Advertise extraction licence conditions, says department

Gosford Council should have advertised intended groundwater extraction licence conditions as part of the development application for its proposed treatment works at Woy Woy depot, according to advice from the Department of Natural Resources.

The application should have been treated the as an "integrated development", the department said.

This would have given the department the status of an "approval body" which could comment and provide "general terms of approval" reflecting conditions for the borefield water licence.

This, in turn, would have provided the public with an opportunity to comment on the environmental effects of the groundwater extraction.

The advice from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was supplied to Peninsula News by Member for Peats Ms Marie Andrews.

It stated: "If Council decides to go through a development application (DA) process because of all the associated infrastructure works, the development will come under the Integrated Development Assessment Scheme (IDAS) under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, as IDAS captures licences under the Water Act 1912.

"If IDAS is applied to the borefield, DNR will then become an 'approval body' for this DA.

"DNR will provide 'general terms of approval' to Council for the DA, which will include a copy of conditions intended to be applied to the water licence for the borefield.

"Council must approve the DA and then make formal application to DNR for the final licence.

"The public will have an opportunity to comment on the DA during the public exhibition period."

The department explained that, without a development application, the water licence application did not have to be advertised, unless it was refused.

Gosford Council was "undertaking testing of borefield works under the auspice of a test bore licence under Part 5 of the Water Act 1912.

"This information is necessary to determine the capacity of the aquifer to deliver water and to assist DNR in determining an entitlement.

"Under Part 5 (groundwater) of the Water Act 1912, there is no statutory requirement for advertisement of a licence application, unlike surface water licences (under Part 2 of the Water Act 1912) where advertisement is a statutory obligation on DNR.

"However, if DNR refuses a Part 5 licence application it must advertise the application in a relevant newspaper and publish the application in the Gazette."

Media statement, August 18 Marie Andrews, Member for Peats