Underground water impact reports

For a declared cumulative management area, the Commission is responsible for preparing an underground water impact report. The underground water impact report includes:

• maps showing predicted water level impacts caused by the exercise of underground water rights by petroleum tenure holders
• an ongoing water monitoring program
• information about management of springs that could be affected by falls in water levels
• an assignment of responsibilities for individual petroleum tenure holders to carry out activities such as specific parts of the water monitoring program.

Draft underground water impact reports must be released for public consultation prior to being submitted to the regulator, the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), for approval.

When approved by DERM, the report becomes a statutory instrument under the Water Act 2000.

Outside the cumulative management areas individual petroleum tenure holders are responsible for preparing underground water impact reports for their areas of operation.