A hearing for the $37 million Project Shotover, the Queenstown Lakes District Council's "single biggest works project for the foreseeable future", could be held later this month.
QLDC strategic project manager Martin O'Malley told the utilities committee yesterday a consent application, which was lodged with the Otago Regional Council earlier this year, would be notified shortly.
The Shotover Sewage Treatment Facility was originally constructed in 1973, but several upgrades have been undertaken since then, ensuring its ability to handle increased flows to the ponds resulting from Queenstown's growth.
Since 1986, a series of short-term discharge consents have been awarded by the ORC for the discharge of the ponds into the Shotover River - the current 10-year discharge consent was issued in 1998.
After a five-year study, QLDC adopted the Project Team recommendation in December 2007 that the option of land disposal of the treated effluent be carried out on the Shotover Delta.
The 10 applications were publicly notified in August, with 11 submissions received, seven in opposition, one neutral and three in support.
Five wished to be heard.
Mr O'Malley said it was "not appropriate" to go into the details of the opposing submissions, but it was possible the effects of those submissions could delay the awarding of the discharge permit to the council.
"There is a potential that these delays could go on for as long as a year or more if there is no resolution between the parties.
"There is a risk . . . the delay in getting a new discharge permit will extend the projected completion date of the new plant past 2012, which is the current estimated extent of the effective life of the ponds system in place.
"This gives rise to the potential for the existing ponds to cease to effectively treat the wastewater from the area, which would be a very undesirable situation."
The total cost of Project Shotover was $37,070,250 - the single biggest project on the QLDC works programme for the "foreseeable future".
Mr O'Malley said no allowance had been made for the potential funding of the project by selling off council assets, "which is a possibility".
"In discussions to date, there is some commonage land with a potential to contribute $5 million towards the project if it were sold," Mr O'Malley said.
