A 14-month moratorium on new water consent applications in north Canterbury is a temporary halt while a new allocation water process is worked out.The moratorium was made possible under the Environment Canterbury Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water
A 14-month moratorium on new water consent applications in north Canterbury is a temporary halt while a new allocation water process is worked out.
The moratorium was made possible under the Environment Canterbury Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management Act promoted by Environment Minister Nick Smith and passed by Parliament in April.
The purpose of the legislation is to speed up water allocation to irrigators and electricity generators, and overturn water conservation orders that set minimum river flows in the region. The legislation also allowed Mr Smith to sack elected councillors and replace them with Government appointed commissioners.
One of those commissioners – retired Environment Court judge Peter Skelton – accompanied Mr Smith when he made the moratorium announcement today.
The moratorium is not a back down as claimed by the Greens Party. It is a temporary halt while the appointed commissioners align four planning processes that affect the pristine Hurunui River.
The Hurunui is currently the target of the Hurunui Water, which has lodged consent applications to dam the river for irrigation. The river is also the subject of a water conservation order recommendation that has been placed on hold. The applicants included Forest & Bird and Fish & Game.
The Hurunui River and its tributaries are also subject to an incomplete natural resources regional plan, and an environmental flow plan.
The moratorium will provide time to align all of these processes and allow for consents to be issued six months after (in April 2012) the end of the moratorium (October 2011).
Politically, the move is likely to provide a calming effect in the lead up to national elections after which unpopular decisions may be made.
The Canterbury Water Management Strategy zone committees will still provide input. The strategy is a non-statutory process that has involved conflicting parties meeting to arrive at a consensus about water allocation. Mr Smith claimed that the moratorium will “breathe life” into the strategy. But their status appears to be advisory only. The first zone committee in Hurunui District was set up just a week ago.
Mr Skelton made it clear at the conference today that the zone committees will make recommendations but the commissioners will make the decisions. The agenda for tomorrow’s Environment Canterbury monthly meetings notes that possible inconsistencies between the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and efficient allocation will be resolved by the moratorium.
Mr Skelton stressed that the decision on the moratorium is yet to be ratified by a meeting of the Environment Canterbury commissioners tomorrow morning. Even though the commissioners had sought prior agreement of the Government as required under the legislation, the final decision would be made at tomorrow’s meeting where commissioners would be able to debate the matter if they chose, Mr Skelton said.
Mr Smith also reiterated that the moratorium was entirely up to the commissioners and was this was also outlined in the prepared Ministerial media packs presented to journalists that outlined the purpose and the effect of the (proposed) moratorium, due to be adopted tomorrow morning.
