This submission responds to the Victorian Government’s consultation on how to price surface water access for Latrobe Valley coal mine rehabilitation.
Environment Victoria recommends that mine operators pay a fair, opportunity-cost–reflective price for rehabilitation water, set at the upper end of the Ricardo range ($260–$300/ML) with annual escalation accounting for inflation, scarcity and climate change (informed by Victoria’s Climate Science Report).
We also recommend that the pricing should incorporate the value of lost ecosystem services (e.g., filtration, native fish support, wetland regeneration, cultural flows) when water is permanently removed, and that all revenue be ringfenced and transparently reinvested in Durt’Yowan/Latrobe River and Gippsland Lakes restoration, guided by Traditional Owners and the West Gippsland Catchment Authority.