This bioregional assessment helps us understand how coal seam gas and coal mining development could affect water resources and water-dependent assets in the Northern Inland Catchments bioregion. It identifies where potential impacts could occur, as well as the areas that are unlikely to be affected.
About the bioregion
The Northern Inland Catchments bioregion is located west of the Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia and includes parts of the northern Murray–Darling Basin in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. The Northern Inland Catchments bioregion adjoins the Clarence-Moreton bioregion in the north-east, and the Northern Sydney Basin bioregion in the south. The bioregion was selected for assessment because of the likely coal seam gas and coal mining development and the potential for water dependent impacts on the environment and other water-using industries such as agriculture.
Subregions
The Northern Inland Catchments bioregion includes four subregions: the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine, Gwydir, Namoi and Central West subregions.
The subregion boundaries follow river basin boundaries, but only include areas that have the types of rocks known to contain coal and coal seam gas. Some water resources outside the Northern Inland Catchments bioregion that may potentially be impacted as a result of coal and coal seam gas development in the Northern Inland Catchments bioregion will also be considered in the assessment.
