Legislative Council Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Answers to Questions Desalination Plants DESALINATION PLANTS The Hon. M. PARNELL Legislative Council DESALINATION PLANTS In reply to the Hon. M. PARNELL (6 June 2007). The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council Minister for State/Local Government Relations Minister for the Status of Women Minister for Consumer Affairs Minister for Government Enterprises Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport DESALINATION PLANTS The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Environment and Conservation is advised: 1.	The EPA is the appropriate authority to licence desalination plants. However these are only captured for licensing purposes if the discharges to receiving waters: raise the temperature of the receiving waters by more than 2 degrees Celsius at any time at a distance of 10 metres or more from the point of discharge: or contain chemical or antibiotic water treatments; and the total volume of the discharge exceeds 50 kilolitres per day 2.	The EPA is developing new legislation to amend Schedule 1 of the Environment Protection Act 1993 so it has a specific, targeted head power to appropriately regulate desalination activities of a specific threshold which pose a significant risk to the environment.