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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 3038 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 August 2020 by Hon Robin Chapple

Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Water
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 4487- View tabled paper


Question

I refer to the Bungaroo Coastal Water Supply Borefield (BCWSB), and I ask:

(a) can the State purchase water from the BCWSB that is surplus to the needs of the operator:
(i) if yes to (a), under what type of agreement are these arrangements governed;
(b) which entities are licenced to extract water from the BCWSB;
(c) what is the maximum annual volume that each entity, given at (b), is licenced to extract from the BCWSB;
(d) under the terms of its annual extraction licence, does each BCWSB licence-holder pay a fixed annual licence fee:
(i) if yes to (d), what amount (in AUD), per those entities given in (b);
(e) under the terms of its annual extraction licence, does each BCWSB licence-holder pay a variable fee; calculated according to volume extracted from the BCWSB:
(i) if yes to (e), what is the variable rate of that fee, per mega-litre taken, for each licence-holder given at (b);
(f) if no to both (d) and (e), will the Minister please explain how licence holders are billed, and on what criteria;
(g) how many monitoring bores are contained within the BCWSB:
(i) will the Minister please give the location of those bores referred to at (g);
(h) will the Minister please table the Mean Aquifer Level (MAL) in the BCWSB for each recording interval, since 1 January 2000;
(i) what is the minimum MAL, below which the BCWSB should not fall;
(j) who sets that minimum referred to at (i);
(k) is this minimum MAL, referred to at (i), binding:
(i) if yes to (k), will the Minister please explain in what sense it is binding;
(l) which entity is responsible for monitoring the MAL in the BCWSB;
(m) what are the implications of the MAL in the BCWSB falling below the minimum prescribed levels for:
(i) licence-holders; and
(ii) the environment;
(n) has the State purchased surplus water from the BCWSB, at any stage, since its commission:
(i) if yes to (m):
(A) will the Minister please advise during which years, and at what amounts, the State purchased this water; and
(B) what rate per megalitre does the State pay for water from the BCWSB; and
(o) which State regulatory bodies are responsible for monitoring the health of the BCWSB;
(p) what are the key parameters used by the State to monitor the health of the BCWSB;
(q) does the BCWSB-operator self-report, in relation to the key parameters, used by the State to monitor the health of the BCWSB;
(r) does the State undertake its own independent studies in relation to the health of the BCWSB:
(i) if yes to (r):
(A) when, or how often, does this occur; and
(B) will the Minister please table any relevant data from this year and the preceding four years; and
(ii) if no to (r), why is this the case;
(s) under the terms of the licence issued by the State in relation to the BCWSB, is the operator required to report decreases in water levels:
(i) in the monitoring bores generally;
(ii) in the monitoring bores, when a certain level/threshold has been crossed;
(iii) in the production bores generally;
(iv) in the monitoring bores, when a certain level/threshold has been crossed; and
(v) if no to (s)(i)-(s)(iv), under what circumstance is the operator required to report decreases in water levels; and
(t) if yes to any (s)(i)-(s)(iv), has the State received reports from the BCWSB operator since commission:
(i) if yes to (t), will the Minister please:
(A) list the numbers of such reports per year?
(B) table any of those documents referred to at (s), wherein the water level in a bore has dropped below acceptable standards?
Answered on 15 October 2020

(a) There is no agreement between the State and the operator of BCWSB to purchase surplus water

(i) Not applicable

(b) Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd is the only entity licensed to abstract water from the Bungaroo aquifer.

(c) Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd is authorised under groundwater licence GWL201931 to take up to 10,000,000 kilolitres per annum.

(d) In Western Australia there are no annual water licence fees.

(i) Not applicable

(e) Refer to answer for (d).

(i) Not applicable

(f) Refer to answer for (d).

(g) There are 56 monitoring bores within the Bungaroo Coastal Water Supply Borefield.

(i) The bore locations are at Table 3 of the Bungaroo Coastal Water Supply Borefield Annual Aquifer Review 2019, provided in the tabled paper.

[see tabled paper no.].

(h) MAL is not required to be recorded.

(i) Not applicable

(j) Not applicable

(k) Not applicable

(i) Not applicable

(l) Not applicable.

(m) Not applicable

(i) Not applicable

(ii) Not applicable

(n) No

(i) Not applicable

(A) Not applicable

(B) Not applicable

(o) Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.

(p) Groundwater levels, groundwater quality and condition of groundwater-dependent vegetation.

(q) Hamersley Iron, as the sole licensee of the Bungaroo Coastal Water Supply Borefield, reports to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation through the annual aquifer review report submitted every 12 months.

(r) No

(i) Not applicable

(A) Not applicable

(B) Not applicable

(ii) Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd is required to report any non-compliances with the groundwater licence in the annual aquifer review report. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation reviews this as part of the annual licence compliance review process.

(s) See below.

(i) Yes

(ii) Yes

(iii) Yes

(iv) Yes

(v) Not applicable

(t) Yes.

(i)

(A) One report is submitted for each water year.

(B) I table the 2019 Annual Monitoring report, which is the only year to date when water level triggers have been breached for this borefield

[see tabled paper no.]