A move by three companies wanting to develop dairy farms in
the Omarama and Ohau areas to delay a Government-appointed
board of inquiry dealing with the effluent discharges has
been rejected by Minister for the Environment Nick Smith.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Dr Smith said the minister
received a request last month to put the discharge consents
on hold until the water take consents hearing, which was
under way, was complete.
Dr Smith was uncomfortable doing this as both sets of
consents were closely related and the Resource Management Act
system "should not be gamed" in this way.
Dr Smith has given the applicants the choice of either
continuing with the board of inquiry process on the discharge
consents or withdrawing their applications.
Southdown Holdings Ltd, Williamson Holdings Ltd and Five
Rivers Ltd want to develop 16 new dairy farms housing up to
17,850 cows on 8555ha on three properties they either own or
have contracted to buy.
Resource consent applications for discharging effluent to
land, effluent storage ponds, construction of cubicles to
house the cows, excavating land for storage ponds and
discharges to air from the ponds were called in by Dr Smith
in January under the Resource Management Act.
That followed a public outcry, prompting more than 5200
submissions on the consent applications, after some groups
criticised the developments as "factory farming".
Dr Smith appointed a five-member board, headed by Environment
Court Judge Jane Borthwick, to process and make decisions on
the applications.
However, the three companies, through their legal counsel,
Christian Whata, of Auckland, requested Dr Smith to put the
board of inquiry on hold.
Mr Whata, when contacted yesterday, could not comment on what
the companies' actions might be without instructions from the
company owners.
The Otago Daily Times understands they wanted the process
delayed while an Environment Canterbury (ECan) panel was
hearing and making a decision on the companies' resource
consent applications for water for irrigation and to dilute
the effluent on the farms.
The water applications are vital to the dairy farms
proceeding - without the water there would be no irrigation
to grow feed for the cows nor dilution so the effluent could
be sprayed on to land.
The water consents could also be subject to an Environment
Court process, adding further delays to any final decision.
The ODT understands the companies argued the cost of
preparing for the board of inquiry and its hearings could be
wasted if the water consents were not granted.
Without the water, the effluent discharge consents would be
superfluous.
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