Climate Change Law

Alanvale Pty Ltd & Anor v Southern Rural Water & Ors [2010] VCAT 480 (21 April 2010)

This case is available at: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/V…

This case was heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal before Deputy President Helen Gibson, Member Ian Potts and Member Graeme David. It concerned the sustainability of ground water given the impact of climate change upon increased rainfall variability. The case arose as a result of an application by Alanvale Pty Ltd and AJ & KM Graham Pty Ltd under section 64 of the Water Act 1989 (Vic) to review a decision by the water authority not to grant licences for the extraction of groundwater to irrigate to agricultural properties.

The authority gave several reasons for its refusal, including increased ground water salinity due to the bores, future decreased rainfall levels due to climate change, and the impact of decreasing the aquifer on the rest of the region’s water levels causing shallow bores, and thus requiring bore deepening. The Authority also noted that this decision would be consistent with previous applications requesting increased water allocation. The applicants, on the other hand, argued that the Water Authority was being too conservative and ‘unfair’ in their decision and that there is sufficient capacity within the area for increased water extraction, without detrimental impact. Other landholders in the area also voiced their objections to the application. They noted the impact of increased extraction on their shallow bores along with the impact of flows into the Eumeralla River and other local waterways.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the water authority. They applied the precautionary principle to argue that, due to climate change, there is a lack of certainty about existing and future rainfall levels and thus the projected availability of groundwater. In making their decision the Tribunal had regard to: the water balance in the area; the impact of increasing numbers of tree plantations on the area’s water demands; the groundwater and surface water interactions from the ground to and from rivers and wetlands; coastal intrusions causing outflow of groundwater to the ocean; the long-term sustainability of water and, significantly, climate change, the precautionary principle and climate variability. They concluded that given the available water resources and sustainable limitations due to climate change, strategic and holistic decision-making means that granting a licences would be outside the overall objectives of the Water Act 1989 (Vic)