Williamson Holding Ltd's dairy farm development at Omarama has attracted 1855 submissions, the Green Party again urging the Government to call-in the resource consent applications, along with those for two similar developments.
Submissions on the Williamson Holding development closed on Friday and that figure was provisional, a spokesman for Environment Canterbury said yesterday.
Three companies propose establishing 16 dairy farms in the Omarama and Ohau areas, with up to 17,850 cows housed in cubicle stalls.
Submissions closed last month for Five Rivers and Southdown Holdings and attracted 1709 and 1699 respectively, a total of 5263.
Hearings are scheduled for March in Christchurch.
The Green Party has called on Environment Minister Nick Smith to call-in the applications for the proposals.
Cabinet is due to consider the issue when it meets today.
It has also urged the public to add their voices by sending an ecard to Dr Smith, asking him to make the right call for all New Zealanders.
In a statement yesterday, co-leader Russel Norman said "factory dairy farming" in the Omarama and Ohau areas would hurt animals, biodiversity, water quality and the country's international reputation.
It was an issue of national significance and there was widespread public concern.
Dr Smith needed to "make the right call" and call-in the consents, he said.
If the applications were called in, Environment Canterbury would no longer have to decide the fate of the proposals.
Instead, they would be referred to an independent board of inquiry or to the Environment Court, better able to consider the full impact of these proposals.
The Environmental Defence Society suggested land-use consents already granted for the farms by the Waitaki District Council were unlawful because they were not publicly notified, a claim which was rejected by Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton.
Dr Norman said Dr Smith needed to take the society's suggestion seriously and consider High Court action.
