Wanaka Landfill Ltd remains in the spotlight of public scrutiny as it continues its efforts to legitimise gravel extraction activities at its Ballantyne Rd and Cardrona River sites and obtain consents from two territorial authorities.
The company's latest resource consent application to the Queenstown Lakes District Council had attracted 76 public submissions by the time the notified period closed last Thursday.
The majority of submitters support the application, 15 oppose or partially oppose it and one is neutral.
Several seek conditions.
A Lakes Environmental planner will assess the application against rules in the district plan and prepare a report for commissioners, who will then conduct a public hearing.
Arguments in favour of the application include Wanaka's ongoing need for high quality gravel for the roading and construction industries, and the socio-economic benefits the business brings to the district.
Arguments against include the environmental impacts, cumulative or adverse precedent effects of development on the outskirts of Wanaka, and landscape issues.
Wanaka Landfill Ltd, associated with businessman Robert Duncan, has processed gravel on a Ballantyne Rd site near the Cardrona River since 1999.
An associated company, Maungatua Contracting, has also held an Otago Regional Council consent to extract gravel from the Cardrona River, upstream of the Ballantyne Rd bridge, since "approximately 1985", but has not held a QLDC consent for that site.
After neighbourhood complaints last year, the QLDC directed Wanaka Landfill Ltd to legitimise activities that were taking place without its consent.
Wanaka Landfill Ltd was partially successful in obtaining QLDC resource consents in December and appealed the other matters to the Environment Court for mediation.
The company also started the process of acquiring an ORC consent held by Fulton Hogan Ltd for gravel extraction upstream of the State Highway 6 bridge.
The Fulton Hogan consent expired on September 1 and the Maungatua consent expires in January.
The QLDC has stayed enforcement proceedings while consents are sorted out.
The present application is intended to rectify the situation with the Maungatua consent.
Consent is being sought to extract, import, process and export up to 20,000 cubic metres of gravel and other materials for an unlimited term, with 10-yearly reviews.
Wanaka Landfill Ltd's application states ideally it would like to apply for consent for a broad range of potential extraction sources along the Cardrona River and other sites, rather than being limited to ORC-consented sites.
One problem the company faces is that the ORC issues consents for between two and four years for river management purposes only and renewal may be declined or varied.
This forces applicants to ask the QLDC to vary its consent and creates an unsatisfactory duplication of processes, Wanaka Landfill Ltd says.
