Federated Farmers says strict environmental conditions proposed for the Tukituki catchment under a draft board of inquiry decision represent "a poor outcome for the entire Hawke's Bay community, not just farmers".
The board is currently considering responses to its draft decision which granted consents for the Ruataniwha water storage scheme and imposed strict nutrient limits and minimum water flow restrictions in the Tukituki catchment.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council and its investment arm, Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company, have warned the board's proposed plan change conditions - under what is known as Plan Change 6 - could make a number of farming and growing ventures in the catchment uneconomic, which in turn could prevent the dam from being built.
The board's draft decision "won't be a good outcome for Hawke's Bay if it ends up blocking the single largest environmental and economic opportunity we've got from progressing," said Will Foley, Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president.
"This dam matters to Hawke's Bay. We can be much more than one huge retirement village," he said. "The board of inquiry's draft decision says it doesn't wish to burden good farmers while balancing economic development with protection of the environment. It may sound good in theory but that's not the practical outcome of its draft decision.
But the pessimistic response to the board's decision from Federated Farmers and the regional council has been challenged by councillor Tom Belford, a long-time "sceptic" of the Ruataniwha project.
"Federated Farmers, with its hysteria about Plan Change 6, represents the farmers who can't see beyond their next fertiliser application, not the 'superstar' farmers that the dam's entire viability is predicated upon by its promoters," Mr Belford said.
"There are farmers and growers of all kinds in Hawke's Bay who are no longer walking on their knuckles. They are thriving with less and less traditional fertiliser use, improving their soils, and reducing their environmental footprint on the land and water. Plan Change 6 will push more and more farmers down this path, the quicker the better for Hawke's Bay."
The board of inquiry was last week granted a one-month extension to its deadline to produce a final decision once it has considered submissions on its draft.
The extension, granted by Conservation Minister Nick Smith and Environment Minister Amy Adams, followed a request by the regional council, which said it was concerned the board did not have enough time to consider complex issues raised by submitters.
Mr Foley said he hoped the extension, which means the board now has until June 28 to deliver its final decision, would lead to a rethink of the strict conditions imposed through Plan Change 6.
"I get that the board of inquiry has had a lot to do in a short amount of time. This extension will give them the space to fully re-evaluate all the evidence presented to them. It's a chance to get the final decision right," he said. "We all know that Hawke's Bay gets dry and there's the prospect of climate change so this dam provides an opportunity to make a real difference.
"[The board's] draft decision means existing sheep and beef farmers and horticulturalists will need a consent as our current farming methods will be deemed to be against the law under this draft decision. That is whether the dam proceeds or not.
"If the board's draft report rubber hits the decisions road, most farmers will be caught in its dragnet. It puts the future of all farming on the fertile Ruataniwha in jeopardy, including me.
DairyNZ's senior policy advisor Oliver Parsons said the industry body supported the board of inquiry's vision for sustainable growth within sound environmental bottom lines.
"But from an implementation perspective, it is clear that parts of the draft decision would make this impossible," he said.
"Instead of sustainable growth, the draft decision would require a 40 percent claw-back on existing rural production. In a community that has already suffered from years of economic decline and is stretched to the limit, that just doesn't make sense and goes against the purpose of the Resource Management Act."
But regional councillor Rex Graham said the board of inquiry's draft decision "shows leadership and vision".
"I think its tragic that some of our national leaders do not share their view," Mr Graham said. "The time has come when we all need to work with our rivers and our environment not the other way around."