Mackenzie Basin dairy farm consents

The Waitaki District Council supports the “call in” by the Minister for the Environment of the effluent discharge consents for three dairy farm proposals in the Mackenzie Basin. The public have made a large number of submissions to Environment Canterbury about whether the Regional Council should issue the effluent discharge consents to the farming companies. Nick Smith’s decision has established a Board of Inquiry to decide on the so-called “factory farm” effluent discharge applications.

Water from the Waitaki catchment is used for irrigation, recreation and to supply drinking water to towns including Omarama, Kurow and Oamaru. “Ensuring good quality water is of critical importance for all our communities”, says Chief Executive Michael Ross.

When the Waitaki District Council considered the land use resource consent applications for the dairy farms, Council was not legally able to consider water supply and effluent discharge. These environmental issues “sit’ at a regional level. The dairy farms require resource consents from the Regional Council, Environment Canterbury who subject consent applications to a rigorous assessment.

Planning Consents Manager, David Campbell says that “District Councils like ours do not control all aspects of what people may wish to do on their land. The areas of concern in these applications are the responsibility of the Regional Council. At this stage in our District Plan – the activities of dairy and sheep farming are still permitted activities and we believe that is still appropriate.”

The Waitaki District Council’s District Plan already contains various degrees of protection for landscapes in the district, including parts of the Mackenzie Basin. The decisions made in the District Plan to protect some areas and not others was a difficult balancing exercise. Council heard over 400 public submissions. Council weighed up important visual and amenity issues against private property rights and the potential value of the land for production. Given that in recent years farmers who leased Crown land have transferred large tracts of land to the public for conservation and recreation purposes through tenure review.

A summary of the consents granted by Waitaki District Council can be found on our website at: http://www.waitaki.govt.nz/council/upper+waitaki+dairy+farms.htm