The NSW independent water regulator is assessing more than 1000 dams for alleged breaches, many involving potentially illegal earthworks, as it clamps down on water theft.
"Flood works can be a barrage, causeway, cutting or embankment that are situated within a flood plain and is of a size to have a likely effect on the distribution or flow of water," she said. "There are billions of dollars worth of water licences about to be handed out to irrigators, on the basis of legally questionable historical practices and with the promise of legally questionable sharing rules," Mr Field said. "This process is a mess."The documents also reveal more about the Berejiklian government's manoeuvring to exempt big irrigators, many of whom are cotton farmers, from needing to hold licences to capture floodwaters.
"The only way to achieve the same intent of this regulation is if the regulator exerise [sic] their discretion," Mr Connor said in the email date-stamped 10.50pm, September 2020. "There are plenty of good reasons why they would do this, but there are considerable risks regardless of what decisions they make."The NRAR spokeswoman denied the regulator's enforcement would provide an opening for irrigators to get away with illegal structures.