NRAR Officers to Revisit Casino Area Properties to Monitor Water Rule Compliance
Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) outreach officers are scheduled to return to properties in the Casino area this June to check on the progress of landholders in addressing water law breaches identified in previous visits.
Since 2022, NRAR officers have visited 782 properties in the region, providing advice and guidance on compliance. During these visits, it was discovered that over 22% of landholders had breached water rules in some manner.
NRAR Director of Education and Engagement Keeley Reynolds explained that the upcoming visits are intended to assess the steps landholders have taken to meet their obligations. “At our first visit, if there were issues, we discussed those with the landholder and offered help and advice on how to address them. Now we hope to see that they have complied or made substantial progress,” Ms. Reynolds stated.
The most common problem identified in the region was the failure to keep accurate records of water use. Additionally, issues such as having oversized water works or metering problems were also frequently detected. Of the 176 breaches observed, 152 were related to accurate record keeping.
“The effective management of water in NSW depends on accurately and consistently measuring water use – and keeping accurate logbooks is fundamental to that,” Ms. Reynolds emphasised. “Some of the breaches we are talking about might seem minor, but all breaches of NSW water laws are important and collectively they can add up to a large widespread problem.”
Ms. Reynolds noted that if landholders are still not compliant, outreach officers will attempt to understand the reasons and offer further assistance. However, she warned that continued non-compliance could lead to enforcement actions, including fines, approval suspensions, and even prosecution for the most significant cases.
The Casino area falls within the Far North Coast Water Sharing Plan area, which spans from north of Coffs Harbour to the Queensland border, covering 10,000 square kilometres and over 280 kilometres of coastline in NSW.
For more information about NRAR’s education and engagement activities, landholders and interested parties are encouraged to visit the NRAR website.
Key Points:
- NRAR officers to revisit Casino area properties in June to check compliance progress.
- Initial visits revealed over 22% of landholders had breached water rules.
- Most common issues were related to accurate water use record keeping.
- Continued non-compliance could lead to enforcement actions.
- The Casino area is part of the Far North Coast Water Sharing Plan, covering a vast region in NSW.
For further details on NRAR’s initiatives and to stay updated, please visit NRAR’s website.
For more Casino news, click here.
