Potential local and cumulative impacts of mining on groundwater resources
Project details
| Objective: |
To develop national tools and methodologies to understand and manage the local and cumulative impacts of mining on water resources. |
| Funding: |
$2 million plus GST under the National Groundwater Action Plan. |
| Jurisdiction: |
Multi state |
| Commenced: |
September 2008 |
| Completion: |
August 2011 |
Progress
About the project
The project will:
- develop guidelines for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) that outline both general areas and specific items related to water resources, in particular groundwater, that should be considered during the assessment of mining proposals
- develop risk-management based tools to assist planners and developers to predict and minimise the cumulative impact of future mining activities on other water users
- develop guidelines and tools to enable the integrated management and accounting of water resources across multiple mine sites to minimise the impact on water resources. These will be based on an adaptive management framework to enable improved outcomes as knowledge increases.
Project benefits
The project outcomes will:
- assist jurisdictions to ensure that their land-use planning and EIA requirements are NWI compliant
- ensure that the cumulative impacts of mining operations within a watershed or aquifer system are considered in jurisdictional land-use planning processes
- enable the local and cumulative impacts on water resources due to mining to be understood, and as far as possible, minimised
- assist the mining industry to manage and account for water use at individual mine sites and across multiple mine sites
- apply the tools developed under the project in the assessment of the cumulative impact of mining on water resources in up to four regions.
The project will involve consultation with the mining industry, state and territory governments and other interested groups.
The project is managed by Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (SKM).