Hearing holds future of dam scheme

SCENE: The site of the proposed Ruataniwha Dam from Wakarara Road, Ongaonga. PHOTO/GLENN TAYLOR

The outcome of a High Court hearing set to begin today could be pivotal in determining whether or not the Ruataniwha dam goes ahead.
Three environmental groups are challenging the decision of a board of inquiry which granted consent for the Ruataniwha water storage scheme and set new environmental rules for the Tukituki catchment where it would be built.
Appeals against the board's decision have been lodged by the Hawke's Bay and Eastern Fish and Game Council, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Environmental Defence Society.
The appeals are being heard by Justice David Collins in the High Court in Wellington, with proceedings expected to run until Wednesday.
After a lengthy hearing that began last year, the five-member board of inquiry issued its final decision in June, granting consents for the Ruataniwha scheme and setting out complex changes to the Hawke's Bay Regional Resource Management Plan, known as Plan Change 6.
The plan change was aimed at limiting the environmental impact of farming in the Tukituki catchment, particularly in light of the more intensive stock and cropping activity that would be possible with irrigation water from the dam.
The plan change included setting nitrogen limits in waterways within the catchment. A main focus of the environment groups' appeals relates to rules in the plan change exempting individual farms from being responsible for breaches of those limits.
The Environmental Defence Society said the appeal outcome was important because it would help define case law around the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management and required pollution limits in irrigated areas.
The High Court has the power to either amend the wording of the plan change or send the matter back to the board of inquiry if it decides changes should be made.
A senior lawyer familiar with the proceedings said in such cases, if the court decided the board had made a legal mistake in reaching its decision, it was more common for it to refer the matter back to the board.
The Ruataniwha scheme is being promoted by Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC), the investment arm of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
HBRIC is working hard to convince Central Hawke's Bay farmers to sign contracts to take irrigation water from the scheme but has admitted many are awaiting the outcome of the High Court action. The regional council plans to invest up to $80 million in the project provided a number of conditions are met.