Request Made For Retrospective Consent Regarding Wastewater Discharge To Go Before Environment Court
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has applied to the Otago Regional Council (ORC) to have its resource consent application to discharge treated wastewater to Shotover River be directly referred to the Environment Court, in accordance with s87D of the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991.
QLDC already asked for public notification of the resource consent application when it was first submitted to Otago Regional Council (ORC) on Thursday 1 May 2025, which means the public will have an opportunity to make submissions on the application if they wish to do so.
QLDC General Manager Property & Infrastructure, Tony Avery said that given the nature of the consent sought and its relation to the highly valued Kimi-ākau Shotover River, QLDC believed direct referral to the Environment Court would provide the most efficient and robust approach to the situation.
'Shotover River is a significant natural resource and comes with considerable cultural and community values. As such, we believe it is beneficial for the evaluation of and decision on Council's application to be made in an experienced and well-resourced Court,' said Mr Avery.
'If approved, the request would mean ORC would no longer be the first instance decision-maker on the application, as the Environment Court would take that role. The usual process, including public notification, submissions timeframes, and assessment of the application would still be under ORC's jurisdiction.
The Environment Court would follow a process that would fully uphold public participation principles, which would include the right of submitters to appear, be heard, and be parties to Court assisted mediation, which is free of charge to all participants.
An important benefit of the direct referral process is that the Court can properly test evidence in a manner like cross examination which is not available under the protocols of a Council hearing, assisting the decision-maker to fully evaluate expert evidence.
Furthermore, referring the matter to the Environment Court would result in a faster decision, ensure access to the necessary resourcing in a cost-effective way, and provide a simple process that the public can engage with and take part in if they wish to. Rights of appeal would remain intact.
Ultimately, direct referral of the application would help to provide an efficient and comprehensive decision from a neutral arbiter already well acquainted with the matter through enforcement order proceedings lodged by Otago Regional Council (ORC).
QLDC's formal request for direct referral of the resource consent application now sits with ORC to approve or decline.
ORC will still be required to provide an assessment of the application and a report, which will include a summary of public submissions, before the matter is heard by the Court. If ORC declines the request, ORC would remain the decision-maker in the first instance, and a Council hearing would be held.
The resource consent application to discharge treated effluent to Shotover River was submitted to ORC on Thursday 1 May 2025 and seeks retrospective consent for the discharge that commenced on 31 March 2025 under emergency powers, in accordance with s330 of the RMA.
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Queenstown council wants Environment Court to make decision on discharge into Shotover River
The Shotover River where Queenstown Lakes District Council discharged 12,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater in March. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton The Queenstown Lakes District Council wants its retrospective application to discharge treated effluent to Shotover River to go directly to the Environment Court. In late March, the council enacted emergency powers under the Resource Management Act to pump at least 12,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater into the river each day from the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant after its disposal field failed. The council submitted a retrospective resource consent to the Otago Regional Council in May and asked for it to be publicly notified. The Queenstown Lakes District Council has now applied to the regional council to directly refer its resource consent to the Environment Court. District council property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said it believed that this would provide the most efficient and robust approach given the nature of the consent. "Shotover River is a significant natural resource and comes with considerable cultural and community values. "As such, we believe it is beneficial for the evaluation of and decision on council's application to be made in an experienced and well-resourced court," Avery said. If approved, it would mean the regional council would no longer be the decision-maker in the first instance - the Environment Court would. Earlier this year, the regional council took the district council to Environment Court over repeated resource consent breaches at the plant . It resulted in the [. district council being ordered to pay at least $235,000] in costs and fix the issues at the plant The Queenstown Lakes District Council said that meant the Environment Court was already well acquainted with the matter and "would help to provide an efficient and comprehensive decision from a neutral arbiter". Public notification, submission timeframes and assessing the application would still fall under the regional council's jurisdiction, and it would still need to provide that assessment and a report before the matter was heard by the court. The district council said the Environment Court would be able to properly test evidence to assist decision makers. "Referring the matter to the Environment Court would result in a faster decision, ensure access to the necessary resourcing in a cost-effective way, and provide a simple process that the public can engage with and take part in if they wish to," the district council said. "Rights of appeal would remain intact." If the regional council declined the request, it would stay as the decision maker and a council hearing would be held. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
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Request Made For Retrospective Consent Regarding Wastewater Discharge To Go Before Environment Court
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has applied to the Otago Regional Council (ORC) to have its resource consent application to discharge treated wastewater to Shotover River be directly referred to the Environment Court, in accordance with s87D of the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991. QLDC already asked for public notification of the resource consent application when it was first submitted to Otago Regional Council (ORC) on Thursday 1 May 2025, which means the public will have an opportunity to make submissions on the application if they wish to do so. QLDC General Manager Property & Infrastructure, Tony Avery said that given the nature of the consent sought and its relation to the highly valued Kimi-ākau Shotover River, QLDC believed direct referral to the Environment Court would provide the most efficient and robust approach to the situation. 'Shotover River is a significant natural resource and comes with considerable cultural and community values. As such, we believe it is beneficial for the evaluation of and decision on Council's application to be made in an experienced and well-resourced Court,' said Mr Avery. 'If approved, the request would mean ORC would no longer be the first instance decision-maker on the application, as the Environment Court would take that role. The usual process, including public notification, submissions timeframes, and assessment of the application would still be under ORC's jurisdiction. The Environment Court would follow a process that would fully uphold public participation principles, which would include the right of submitters to appear, be heard, and be parties to Court assisted mediation, which is free of charge to all participants. An important benefit of the direct referral process is that the Court can properly test evidence in a manner like cross examination which is not available under the protocols of a Council hearing, assisting the decision-maker to fully evaluate expert evidence. Furthermore, referring the matter to the Environment Court would result in a faster decision, ensure access to the necessary resourcing in a cost-effective way, and provide a simple process that the public can engage with and take part in if they wish to. Rights of appeal would remain intact. Ultimately, direct referral of the application would help to provide an efficient and comprehensive decision from a neutral arbiter already well acquainted with the matter through enforcement order proceedings lodged by Otago Regional Council (ORC). QLDC's formal request for direct referral of the resource consent application now sits with ORC to approve or decline. ORC will still be required to provide an assessment of the application and a report, which will include a summary of public submissions, before the matter is heard by the Court. If ORC declines the request, ORC would remain the decision-maker in the first instance, and a Council hearing would be held. The resource consent application to discharge treated effluent to Shotover River was submitted to ORC on Thursday 1 May 2025 and seeks retrospective consent for the discharge that commenced on 31 March 2025 under emergency powers, in accordance with s330 of the RMA.
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