New deadlines have been set so an Environment Canterbury (ECan) hearings panel can make a decision on 110 resource consents applications for water, mainly for irrigation, from the upper Waitaki catchment above the Waitaki dam.
The applications include proposals to establish 16 dairy farms with a total of up to 17,850 cows on three properties in the Ohau and Omarama areas, although alternative uses for the properties have also been put forward.
The panel has lost patience with applicants over the time it has taken since a hearing adjourned in May to sort out conditions for consents.
When the hearing adjourned, it was indicated it would take four to eight weeks to complete conditions for the panel's consideration, along with explanations where they could not agree.
Panel chairman Paul Rogers, in early October, sent out a memorandum to all applicants, ECan officers and submitters.
Replies have been received, but the tone of another memorandum issued yesterday by the panel indicates it is not pleased the process has taken so long.
"We are now in the position where double the time has elapsed and while progress has been made on condition sets, the process is not yet complete."
Some applicants had completed the condition process, some were confident of having it completed by end of last month, while others, particularly the Upper Waitaki Applicants' Group representing the majority of applicants and the ECan officer group, indicated a longer time period.
Mr Rogers said it was alarming submitters were yet to be included in the conditions process.
The panel wanted to issue a single decision for all applications because it fitted and best suited the evidence and issues it had to decide upon.
If some decisions were made now and others later, the consequent appeal process (to the Environment Court) would be unmanageable.
If any party did not comply with the timetable, they risked the material they produced not being considered, Mr Rogers warned.
Water deadlines
ECan's new timetable:
• ECan will write to submitters and ask them to respond within a week if they want to comment.
• Submitters have three working weeks from the date of receiving the conditions to comment.
• Meridian Energy Ltd and the ECan officers' group have until November 26 to complete the conditions process.
• Those conditions will be circulated to submitters who have to December 17 to comment.
• The hearings panel will then receive the full table of consent conditions for all applicants.