Southdown Holdings Ltd, Williamson Holdings Ltd and Five Rivers Ltd had plans to establish 16 dairy farms on three properties at Ohau and Omarama, housing up to 17,850 cows in cubicles for 24 hours a day between from March to October and up to 12 hours a day from November to February.
But they still have to get resource consents from Environment Canterbury (ECan) for water vital to the establishment of the farms, dairy effluent consents and land use consents from the Waitaki District Council.
Previous land use consents fwere overturned by the High Court on a technicality.
Yesterday, the Otago Daily Times reported the three companies had again applied for land use consents, but asked these be put on hold.
They had been granted compliance certificates for permitted activities on the three properties.
Yesterday, Southdown Holdings director Richard Peacocke said the companies "do not plan to seek to reactivate consents for cows in barns".
To say they were trying again to secure land use rights for large-scale dairy farming was "misleading and incorrect".
To do that, the companies needed dairy effluent discharge consents from ECan.
No discharge consents had been lodged with ECan, and previous applications were withdrawn after the Government sent them to a board of inquiry.
"The companies have stated ...they were not intending to advance intensive farming until the system was better understood by the public and Government," Mr Peacocke said.
The land use applications for intensive dairy farming lodged with the Waitaki council were put on hold at the companies' request pending a decision from ECan on water for the farms.
When activated, the land use consents would be publicly notified.
The compliance certificates were for a range of permitted activities to farm the properties in a traditional manner - sheep and cattle including some traditional dairying, cropping and irrigation, subject to water being granted.
Mr Peacocke also attacked the Environmental Defence Society which, along with Forest and Bird and other groups, plans a symposium at Twizel on November 26 and 27 to discuss development in the Omarama, Ohau and Mackenzie Basins.
He said the society and Forest and Bird were attacking via the media, and privately, existing property rights of farmers to undertake permitted activities.
