'Major milestone' for dam

The Ruataniwha Dam proposed site in Central Hawke's Bay. hoto / File

The promoters of the Ruataniwha dam say a draft board of inquiry decision released today is a "major positive milestone" for the Central Hawke's Bay irrigation scheme.

The board's latest decision - amending a handful of resource consent conditions for the scheme and to a related plan change for the Tukituki catchment - follows a High Court challenge to the board's earlier decision, issued last year.

The challenges - from Fish & Game, Forest & Bird, and the Environmental Defence Society - related to the board's approach to the management of nitrogen in surface waters within the Tukituki catchment.

Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company, the commercial arm of Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the promoter of the Ruataniwha scheme, said today's decision indicated the board of inquiry intended to grant what HBRIC believed would be "useable production land use consent conditions for the RWSS".

Obtaining a "workable environmental consent" from the board of inquiry is one of four conditions required by the regional council to satisfy a planned investment of up to $80 million of ratepayers' money in the scheme.

Today's decision gave it "real confidence that we can continue to move ahead" with other aspects of the project, including raising capital for the $275 million scheme and selling water contracts to to farmers, HBRIC said in a statement.Today's decision also appeared to please the environmental groups who have challenged the council and HBRIC through the board of inquiry process and the High Court.

Fish & Game environmental manager Corina Jordan said the decision "looks like another brilliant victory for us".

The board has called for submissions on its draft report from affected parties. Submissions must be received by the board by May 15.

After considering submissions the board will issue a final report.