The National Water Commission have released a new Waterlines Report No 59 – October 2011 that considers the cumulative impacts of mining operations within National Water Initiative compliant land use planning processes. The report includes a framework and a set of supporting tools for use by jurisdictions and mining companies to allow them to perform nationally-consistent, risk based assessments of the cumulative impacts of mining on groundwater resources.
The framework was tested and refined in a range of geological, hydrological and land use contexts across four Australian regions:
- Hamersley/Pilbara in Western Australia
- Eromanga in South Australia
- Charters Towers in Queensland
- the Hunter Valley in New South Wales
This final Waterlines report sets out:
- a final overview of the project approach
- project outcomes and findings
- key issues to be considered in implementing the framework
The report sets out a sequential process of assessment to identify the nature, scale and magnitude of risks associated with mining impacts on groundwater. A series of eighteen technical reports detailing the various components of the project are also available. Click here for more.
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