Windsor wants feds to regulate CSG

Independent MP Tony Windsor is threatening to block the federal government's mining tax unless it clamps down on coal seam gas exploration and provides millions of dollars for research into the environmental effects of coal seam gas drilling.

In a parliament where the New England MP's vote is crucial for the government to get its legislation through, Tony Windsor holds all the aces and is currently in negotiation with the Prime Minister.

"If they want my vote on this there are certain provisos that must be put in place for independent scientific assessment... If they need my vote they know what they need to do," Mr Windsor told ABC North Coast on Wednesday.

Mr Windsor said he wants to see the Commonwealth play a greater role in the approval process, which currently falls to state agencies.

"They (the Commonwealth Department of Environment) can act now through the Environmental Protection Act, but only if it is triggered by heritage or endangered species issues. I'm suggesting water, particularly groundwater, should be a trigger where the Commonwealth can come in and get involved," he said.

Mr Windsor is suggesting that some of the revenue from the proposed Minerals Resources Rent Tax should be put towards "bio-regional assessments" of catchments where extraction industries are proposed.

"We need to know what's going on in our catchments, what are the assets and what sort of cumulative impacts could occur in those catchments if some of these extractive industries are allowed to proceed," Mr Windsor told the ABC's Justine Frazier.

He has also suggested a moratorium on coal seam gas mining should be put in place "in certain areas".

"It's important to understand the science before things occur," he said.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters is also introducing a bill to parliament that would require mining companies to get approval from the federal government before embarking on projects that could endanger water resources.