The Te Rauone Beach Coast Care committee has raised $120,000 towards the $290,000 cost of the breakwater, but a second engineer’s report commissioned by Port Otago criticised the breakwater option, suggesting groynes costing up to $2 million be considered instead.
Port Otago’s actions came to light when Otago regional councillor Sam Neill grilled chairman Dave Faulkner at a public meeting this week, and the ODT subsequently found out the new groyne proposal had been presented to the coast care committee 11 days ago.
Mr Faulkner was contacted yesterday and said the second engineer’s report was agreed to by both parties, and paid for by Port Otago.
Otago Peninsula Community Board out-going chairwoman Christine Garey contacted the ODT yesterday, angry that the community had spent years consulting and working with Port Otago on the project, to the point "of not making an issue of it in the media".
"[However], the proposal for a $2 million groyne came totally out of left field. The local community can’t front up with that sort of money," Mrs Garey said.
Mr Faulkner said what had changed was the Beca engineers believed the $290,000 rocks-only breakwater would not do the job, unless a solid core was added to it, which would have made it too expensive, plus there was no "ongoing supply of sand", Mr Faulkner said.
"That [second report] was not us trying to get out of anything," he said.
While Port Otago would deliver sand to the beach, costing more than $300,000 to pump from the dredge and then spread over the beach, it was not going to be able to "top up" sand levels later, he said.
Beca had suggested a series of groynes, worth up to $2 million, each a different length, but Mr Faulkner acknowledged yesterday that was "too expensive" for either the community or Port Otago to undertake.
"We don’t expect anyone to spend $2 million ... the community or us," Mr Faulkner said.
Port Otago is already scheduled to meet the Peninsula community, public and the Coast Care committee on Labour Day, October 24.
Mr Faulkner said offshore islands had also been discussed as an option.
Mrs Garey said Te Rauone beach was second only as a "major project" to road widening around the Peninsula, given both had huge, positive, social, economic and tourism impacts.
"It seems to us Port Otago is not committed to this," Mrs Garey said.
ORC councillor Mr Neill had criticised the ORC for its inaction, while Mrs Garey also said the Peninsula was "neglected" by the regional council, which was taking a "hands off" approach, given it was Port Otago’s 100% owner.
"This is a prime example of the Peninsula being ignored," she said.
She believed Port Otago had made a commitment to apply for resource consent by the end of September, to pump sand on to Te Rauone beach from spoils of its channel dredging project.
"It’s up to them to come up with solutions — both engineering and financial solutions," she said.
"A commitment was made and it has not been honoured to date. The ball is in Port Otago’s court and they can make this right," Mrs Garey said.
It was a "difficult" time for this to have happened, she said, given the Otago Peninsula Community Board had had its last meeting, the local body elections were under way, and a new chairman would not be chosen until after the Labour Day meeting.
● Port companies are exempt from Official Information Act requests.
The ODT has, nevertheless, made a request to Port Otago and Mr Faulkner for a copy of the Beca engineer’s report, believing it is in the wider public interest to be disclosed.
Mr Faulkner was taking advice on whether it can be released.
