Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018N00014:clause:5_4
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018N00014
Segment Type: clause
Provision Reference: sch 5 cl 4
Character Range: 2023–4363

4  Background
The Basin Plan
 (1) The Basin Plan is a legislative instrument made under Part 2 of the Water Act. The Basin Plan provides for the integrated management of the "Basin water resources", which are, broadly speaking, the water resources within, or beneath, the Murray‑Darling Basin.
 (2) Among other things, the Basin Plan specifies "water resource plan areas", each of which contains part of the Basin water resources. Each water resource plan area consists of one or more "SDL resource units". Each SDL resource unit is either:
 (a) a surface water SDL resource unit, identified in section 6.02 of the Basin Plan; or
 (b) a groundwater SDL resource unit, identified in section 6.03 of the Basin Plan.
Long‑term average sustainable diversion limits (SDLs)
 (3) The Basin Plan also specifies the "long‑term average sustainable diversion limits", or "SDLs", for:
 (a) the Basin water resources as a whole—see subsection 6.04(2) of the Basin Plan; and
 (b) each SDL resource unit—see:
 (i) subsection 6.04(3) of the Basin Plan for surface water SDL resource units; and
 (ii) subsection 6.04(4) of the Basin Plan for groundwater SDL resource units.
 (4) The SDLs are the maximum long-term annual average quantities of water that can be taken, on a sustainable basis, from the relevant water resources. In accordance with paragraph 23(2)(b) of the Water Act, SDLs have been specified in the Basin Plan as a formula that may be used to calculate a quantity of water per year.
Adjustments to long‑term average sustainable diversion limits
 (5) In accordance with subsection 23A(1) of the Water Act, Part 2 of Chapter 7 of the Basin Plan provides for the Authority to propose:
 (a) an adjustment of the SDLs for one or more surface water SDL resource units; and
 (b) as a result of such adjustments, an adjustment of the SDL for the Basin water resources as a whole;
  by an amount determined by the Authority.
 (6) In accordance with paragraph 23A(2)(a) of the Water Act, section 7.17 of the Basin Plan also includes criteria for determining:
 (a) whether the Authority should propose such an adjustment; and
 (b) the amount of such an adjustment.
 (7) Subsection 7.20(4) of the Basin Plan requires the proposed adjustments to be in the form of a formula as a function of time that depends on the factors specified in that subsection.