The NSW Water Management Act 2000 covers many aspects of our use and management of water, such as the alleged construction of an unapproved farm dam mentioned in Backlash last week.
The Natural Resources Access Regulator is prosecuting in that case, and there are large potential fines.
The Act also protects our waterways from potentially damaging activities like the unauthorised placing of fill in the riparian zone, defined as 40 metres from the bank of a waterway.
In an area like this with roads and waterways often in close proximity, this should protect our riparian zones from unnecessary damage, but local councils are exempt from the provisions of the Act.
However, an environmentally and socially aware council would ensure that the intent of the Act was respected as far as possible, surely? So why does Byron Shire Council think that it is acceptable to use the riparian zone of the Brunswick River at about 1444 Main Arm Road at Upper Main Arm as, seemingly, a place to dump unwanted dirt and gravel left over from roadworks?
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
