Farmer fined for water breach

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
A YARRA Valley farmer has pleaded guilty to taking water without authority on two properties.
Jim Corrone, farm manager for Reward Projects Ltd, appeared at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on 2 September.
The court was told that during inspections between July 2009 and February 2010, Southern Rural Water field officers found that Mr Corrone had taken up to 90 megalitres of water from bores on a property in Woori Yallock and one in Seville without holding a sufficient groundwater licence.
Mr Corrone was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to pay $750 to the court fund. He was also ordered to pay $1800 in costs to Southern Rural Water.
Southern Rural Water’s manager of groundwater and rivers, Craig Parker, said it was a timely reminder for farmers that they must hold a valid licence.
‘We rely on bore owners to do the right thing so that we can protect the water supply for the future,’ he said.
Mr Corrone told the Mail the property had a licence to take 29 megalitres of water, but a 100-megalitre licence had been applied for.
‘There was a hold-up in the licence, and we believed we were going to get the permit,’ he said.
‘On the day (SRW field officers) read the meter, the licence hadn’t gone through.’
The new licence came through on 1 March, just two weeks later.
Mr Corrone said he should have kept a closer eye on the situation but he accepted the end result.
‘I’ve been in the valley all my life and never done anything wrong, but I have copped all the flak as the manager of this place,’ he said.
The farms closed after Rewards Projects went into voluntary administration this year.
‘Rewards management is in receivership so I’ve had no support from them,’ he said.