Makaroro River, near intersection of Pendle Hill Road Wakarara Road, Central Hawke's Bay, where the original Ruataniwha dam was to be built. Photo / NZME
The debate over whether to build a water storage system reminiscent of the failed Ruataniwha Dam in Central Hawke's Bay could continue until 2030, if the company holding consents for it gets its way.
Water Holdings Hawke's Bay applied last month to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Central Hawke's Bay and Hastings District Councils to extend the consents it holds for the dam to 2030. They are due to lapse in 2024.
An independent decision maker, appointed on behalf of the councils, will consider the application early next month.
The company, and a separate Tukituki Water Security project, both say a consent extension would allow more time to consult with the community and, in particular, mana whenua about water storage.
But Ngāti Kahungunu's environment and natural resources director, Ngaio Tiuka, says all the time in the world won't change his answer - no.
The Ruataniwha Dam, which the Hawke's Bay Regional Council first began investigations into in 2008, was originally intended as a long-term, sustainable water supply solution for Central Hawke's Bay.
The Supreme Court found in 2017 that the Minister of Conservation acted illegally by trying to make 22 hectares of Ruahine Forest Park available for exchange to Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company Ltd (HBRIC) for the $330 million project.
As a result, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council voted unanimously in 2017 to move on from the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme and focus its efforts on other priorities after about 20 million of ratepayers' dollars had already been invested into the dam.
Tiuka said there had already been significant consultation with mana whenua and the community since 2008.
"They could have all the time in the world, the answer is not going to change."
He described the consent extension application as a "waste of time, money and resources" and it could create unnecessary conflict in the wider community.
"We don't oppose water storage, but it has got to be within cultural and environmental limits, and we're quite capable of interpreting those ourselves."
Hugh Ritchie, one of the directors for Water Holdings Hawke's Bay, said they still believe in strategically storing water for the good of the region's environment.
He said they hoped the application for extension would be viewed favourably to give more time to go through the extensive processes required for consultation on the project, now known as the Makaroro Storage Scheme.
He said getting engagement and input from mana whenua was a cornerstone of what they were trying to achieve through the process.
"It took 14 years to get this far. Some of the Canterbury schemes took 38 years or 28 years to get to a point of execution, so it's not a quick process."
Mike Peterson, the head of the Tukituki Water Security Project, a separate entity from Water Holdings Hawke's Bay, said in support of the application that an extension would give more time for the community to discuss the best approach.
He said the old Ruataniwha Dam proposal was a different approach, and the new vision prioritised Te Mana o Te Wai and the environment. Discussion of the new proposal would take time, he said.
Forest & Bird freshwater advocate Tom Kay said the region needed to focus on nature-based solutions instead - "doing things like restoring wetlands, giving rivers more room to move, restoring forest in our hills and essentially finding ways to work within the environmental limits of the region."
He said that if the consent lapse date was extended then Forest & Bird would be open to challenging the decision.
"Obviously we'd have to see what the rationale was in that decision, but I don't think we would shy away from that."
He said the public should also be able to have a say in the consent extension application.
Regional council consents manager Malcolm Miller said the applications to the three councils were being processed together and they would follow the process set out in Section 125 of the Resource Management Act.
"We have engaged an independent report writer and are working to appoint an independent commissioner to report on this and to decide," Miller said.
"The matter of who is an affected person under s125 will be considered by them."
Applicants wanting 15 million cubic litres of Ruataniwha groundwater have successfully applied for a deferral of their independent resource consent hearing until November, after an unfavourable Hawke's Bay Regional Council officer's report on the applications.
Kay said he was frustrated that the deferral was granted to the applicants.
"They've had years, the council has made all these requests for further information throughout the process and all these things, numerous memos, there has been all these submissions and now that it's started looking like it's not going to go their way they've gone away and again asked for more time."
Duncan Abernethy, a spokesman for the Ruataniwha groundwater consent applicants, said the report demonstrated such a large difference in opinion between the two sets of experts that they felt the hearing would have needed to be adjourned had it gone ahead anyway.