Lake the battleground in power struggle

By COLIN JAMES

The Environment Minister's "call-in" of the applications to use water from the Waitaki River and its feeder lakes and tributaries, announced yesterday, may cause a complication for energy supply development.

The call-in, where the minister takes over the consent process under the Resource Management Act, includes Meridian Energy's Project Aqua scheme for the use of the lower Waitaki River. The project, intended to produce electricity in 2008, is an important element in the forward energy supply.

Two major irrigation projects are bidding for the same water and recreational fishers and environmentalists have expressed concerns.

Some 36 smaller irrigation projects are also seeking water upstream.

But a bigger complication is that Marian Hobbs' call-in includes the Aoraki Water Trust, which wants to take water from Lake Tekapo and feed it to South Canterbury farms. Those farms are in Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton's Aoraki electorate.

At present Meridian has the rights to Lake Tekapo's water for its upstream Waitaki River hydro-electric generating plants, notably Benmore and Aviemore. Diversion of a substantial amount of Tekapo water to the Aoraki Water Trust might reduce the volume available to Meridian - and affect the economics of Project Aqua.

Hobbs' plan is a two-stage affair, intended to produce a "fair process" in allocating the water. Under usual Resource Management Act procedures, the consents would be handled sequentially, each on its own merits. Those lower in the queue might miss out even if they have a good case.

Hobbs has told the Business Herald that her special legislation, due in the House by the end of November, will set up an independent commission, probably of five members, to allocate the water from the lakes and the river between categories of use.

The commissioners, likely to start work in April after the bill is passed (assuming it can get a majority - the Greens are opposed), will take into account environmental, social and economic factors and also the local, regional and national importance of the various applicants.

There are to be appeals on points of law to the Environment Court, which would give them priority.

The detailed consents, covering matters other than water allocation, will then be dealt with by a board nominated by the relevant local and regional councils and possibly including one or two of the allocation commissioners.

Hobbs said yesterday the call-in did not affect the rights of individuals to take water for domestic needs, fire-fighting and livestock.

Her call-in is a one-off. It was not, she said, a pilot for the development of a national allocation policy for water, which is being studied by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen's infrastructure group of ministers, which includes Hobbs and Energy Minister Pete Hodgson.