Failed Ruataniwha dam assets and research put on block by HBRIC

HBRIC is keen to share information associated with the Ruataniwha dam project with others who may be able to put it to use. Photo / File

The Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company is looking to sell assets and information associated with the failed Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme (RWSS), but has no expectations of what the value of that information would be, and who the buyer may be.

Last week the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, via its investment company HBRIC Ltd, called for expressions of interest to purchase all or part of the residual assets, consents and intellectual property associated with the project.

The council elected not to invest further in the scheme after a Supreme Court decision not to allow the exchange of Department of Conservation land, which was needed for the dam and associated reservoir to be constructed.

The council had invested $20 million in the project, but recently appointed HBRIC chair and regional council chairman Rex Graham said there had been no value put on the assets and information now up for sale.

"The market will want to have a good look at it and will decide what it's worth - I do not want to leave it rotting away in a bottom drawer, too much work was done and we need to see if we can get some value."

He said the information included a large amount of science around water, such as how the water flowed in the Ruataniwha aquifer, and water storage options, and the council thought it important to release that information so people in Central Hawke's Bay who wanted it for their own business reasons could gain access to it.

There were 17 consents on offer for a range of activities including construction, land use, operating the dam and discharge permits.

Graham said some of these consents may not be worth anything because any effort to resurrect the dam project would face several hurdles.

"I'm more interested in making the work on the aquifer and the geo-technical information available."

He said he imagined it was most likely interest would come from CHB farmers wanting to explore water storage, but the final decision would depend on who was making the offer and what they intended to do with it.

"It's really only valuable to CHB farmers - we don't want someone else to put it in a bottom drawer either - we want it to be of use to the community.

"We owe it to the ratepayers who invested serious money in it to get the best return possible."

Although the majority of the current council had opposed the dam project, including Graham and fellow councillor Peter Beaven, who have both been appointed directors of HBRIC, Graham said this would not affect how the council may view any suggestions a buyer might put forward on how they would like to use the information and assets.

Rather, that would be constrained by the limits and rules set down by Plan Change 6.

"You can't farm or run a business or a town and ruin the rivers and streams - my hope is it will end up in the hands of farmers who want to do some form of water storage - they know the environmental constraints that have been set."

He added that while independent director Dan Druzianic was being paid, he and Beaven were not, and that HBRIC was in somewhat of a holding pattern at the moment, and other commercial directors would be appointed for any future projects HBRIC may consider.

At a meeting on March 28 the council discussed the matter, and staff recommended that the council instruct HBRIC to engage a third party to facilitate the sale of any assets or intellectual property developed to date in connection with the RWSS, at arms-length and within a specific timeframe.

Graham said this had been achieved by advertising the sale in local and national media, and that otherwise a third party was not needed.

"This is simply a commercial transaction."

Copies of expression of interest documents were available at the council and any proposals were to be filed by May 11.

The assets would be transferred back to the council if no acceptable offer was received.