A legal challenge has been mounted to stop the Tauranga City Council laying its $102 million Southern Pipeline through Matapihi Peninsula.
Tio Faulkner is seeking an injunction from the Maori Land Court which, if successful, would force the council to find another route for the wastewater pipeline on its final leg to Te Maunga.
The Matapihi Rd resident and son of the late Toa Faulkner applied for an injunction to stop civil works for the Southern Pipeline taking place on accesses to Maori land known as Matapihi Rd and an unformed paper road.
Many residents of the largely Maori-owned peninsula are against the pipeline carrying human waste running through their rohe (tribal area), with a community protest planned for 10am on Saturday.
Council's legal and governance manager Kirsty Downey-McGuire said it appeared from the documents filed with the court that there was a question around the legal status of the roads.