A planned court appearance next week regarding the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's prosecution of the CHB District Council over wastewater exceedances has been adjourned until March.
CHB District Council chief executive John Freeman said the two councils agreed that the Monday, February 13 fixture at the Waipukurau District Court was too soon to start proceedings, and more time was needed for information gathering.
"We are still looking at all the information and the lawyers are working together," he said.
Last November the regional council laid three charges against the CHB District Council for breaching its resource consent conditions at the wastewater treatment plants in Waipukurau and Waipawa.
Those resource consents allow for a certain number of exceedances of contaminant discharges during a 12-month period.
The regional council claimed the district council has passed that limit at both plants.
One charge related to the discharge of E. coli at Waipawa in excess of the five allowed exceedances.
The other two charges related to discharge of E. coli and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) at Waipukurau; again in excess of the five allowed exceedances.
The charge regarding the DRP discharge at Waipukurau was subsequently dropped in recognition that it had followed heavy rainfall.
Mr Freeman said a new court date of March 20 was being discussed.