Ken Keys and Pauline Doyle: Transparency needed over aquifer

Pauline Doyle mid-protest for Guardians of Aquifer.

Councillor Scott missed the point recently when she said the Heretaunga Plains aquifer does not act like "a bucket" (HBToday May 25). As highlighted in the letter by E Mary Benson on the same page as Cr Scott's opinion piece: "The freshwater aquifer is a dam holding back the salted water from the sea and once the aquifer is damaged we will never have its like again."

Many people now understand the Heretaunga Plains aquifer operates under enormous hydraulic pressure from the combined weight of the 75 per cent-80 per cent of groundwater re-charge, which comes from the Ngaruroro-Tutaekuri rivers' catchment up in the ranges.

Another threat to our aquifer is oil exploration. Endeavour Energy's exploration permit cuts through the middle of this catchment area. So not only is our town and irrigation supplies under threat from salt intrusion, it is also under threat from fracking contamination.

Guardians of the Aquifer is dismayed to discover water from the aquifer is being exported. The HBRC failing to see the stampede by water-bottling companies for this precious resource.

On the question of water quality, the Environment Court "outed" HBRC recently when it rebuffed its attempt to eliminate the clause in the Regional Resource Management Plan (RRMP), which protects our drinking water from contamination. The HBRC was seeking some degradation in quality under Plan Change 5. However, the court determined the HBRC had "abdicated the functions of a regional council".

Guardians of the Aquifer first submitted on the Long Term Plan in 2012, raising the issue of fracking contamination in the catchment area. The HBRC made the commitment to change the RRMP if the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's final report recommended such a change. The commissioner's final report on June 4, 2014, recommended just that and regional councillors agreed -- by one vote -- to allocate $200,000 to begin scoping the plan change.

Since then, Endeavour Energy has been granted resource consent to undertake drilling near the airport in Napier for seismic testing, covering 55 kilometres.

The threat is now real but, instead of fast-tracking a plan change specifically to protect the catchment area, a year has passed and only last week did HBRC hold its first session to begin "the conversation", a process which could take more than five years before the RRMP can be changed and made "fit for purpose" in line with the commissioner's recommendations.

Guardians of the Aquifer is urging HBRC to notify the public of any resource applications for mineral exploration and extraction, so that the decision determining whether the adverse effects of such activities are "more than minor" can be tested in public view.

With regard to exporting bottled water, Cr Scott's assertion that "at least we have the RMA to protect our environment" rings hollow.

If RMA applications for these large water takes continue to be treated by HBRC as having "no more than minor effect", then the public do not get notified, and there is no opportunity to test the science. The RMA is thereby failing to protect our water.

She says HBRC is researching the state of the aquifer, and has hinted this may lead to allocation limits. We applaud her acknowledgment "there is always more to discover", and challenge the HBRC to "test the waters" by notifying the public and calling for submissions and expert evidence as part of the RMA process when the next large water take request arrives.

"Ruin our aquifer -- ruin us" -- the placard on the front page said all that needed to be said (HB Today, May 25).

* Ken Keys and Pauline Doyle represent Guardians of the Aquifer.

* Business and civic leaders, organisers, experts in their field and interest groups can contribute opinions. The views expressed here are not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz.