stockley said extraction limits were applied to bore licences to ensure a fair share.

"This protects the water source, the rights of other water users and any dependent ecosystems," Ms Stockley said.

"It is absolutely crucial for these reasons that water users know the conditions of their water licence and follow them.

"We understand that the rules can be complex, but there is help available to clarify compliance obligations."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: