Jane Borthwick. PHOTO: ODT FILES Water quality, impact on mana whenua and road noise will be top of the panel’s mind, as hearings for Port Otago’s Southern Link Inland Port project get under way. Fast-track panel convener Jane Borthwick confirmed Cindy Robinson, Ray O’Callaghan and Steve Abley would be overseeing the hearings. The development involves converting rural land next to the Taieri branch railway and Whakaehu (Silver Stream) into a major logistics hub. Key components include about 80,000sq m of warehousing, a rail siding connecting to Port Chalmers, up to 5ha of container terminal, road exchange areas, a 5ha container depot and 24/7 operations with associated lighting, acoustic barriers and flood mitigation infrastructure. Ms Borthwick said there would be a wide range of topics considered during the hearings. For the Dunedin City Council the likely principal topics are the project’s potential impact on the road network; the impact of noise on adjoining landowners and occupiers; and the impact of lighting on adjoining landowners and occupiers. For the Otago Regional Council, the principal issues include the fact the site is a flood hazard; whether any conditions would be enforceable with suitable ‘‘trigger and response type provisions’’. The council is also concerned whether documentation is adequate and the monitoring, reporting, accountability and correction action requirements are consistently specified within conditions. Between them, the city and regional councils will employ about a dozen consultants to help assist with the evidence-gathering aspects of the hearing. Ms Borthwick also noted that the regional council was uncertain about the project’s effects on freshwater quality of Silver Stream arising from the discharge of construction and operational phase stormwater, along with mana whenua concerns around the wastewater and stormwater system design. A Treaty impact assessment said acceptability of the proposal to Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou would ultimately depend on the final decisions of the Southern Link partners, especially with respect to wastewater and stormwater system design. The panel will invite comments from participants by July 15; comments will be due by August 12 and the applicant’s response will be due by August 19. Subject to the processing of the application being suspended, a decision on the application is expected on November 12.
