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Brian Patrick
Meridian Energy's scientific analysis of its proposed $2
billion Project Hayes wind farm site was woeful, an Environment
Court appeal hearing for the development was told yesterday.
Scientific consultant Brian Patrick, of Alexandra, gave
evidence on the proposal as a witness for appellant Ewan
Carr.
His evidence included planned mitigation measures and whether
they were appropriate.
During cross-examination, Mr Patrick said Meridian's plan to
store spoil, including soil taken from the site during
construction, in various disposal sites on the proposed 92sq
km property would unnecessarily threaten indigenous flora and
fauna of the Lammermoor Range.
"If you store spoil on site, you will be covering up natural
growth, and by having such large amounts of spoil sitting on
site, further areas of flora and fauna will also be
threatened.
"Through observation of the site over 26 years, to me it
would be incredibly challenging and almost impossible to have
adequate sediment traps in the area, and it would create too
much of a significant risk," he said.
Mr Patrick said spoil exposed during construction should be
trucked off the site to protect flora and fauna, despite the
cost of such an undertaking, which he said would be tiny in
relation to the overall development cost.
It was estimated about 100ha of spoil would need to be
accommodated in sediment disposal sites on the project site,
which was a huge amount to be covering indigenous flora and
fauna, he said.
"Why are we dying in a ditch over the fact that spoil should
remain on site. It's so easy to take off site . . . we've got
trucks, we've got roads, let's just take the spoil off site
and move on. It would be petty cash for Meridian," he said.
Mr Patrick acknowledged he was not an engineer and said
adequate mitigation was a matter of opinion.
During further cross-examination, Mr Patrick criticised
Meridian's methods of collecting scientific data at the site,
which was used to plan mitigation.
"An ecological assessment already done [by Meridian] for the
original resource consent hearing was totally inadequate. I
have lost faith in the way Meridian did things in this case .
. .
"I certainly don't trust the way Meridian organises its
science . . . the way they did it was woeful," he said.
Mr Patrick also said stock should not be grazed on the
proposed site after construction, although the property
comprised sections of five farms.
"The farmers and property owners are going to get enough
money from Meridian for the wind farm; they are not going to
need money from sheep. Let's keep this site as good as we
can," he said.
Mr Patrick also claimed the wind farm site was located far
from the Lammermoor Range, and in fact was situated on lower
parts of the Rock and Pillar Range.
"I have no idea why someone somewhere decided to name this
site as being on the Lammermoor Range," he said.
Day 32
•Panel: Environment Court Judge Jon Jackson, commissioner
Alex
Sutherland, commissioner Heather McConachy, deputy
commissioner Ken
Fletcher.
•Yesterday's witnesses: Animator and software developer Craig
McNaughton, scientific consultant Brian Patrick.
•Yesterday's
closing submissions: CODC lawyer Graeme Todd, ORC lawyer
Alastair Logan, Eric and Cate Laurenson, Ian and Sarah
Manson, Riverview Settlement Trust lawyer Neville Marquet, CO
Recreational Users Forum lawyer Jan Kelly.
•Scheduled for today: Closing submissions will continue.
•Quote
of the day: "The upper Maniototo will have imported its very
own new-age industrial revolution . . . there is nothing
natural about this energy-production landscape." - Neville
Marquet
