ORC

It could be April next year before the Otago Regional Council knows whether it can increase the number of its Dunstan councillors by one.

Limiting the application of nitrogen in fruitgrowing areas of the Teviot Valley will threaten the sustainability of horticulture and affect up to 1000 jobs, an Otago Regional Council hearing panel was told in Alexandra yesterday.

Both bouquets and brickbats have been flowing in for the Otago Regional Council's water plan hearings panel, chairman Duncan Butcher says.

A charitable trust deed for the Otago Wilding Tree Trust is considered "highly risky" in part by the Otago Regional Council, which will not be joining it.

Farmers need more time to achieve proposed discharge standards because the significant economic burden of improving water quality is falling on their shoulders alone, an Otago Regional Council hearing panel was told in Balclutha yesterday.

Common sense must be applied to Otago Regional Council water regulations, farmers say.

Berwick farmer Dan Lyders has vowed to fight on despite the Otago Regional Council taking him to court for raising a floodbank on the Meggat Burn.

Water is the lifeblood of farming and contrary to some opinion, farmers strive to maintain its pristine quality on their properties for optimum results, a hearing in Balclutha was told yesterday.

The success of proposed water regulations for Otago will depend on whatever monitoring takes place, Catlins environmentalist Jane Young says.

Owaka should have its own water quality standards to reflect its unique environment, Otago Regional Council panelists were told at a hearing in Balclutha yesterday.