Natural Resource Access Regulator (NRAR) inspects illegal flood works across the Gwydir Valley

The Natural Resource Access Regulator (NRAR) said officers are inspecting works carried out by landholders to ensure they meet the rules, or ensure owners and farmers complete the necessary compliance measures for works done in previous years before rules changed,

NRAR officers are working in conjunction with the NSW government, who said the visits were part of a program to ensure floodwaters are moving throughout the Northern Basin.

The program started in 2022 under the previous federal government and has now moved to the Gwydir area, with NRAR and the NSW government aiming to finish the Northern Basin checks by mid-2024.

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Under the former federal government, then resources and water minister Keith Pitt announced $10.2 million for the program which targets a range of flood works, including levees, roads, dams, channels and block banks.

The state government said the funding aims to "help landholders with consultation, design and assessment but the landholder will be responsible for the actual removal or modification of unapproved works - overseen by the Natural Resources Access Regulator".

The 110 priority areas were selected by the government after assessing a range of hydraulic, ecological and cultural impacts.

"Over the last three decades a range of unapproved flood works have been constructed that now need to be either removed or modified to ensure they comply with new floodplain management plan rules," former state water minister Melinda Pavey said.

"The survey work, remediation work and - where necessary the removal work - means more work in our regions and more goods and services bought from local suppliers.

"With this work done - the community can have confidence that the structures on NSW floodplains are legal and comply with all necessary standards."

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