Professor Craig Simmons FTSE, Director of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training at Flinders University, was recently appointed as Chair of Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee (ARRTC) by Minister for the Environment, the Hon Melissa Price MP.

The ARRTC is an independent scientific advisory panel which reviews research and programs relating to the effects of uranium mining operations on the environment in the Alligator Rivers Region, including Kakadu National Park, and makes recommendations to the Minister to protect and restore the environment.

Professor Simmons is one of Australia’s leading groundwater scientists and has been lauded for his work into resources of critical important to the Murray- Darling Basin system, water and food security, mining and the nuclear industry, coal seam gas and fracking.

His appointment on the ARRTC committee will help ensure the environmental regulation of uranium mining continues to be guided by the best available science.

The committee also plays an important role in assuring stakeholders, including traditional owners, that uranium exploration and mining activities are not causing unacceptable environmental impacts in the region.