Taupo District Council is accusing regional council Environment Waikato of failing to protect Taupo from geothermal subsidence and of putting residents' life savings at risk.
It also claims that Environment Waikato has failed to act on the issue of geothermal subsidence (land slumping caused by extracting geothermal fluid to generate power)
in Taupo for more than two years.
Several areas in and around Taupo township are already at risk of subsidence, which the council blames on geothermal extraction by Contact Energy at its Wairakei geothermal field.
Home owners in the affected areas say their properties are already showing signs of damage and are worried that values will plummet.
A letter sent to Environment Waikato chairman Neil Clarke by Taupo District Council chief executive Simon Rowbotham last month raised concerns and criticisms of Environment Waikato's regional policy statements and the geothermal module of its proposed regional plan.
Both are still in draft form, with Environment Waikato calling for submissions.
In the letter Mr Rowbotham said that, as the documents presently stood, "no meaningful protection is being offered the people of Taupo from the subsidence impact resulting from geothermal exploitation induced subsidence. Today people and their homes have already been directly affected by geothermal exploitation induced subsidence ... residents' life savings are at risk."
He said Environment Waikato documents were so narrowly focused that they did not address the subsidence problem and if Environment Waikato did not provide meaningful policy and rules, the community would not be able to look to the courts for protection later.
Environment Waikato staff were unavailable for comment.
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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