The Clutha District Council has attacked the Otago Regional Council for what it calls a "myopic, one-sided exercise in advocacy" in day one of the hearing into its application to discharge treated wastewater into the Tokomairiro River.
The district council was applying for a consent to increase its discharge from the Milton wastewater treatment plant into the river, in part to cope with extra volumes from the Otago Corrections Facility.
The application, and an associated odour discharge application, was being heard by an independent panel of commissioners, Mike Freeman, Dr Bill Vant and chairman Martin Ward.
The claims, by district council counsel Philip Milne, were made about the regional council officer's report, which, while recommending the consent be granted with conditions, says the applicant failed to identify and propose an option for the continued discharge of treated wastewater that could be granted long-term consent.
The proposal would lead to significant adverse effects in the receiving environment and was largely inconsistent with regional plans and the Resource Management Act, it said.
The Milton plant had a long history of non-compliance with consent conditions.
Mr Milne said the report gave a "one-sided, negative and misleading view" of the effects of the existing discharge and the current proposal.
"The officer's report consists almost entirely of unsubstantiated assertion."
He claimed the message the district council had received in earlier talks with the regional council was "accept our conditions or we will make this process difficult and expensive".
Under the district council's plan an ultraviolet disinfection process would be added to the treatment processes and the standards now proposed would reduce pathogen loadings to the river.
Mr Milne criticised regional council director of resource management Selva Selvarajah for adopting an "unbending and strongly stated position" in seeking to achieve primary contact recreation standards at "the end of the pipe".
The district council maintained the pathogen load it proposed would make no difference in terms of health risk, especially as no swimming occurred downstream of the discharge and upstream water quality was poor most of the time.
"The differences between the CDC and ORC staff standards will make little, if any, difference in terms of environmental effects."
Endeavouring to achieve primary contact (swimming) guidelines in the lower river was an approach that was "flawed and, indeed, unlawful", he said.
The district council had spent many months trying to resolve the regional council officer's concerns and had modified the proposal.
Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes appealed to the panel to keep in mind the small Milton community had limited resources and was already paying high rates to fund major projects such as flood works, water treatment and footpaths.
"Any decision you do make, take into account this community is well loaded with costs."
The river downstream of the wastewater plant was not used recreationally and to suggest the water should be of that quality was "unrealistic and very expensive".
"Even if it was achieved it would never be used anyway."
Any upgrade needed to be economically viable and be of real benefit to the community, he said.
The hearing continues today.
