[Greens-Media] Bob Brown - Farmers get reprieve from coal miners under Greens Water Act amendment

[Kelly, Russell (Sen B. Brown)]

		26 November 2008

	
	Farmers get reprieve from coal miners under Greens Water Act
amendment

	The Federal Government should adopt a Senate amendment to the
Water Act that protects fertile farming land from mining, according to
the Greens.
	
	Senator Brown today successfully moved amendments to the Act
originally proposed by the Independent Member for New England, Tony
Windsor in the lower house.

	Last month Senator Brown and Mr Windsor visited farmers at
Caroona, near Tamworth, who are strongly opposed to plans by BHP to mine
coal in the area. It's feared the mining may damage local hydrology and
greatly affect the productivity of surrounding farms.

	Senator Brown said that the Greens' amendment made it necessary
for a mining company to undertake an independent catchment-wide
groundwater study before exploration or large-scale mining was
permitted.

	"It's now up to Water Minister Penny Wong to make sure that the
interests of Murray-Darling farmers are protected before mining is
allowed to proceed."

	"She should convince her Cabinet colleagues to support this
amendment so that it can become law."

	Amendment: 
	
	255C Mitigation of unintended diversions
			Prior to exploration licences being granted for
mining operations on floodplains that have underlying groundwater
systems forming part of the Murray-Darling system inflows, an
independent expert study must be undertaken to determine the impacts of
the proposed mining operations on the connectivity of groundwater
systems, surface water and ground water flows and water quality.

			Where a substantial risk is identified
exploration licences should not be granted.