5th Dec 2023, 8:34 PM – Senate Nature Repair Market (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023 and another - in Committee - Expanding the water trigger

The majority voted in favour of government amendments, which means they passed. Their purpose was the expand the water trigger.

What do these amendments do?

According to the relevant explanatory memorandum:

The EPBC Act prohibits a constitutional corporation, the Commonwealth, or a Commonwealth agency from taking an action if the action involves coal seam gas development or large coal mining development and the action has, will have, or is likely to have a significant impact on a water resource (sections 24D and 24E). This is known as the water trigger. The EPBC Act also prohibits a person from taking an action in a Commonwealth area or a Territory, or for the purpose of constitutional trade or commerce if the action involves coal seam gas development or large coal mining development and the action has, will have, or is likely to have a significant impact on a water resource.

The proposed amendments to the Bill would amend the EPBC Act to:

• expand the scope of the water trigger to apply to all forms of unconventional gas development (rather than coal seam gas development) including activities involving unconventional gas (unconventional gas production) (by drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or other means), including from coal seams, shale rock, tight reservoirs, and any other sources prescribed by regulation. The water trigger will continue to apply to large coal mining development.

• expand the scope of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee to provide advice on EPBC Act approvals involving unconventional gas developments, in addition to coal seam gas and large coal mining developments.

• amend the name of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) to reflect the broadened remit (to Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Unconventional Gas Development and Large Coal Mining Development).

• define what is meant by an unconventional gas development and unconventional gas production and allow for further sources to be added in regulations if there are emerging technologies that may need to be captured in future.

• provide clarity in relation to the application of the expanded water trigger giving proponents greater certainty through explicitly excluding projects that are:

• currently in production as approved under a Commonwealth, state or territory law or is a development that has permanently ceased extraction or production or where post-production has permanently ceased,

• have an existing approval under Part 9 of the EPBC Act or notice of a proposed approval decision, or

• have previously been determined to not need an approval under the EPBC Act (i.e. the action is not a controlled action, not a controlled action particular manner)

• provide that relevant projects currently undergoing EPBC Act assessment (i.e. have been determined to be controlled actions under the EPBC Act but have not yet been approved) will need to be assessed for impacts on water resources.