2017-09-18 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                               18 SEPTEMBER 2017


The map shows that:
    Seagrass is no longer listed as having its own environmental value. This change is
      acceptable as impacts to seagrass are encompassed in the water quality necessary for
      aquatic ecosystem protection;
    Stock Watering is not proposed for inclusion in Weyba Catchment. Whilst Stock is no
      longer run on properties in Weyba Catchment, the area still has properties zoned as rural
      and rural settlement. The planning scheme permits stock to be run on these properties. For
      this reason it is prudent that the values for stock watering remain within Weyba catchment.


6.    Consultation Questions
The State Government has asked the following questions in bold italic font. The proposed
response to each follows.
Do you have any comments on the aquatic ecosystem draft water quality objectives (ie
50th percentile) listed in tables (shown by basin, catchment, water type)?
The proposal to use the 50th%ile measured in the field over the past 10 years as the new
maximum criteria will lower the current legislated level of protection. However, it will also facilitate
improvement to the existing water quality for 50% of the time compared to what has actually
been occurring in the past 10 years. This principle complies with the section of the Act which
allows:
lower level of protection of the environmental values … (where) the water quality objectives are
an improvement on the existing water quality.”
The information provided does not demonstrate that all aspects of the above Section of the Act
are met. The Act only allows lowering the level of protection where there would be unacceptable
economic or social impacts on the community if the level of protection was not lowered. There is
insufficient information provided to determine whether the existing or proposed water quality
objectives in Moderately Disturbed waters are achievable, if land based management practices,
or point source inputs were improved, if they would impact receiving High Ecological Value
Waters and the socio – economic impacts of that.
The State has already invested in resources such as e-source modelling which is currently used
to predict the water quality within South East Queensland catchments to inform the Healthy
Waters report card scores. The e-source modelling can input different land management
scenarios into the model to crudely predict what the water quality may be at different points in the
catchment. The South East Queensland Healthy Land and Water Monitoring and Evaluation
Steering Committee is awaiting results of scenario runs within the e-Source modelling which will
inform the water quality expected within catchments under different land management scenarios.
The scenario for full investment for 100% best management practice will inform whether existing
or proposed water quality objectives are possible, and provide an understanding of the amount of
investment needed to achieve these. This information is necessary to determine whether
achieving the water quality objectives is possible and the socio economic impacts of being able
to do so.
The legislation states changes must protect and enhance water quality values of the
environment, for all Queensland waters. It is not clear why the proposed changes are not applied
to address where the current water quality criteria is too lenient. Where the long term monitoring
shows the 80th%ile is “cleaner” than the current 50th%ile, that could indicate the ecology has
adapted to “cleaner” waters. Where the criteria is too lenient, new pollution sources in the
catchment that can legally worsen the water quality may facilitate a gradual decline in water
quality that could go unnoticed. Justification is requested as to why the proposed amendment is
nominated for waters that cannot meet the existing criteria for more than half the time, and not to
waters that always perform a lot better than the existing criteria. This change to tighten criteria
based on 10 years of data, will have no social or economic impact on existing uses. It will prevent
gradual decline of waters.
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