Last week's High Court decision to overturn the consents issued to Trans-Tasman Resources to mine the seabed off Patea should have significant implications.
It means joy and vindication for a swathe of environmental groups and individuals who had opposed TTR's application and then appealed to the higher court. It means disappointment for the mining company.
It means a mixed bag for the people of South Taranaki whose concern for the oceans and the life therein may have been tempered by the prospect of jobs and an economic boost.
But the greater implications are surely for the Environmental Protection Authority whose four-person decision-making panel was split 2-2 on whether to approve TRR's application, leaving the chairman Alick Shaw to vote a second time, using his casting ballot to give the green light.
The High Court judgment said the EPA decision was unlawful as it used an adaptive management approach. Adaptive management basically boils down to "go ahead and dig up the seabed for the next 35 years and if things start to go pear-shaped for the marine environment, please try and mitigate any damage".