Groups agree on broad principles of water study
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Major stakeholders will continue meetings today to discussed the shared resources of the Namoi Valley.
Representatives of BHP, environmental and local government groups, farmers and other stakeholders met yesterday in Narrabri with the New South Wales Government's water study facilitator Pam Allen.
They will continue discussions with property owners in the Caroona district today.
At stake is a catchment-wide study into groundwater reserves and the effects coal mining may have on their security.
The head of the irrigators' group Namoi Water, John Clements, says the major players have now agreed on the broad principles of a study.
"It's the specific detail now of a catchment-wide water study that we'll need to take scientific advice on as a group," he said.
"Agree on that, hand it back to the Minister, funding becomes crucial and at that point of time we've achieved what we've been working for for two years now, that is to get some good planning process running in the Namoi."
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