Early agreement scotched

Any hope of an early agreement between lower Waitaki River irrigators and Meridian Energy Ltd on a 100% reliable supply of water for irrigation was dashed yesterday.

Environment Canterbury (Ecan) hearings panel chairman Prof Peter Skelton on Tuesday asked both Meridian and irrigators' legal counsels to provide some indication on whether an agreement could be reached before the current hearing in Oamaru adjourned on Friday, September 12.

He wanted to know if negotiations could be successful so they could be taken into account by the three commissioners considering 56 renewal or new consents to take water from the lower river.

He asked if agreement could not be reached now, if it would ever be reached.

"The hearings finish next week and we are trying to avoid resuming to hear details if an agreement was made before decisions were reached on the consent applications," he said.

The negotiations have been on-again, off-again for about four years.

Irrigators want an agreement with Meridian to have extra water released through the Waitaki dam above the minimum flow for the river to ensure their traditional 100% reliability of supply continues.

Yesterday, legal counsel Jo Appleyard said the path of the negotiations had not been easy.

It would not be helpful for the panel if Meridian speculated on the time it could take to reach an agreement or if negotiations would be successful.

The panel should proceed to make decisions on the new consents on the basis of no agreement.

That would not preclude Meridian and irrigators reaching an agreement in the future.

If an agreement was reached, the conditions of any consents approved by the panel would not need to be changed, she said.

Under any agreement, Meridian would release sufficient water to ensue the cut-off minimum flow at which irrigators had to stop taking water from the lower river would not be reached.