Armidale’s one step closer to securing an upgraded sewage treatment plant, with design work underway to overhaul the current facility thanks to over $1.2 million being invested by the NSW Government and Armidale Regional Council.

An independent panel commissioned to assess the management of the 2020 Northern Basin first flush event has released its final report, Secretary for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Jim Betts has announced.

The state’s water regulator is holding two companies to account in separate prosecutions for alleged breaches of the <i>Water Management Act 2000</i>.