Call to halt water consents rejected

The site of the proposed 80-metre Ruataniwha Dam, over the Makaroro River

A request for a moratorium on any new or amended water-take consents was voted down by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC).

A petition with 874 signatures was tabled at yesterday's monthly HBRC meeting by Green Party spokesman Paul Bailey, who explained it was the result of a recent rally which saw a number of citizens express concerns about the way consents had been issued to water bottling plants.

In his presentation to the council, Mr Bailey focussed on paragraph four in decision item eight on the meeting's agenda.

"Through collaboration, members of the Tutaekuri Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamu [TANK] Group have been tasked with providing the council, via the Regional Planning Committee, with consensus recommendations regarding objectives and policies for a regional plan change to the RRMP [Regional Resource Management Plan] covering the TANK catchments," the paragraph reads.

"After the debacle that was the Ruataniwha Water Storage Stakeholder's Group, I am confident that there will be more emphasis placed on ensuring consensus recommendations which is as it should be," Mr Bailey said.

"If this does not happen then the TANK Group could also be shown to be a sham, which does no good for the reputation of HBRC."

He was also intrigued to read in a staff member's note that a principal reason for the extended timeframe was TANK Group's preference to wait for additional information, rather than take recommendations based on environment monitoring information up to 2009.

"On the one hand you set up a group to discuss the future of the Heretaunga Aquifer, it is delayed, and yet you are seen to be unwilling to place consent applications on hold pending completion of the group's work.

"Why rush? The water's not going anywhere."

Council staff said as the consent authority the council had the option of requiring certain levels of investigation for any applicant for a new consent for the take of water.

"If council was concerned about the management of the resource and the actual or potential effects on it, it could choose to require a detailed adequate assessment of effects with a high level of detailed groundwater modelling to support the application."

The staff recommended that while council should formally receive the petition, it should decline the request to impose a moratorium on any new or amended water-take consents.