Queenstown: Not opposing water plan

The Otago Regional Council's water quality regulations will not be appealed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council after all.

The council originally opposed the proposed water plan, saying it had major implications for its own management of water treatment infrastructure and for the district's pristine waters.

However, as announced on April 20, the regional council has amended the plan change in response to the more than 330 submissions on the issue.

QLDC will no longer appeal the decision, but if any appeals are lodged seeking alterations that would result in water deterioration or that would interfere with QLDC's water management, it would join that appeal under the Resource Management Act.

QLDC senior policy analyst Jonathan Richards said the amendments meant the regional council's standards were now better aligned with national standards.

The amendments were mainly for clarification and rewording of the original water plan. QLDC had been given some assurance by ORC over monitoring of the waterways, and the ''grey area'' of identifying urban and rural areas had been clarified.

QLDC councillor Cath Gilmour told the strategy committee she was concerned at where the plan change was going.

The plan was notified on April 20 and appeals will close on June 4.

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement