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Schedule 24: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
Heading: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The name of the project is the Otawere Water Storage Reservoir (the project).
Schedule 24 clause 1: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The authorised person for the project is Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust.
Schedule 24 clause 2: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
(1)
The scope of the project is to construct and operate a water storage reservoir and associated dams in the upper catchment of an unnamed tributary of the Waitangi River in Waimate North, Northland.
(2)
The water taken and stored in the reservoir will be used for horticultural supply, municipal water supply, and for civil defence and emergency purposes.
Schedule 24 clause 3: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The project may involve the following activities:
clearing vegetation:
carrying out earthworks (including bulk earthworks) and disturbing land, including within—
a significant wetland; and
a significant wetland setback; and
land adjacent to the bed of a river or wetland:
constructing a main dam that is approximately 16 m high:
constructing a saddle dam that is approximately 10 m high:
constructing a reservoir:
constructing primary and auxiliary spillways:
installing 1 or more culverts, a temporary dam, and other structures necessary to control and divert water during construction:
carrying out activities in riverbeds, including—
reclaiming riverbeds; and
temporarily diverting rivers; and
disturbing riverbeds; and
depositing material in rivers; and
other associated activities:
drilling bores:
taking, diverting, and discharging surface water, groundwater, and stormwater onto land, surface water, and groundwater:
damming, diverting, and taking water from catchment inflows above the dams and storing the water in a reservoir formed behind the dams:
flooding approximately 56 hectares of land, including approximately 5 hectares of significant wetland, with a reservoir:
carrying out any other activities that are—
associated with the activities described in paragraphs (a) to (l); and
within the scope of the project as described in clause 3 of this schedule.
Schedule 24 clause 4: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The project will occur at Lot 2 Deposited Plan 479002 (held on Record of Title 678203) and Lot 2 Deposited Plan 208031 (held on Record of Title NA135D/350), which is the legal description of the land near Te Ahu Ahu Road, Waimate North, Northland.
Schedule 24 clause 5: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The following information must be submitted to the panel with any consent application relating to the project (in addition to the information required by clause 9 of Schedule 6 of the Act):
a geotechnical assessment; and
an assessment of the hydrological and hydraulic effects of the proposed damming, diversions, water takes, and discharges on—
bodies of surface water; and
groundwater and wider catchments; and
water allocation limits; and
operating in drought conditions; and
projected climate change scenarios; and
an ecological assessment that includes an assessment of the effects of the project on avifauna, terrestrial fauna, aquatic fauna and ecology, lizards, vegetation, wetlands (including gum wetlands), and biodiversity; and
a landscape and visual assessment of the proposed reservoir and dams; and
an assessment of the economic effects of the reservoir on the local economy, including for Māori; and
a construction management plan for the proposed activities that includes construction methodology and staging, construction traffic, and dust and noise management; and
an erosion and sediment control plan for the project site that includes the reservoir and the impact of the water takes; and
an assessment of the risks of dam failure and proposed mitigation measures that is prepared by a suitably qualified person; and
an assessment of reservoir operations, including dam safety, that is prepared by a suitably qualified person.
Schedule 24 clause 6: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
An expert consenting panel must invite comments on any consent application relating to the project from the following persons in addition to the persons listed in clause 17(6) of Schedule 6 of the Act:
the Minister for Economic and Regional Development; and
the Minister for Māori Development; and
representatives from the following Ngāpuhi Marae:
Tauwhara:
Oromāhoe:
Parawhenua:
Rāwhitiroa:
Ngāwhā:
Te Kotahitanga:
Kohewhata:
Te Tii Waitangi; and
representatives from the following Ngāpuhi Takiwā:
Taiāmai ki te Marangai:
Hokianga ki te Raki:
Hauāuru; and
Taiāmai ki te Takutai Moana Trust.
Schedule 24 clause 7: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
No further provision is necessary to give effect to decisions made by the Minister under section 24 of the Act in respect of the project.
Schedule 24 clause 8: inserted, on 3 September 2021, by clause 4 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Referred Projects Amendment Order (No 9) 2021 (LI 2021/230).
The Minister for the Environment has accepted this application for referral. The Minister considered the application against the criteria in the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 (the Act) and the Act’s purpose, and sought and considered written comments from the relevant Ministers, the Far North District Council, and the Northland Regional Council. The Minister accepted the application for the following reasons:
the project will help to achieve the purpose of the Act; and
the project will have positive effects on social well-being by providing more employment opportunities; and
the project will generate employment by providing up to 31 full-time equivalent jobs during the construction stage; and
the project will result in a public benefit by contributing to a municipal water supply and supplying water for civil defence and other emergency purposes; and
the project is likely to progress faster than would otherwise be the case under the Resource Management Act 1991 standard processes; and
any adverse effects arising from the application and mitigation measures can be tested by an expert consenting panel against Part 2 of the Resource Management Act 1991 and the purpose of the Act.