The recognition means Whanganui could have opportunities to state its position on the application by Australian company Trans-Tasman Resources(TTR).
Taranaki Regional Council and South Taranaki District Council have also been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) as relevant local authorities in the process.
The Fast-track Approvals Act, passed by the Government last year, does not allow the public to submit freely on fast-track applications.
A decision on the application will be made by a panel created for the purpose.
Whanganui councillor Charlotte Melser, who opposes Taranaki seabed mining, said the council now had the opportunity to influence the decision.
“It means our foot is in the door to have our say about how this proposal would negatively impact our district. I was elated,” she told Local Democracy Reporting.
It was critical for the council to have a voice in the fast-track process because the legislation provided limited opportunities for public input, she said.
Under the act, only relevant local authorities, identified iwi authorities and selected others can make written comments on applications.
“It cuts out the voices of community, scientists, environmentalists, divers – some of the people that know that marine area better than anyone,” Melser said.
Whanganui councillor Charlotte Melser says it is crucial for the council to have its say about how a South Taranaki seabed mining proposal would negatively impact Whanganui. Photo / Tuakana Te Tana (single use only)
“We’ve had to fight tooth and nail just to get this far because Whanganui is not directly in the project zone.”
TTR wants to extract up to 50 million tonnes of seabed material a year. It would recover an estimated 5 million tonnes of vanadium-rich titanomagnetite concentrate and then dump unwanted sediment back into the sea.
Its application says the project would bring regional benefits, including 305 jobs with the miner and port upgrades at New Plymouth and Whanganui.
TTR withdrew from an environmental hearing to apply for marine consents via the new fast-track approvals regime.
The councils named as relevant local authorities can nominate a representative to the decision-making panel, provide written comments on the application and speak about those comments if a hearing is held.
They met iwi, TTR and the expert panel’s convenor, Jennifer Caldwell, on July 7 to discuss the expertise needed on the panel and the timing of its decision-making.
Whanganui council chief executive David Langford summarised his council’s position in a letter to Caldwell before the meeting.
The key concerns were environmental, particularly the negative impact of the sediment plume, which would affect the Whanganui district; cultural, particularly the conflict of the proposal with Treaty obligations and settlements; and economic, specifically the adverse impact of the proposal on the district.
“Our council would like to emphasise the need for expertise to consider the potential economic disbenefit of the proposal with regards to its conflict with offshore wind farming in the Taranaki Bight.”
Whanganui District had been identified as one of the best locations in the world for wind energy, and the council was pursuing opportunities for renewable energy investment, including offshore wind farming, Langford said.
“Our view is that this one project could stand in the way of other projects which would not only provide significant economic benefits for our district (and beyond), but also better align with the Government’s strategic objectives around climate, energy and industrial transformation goals (for example, to double New Zealand’s renewable electricity production by 2050).”
The scale and nature of the proposed extraction, along with the resuspension of seabed sediments, could affect ecological and cultural features that each had a potential economic impact, he said.
The complex and contentious nature of the application would mean a considerable amount of time would be required to reach a decision.
“Not only is the fast-track process and its underpinning legislation new, but the proposed mining activity is also a world first.”
It would be important to include the council throughout the process.
“We do not believe we should be precluded from any step of this process on the basis that our council has filed a motion opposing the project – our relevance remains, regardless of our position.”
In December last year, Melser’s motion opposing the project won the unanimous support of fellow councillors.
A public-excluded meeting of Taranaki Regional Council was expected to decide this week on a collective council nomination to the panel.
Caldwell is expected to appoint a panel by late July.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
