Overflow Regeneration Project (Revoked)

The Overflow Regeneration Project (Revoked) was a carbon sequestration initiative located at "The Overflow," a pastoral property in the Maranoa region of Queensland. The project area covers approximately 14,098 hectares and is situated roughly 80 kilometers northwest of St George and 100 kilometers south of Mitchell. Registered in August 2015, the project was situated in a semi-arid zone characterized by grazing land use, with soils predominantly consisting of vertosols (cracking clays) and texture contrast soils typical of the Balonne-Condamine river basin.

The project operated under the Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology (Version 1.1). This method involves regenerating permanent even-aged native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock grazing or mechanical clearing. To earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the proponents, Geoffrey and Michelle Freshwater, would have been required to implement management changes, such as ceasing mechanical clearing and managing grazing pressure, to allow the native forest to re-establish and reach forest cover density.

An interesting aspect of this project is its revocation status. It was revoked on March 7, 2017, under Section 33 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011. Unlike Section 32, which governs voluntary revocation by the proponent, Section 33 typically provides for the Clean Energy Regulator to unilaterally revoke a project's declaration if it is satisfied that the project does not meet eligibility requirements. This suggests the project may have faced challenges in demonstrating the required regeneration or meeting administrative criteria shortly after its registration. The proponents continue to hold water licenses in the region, confirming the property's ongoing function as a grazing operation.