For Tararua dairy farmers, news the One Plan could be heading back to the Environment Court is being greeted with trepidation.
"Farmers are saying, 'Here we go again'," Tararua District councillor and Eketahuna dairy farmer Tracey Collis told the Dannevirke News.
"Dannevirke farmers are going through the One Plan consent process at the moment and are asking, 'How does this affect me'? And farmers in the priority catchment of Mangatainoka in southern Tararua who have been through the process are worried about the ramifications.
"They're calving, their incomes are down and in some areas it's been pretty wet," she said.
"Farmers have been building their relationships with Horizons Regional Council, but now the announcement from Fish and Game and the Environmental Defence Society has them thinking, 'Oh no here it comes again'."
Mrs Collis said farmers will now be asking themselves if they should be committing money to preparing for their consent process.
"Farmers have little money to spend anyway and most farmers wouldn't know who EDS is.
Yes, our guys know Fish and Game, but they're wondering how much power do these two organisations have."
A Federated Farmers survey in 2014 showed the average dairy farmer in the Horizons region had spent more than $110,000 on environmental management in the past five years.
"We, as dairy farmers, are doing the best we can and while we are seeing improvements in our environment from the work and investment on farms, it's frustrating to think Horizons are facing a challenge to the One Plan. And it seems this legal action has been timed to hit during the local body election period."