Questions & Answers Paper No. 158 - Parliament of New South ...

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LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
MONDAY 12 OCTOBER 2009
Answer—
(1) Yes and the regulations were made flexible to allow exemptions and defences to ensure that those
economic circumstances were considered at the same time as the environmental and public health
issues associated with leaking petrol tanks.
(2) The location of rural operators was reviewed. The Department of Environment, Climate Change and
Water is not able to assess the financial viability of individual businesses.
(3) This was considered when the regulation was developed and a scheme to enable exemptions was
implemented. The scheme allows for the deferral of an operator's obligations in keeping with
individual circumstances and business capacity and the risk to public health and the environment.
Commencement of the obligation to install groundwater monitoring wells has been deferred until
June 2011. Operators can also apply for an exemption from compliance with these requirements for a
further year with provision for renewal after 2012. Exemptions are considered based on risk, and the
nature of the exemption is determined by the proximity of the site to environmentally sensitive
zones.
(4) No.
*7338 WATER SUPPLY—Mr Craig Baumann asked the Minister for Water, and Minister for Regional
Development—
(1) What is the response from the Minister to a University of Technology Sydney report which found
there is a "one in a million chance" that reservoir levels will fall enough to warrant use of the Tillegra
Dam?
(2) What "internal modelling" carried out by the NSW Government predicts rainfall will increase by
10% over the next 40 years?
(3) Why have those documents not been made public?
(4) Has the Government investigated the likelihood of Port Stephens residents in particular receiving
water from the Tillegra Dam?
(5) How is the desalination plant being funded - solely by Sydney Water ratepayers or water ratepayers
across the state?
Answer—
(1) There have already been four independents reports confirming Hunter Water's figures are robust
which take into account current storages, rainfall and projected population growth for the area. The
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) determination confirms that there is no
cheaper alternative to water security for the Hunter than Tillegra Dam. In fact, IPART engaged its
own independent consultants, SKM, to analyse Hunter water's yield estimates and water
consumption forecasts. The SKM report confirms that Hunter Water's system is in need of
augmentation.
(2) Rainfall trends in the lower Hunter are discussed in detail in Hunter Water's H250 Plan - Securing
Our Water Future.
(3) The H250 Plan - Securing Our Water Future is publicly available.
(4) Water from Tillegra Dam will be released down the Williams River and transferred into
Grahamstown Dam via Balickera Canal. Water from Grahamstown Dam is treated and transported to
reservoirs throughout the Port Stephens area.
(5) The cost of the Kurnell desalination plant will be recovered from Sydney Water Corporation's
customers, across Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.
*7339 SANDVIK MINING AND CONSTRUCTION—Mr Craig Baumann asked the Premier, and Minister for
the Arts—
What was the "significant assistance package to Swedish company Sandvik Mining and Construction"
provided by the NSW Government to Sandvik for its business establishment in Heatherbrae, as indicated
in Question Time on 25 June 2009?
Answer—
I am advised that the amount of assistance offered to Sandvik Mining and Construction is commercial-inconfidence.
*7340 WIDENING OF NELSON BAY ROAD—Mr Craig Baumann asked the Minister for Roads—
(1) Following the Government's Budget commitment of $1 million to the planning of the widening of
Nelson Bay Road between Bob's Farm and Anna Bay, when is construction expected to begin?
(2) Is funding available for construction to begin in 2009-10?
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