Otago and Southland conservation boards will consider in confidence a draft report on Milford Dart Ltd's proposal to build a $160 million tunnel linking Queenstown to Milford Sound.
The 135-page draft "determination" report by the Southland Conservancy will be released this week to Milford Dart and the two boards for comment.
Southland conservancy community relations manager Martin Kessick suggested to the Otago Conservation Board at its meeting at the Sinclair Wetlands at Berwick last week that it follow the Southland board's lead in agreeing to accept the draft report in confidence, consider it, and at its next meeting put together some advice to pass on to the conservancy.
Milford Dart applied to the Southland Conservancy for a concession to build and operate the "dart passage", a 10.2km long, 5m diameter, single-lane bus road in December.
The original application was lodged in 2005, revised in 2007 and further amended last year.
Southland Conservancy's Chris Visser, who put together the draft report, said it included draft recommendations.
Once the conservancy had feedback from Milford Dart, the two conservation boards and Ngai Tahu, it would complete a draft report to go to the "decision maker".
Its recommendations would then be put to the minister.
Otago board chairman Hoani Langsbury said the board had not looked at the previous applications for the tunnel as it considered a clause in the Mt Aspiring National Park management plan opposing any new roads in the park meant it could not consider it.
"We still feel the plan does not provide for it."
Board member Abby Smith said there were other issues to consider such as walking access and the appropriateness of a road in a national park being restricted to certain users.
The board agreed to consider the draft report in confidence and have feedback ready at a similar time frame to the Southland board.
