Dairy News april 29, 2014
news // 7
Dairy expansion under threat feds weigh in
peter burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
‘LITTLE HEADROOM’
appears to remain for an expanded dairy industry in Hawkes Bay, says DairyNZ’s environmental policy manager Dr Mike Scarsbrook. His comment refers to a decision by a board of inquiry into the proposal for a water storage dam at Ruataniwha. The board issued a draft 700-page document containing consent for the dam and Plan Change Six for the Tukituki River catchment which the dam would serve. It consented to building the dam, but imposed tight limits on how much nitrogen can be leached. The decision is appealable to the High Court only on points of law, not the substance of the decision. The $275 million dam would be a landmark project, irrigating up to 42,000ha and bringing
Tougher restrictions on nitrogen leaching into the Tukituki river in Hawkes Bay could spell the end of dairy’s expansion in the region.
massive economic growth and development. But unless the dairy industry can find a way around the substance of the decision the prospects look bleak. Scarsbrook says he can only comment on the science side of the water quality issues. “My initial reading of the decision [shows] they have come up with a table that sets the limits and targets for the Tuki-
tuki River; already in there were targets for phosphorus, nitrate and algae in the river. “The board has added another column – DIN (dissolved inorganic nitrogen), essentially nitrate plus another couple of constituents…. This column makes several other columns redundant.” DairyNZ chairman John Luxton says the decision resembles that made
by the Environment Court on the Horizons Regional Council One Plan. “It’ll be worked through and there’ll be a better solution at the end but it may not be what the commissioners suggested. The legal system is responding to the submissions made to it but the
only way we can respond is to use the science behind it. “DairyNZ, with six environmental scientists, now has capability as good as anyone in the country to understand what’s going on and to try to resolve those issues,” Luxton says.
FEDERATED FARMERS Hawkes Bay president Will Foley says getting consent for the dam was great and a step forward, but the restrictions on nitrogen are two steps backwards, he says, calling the decision a hollow victory for environmentalists. “The risk is that farmers will perceive the restriction… as too hard, too tight, [so] they won’t have the confidence to sign up water rights. “And one key ingredient to get this dam project over the line is farmers signing up to water because that’s basically what’ll be funding the dam.” Foley says he can’t understand why some people are so “hell bent” on derailing a scheme that gives Hawkes Bay it’s best chance of dealing with climate change issues. It’s not as though the promoter of the Ruataniwha project got a “muppet” to do their scientific analysis, he says. His biggest concern is for existing dairy farmers. “They risk being affected… by this plan change regardless of whether they sign up to water or not…. “Current farmers, through no fault of their own, who were probably not following the progress of the dam or weren’t even in the irrigation zone could still be affected.”
Regional council surprised THE CHAIRMAN of Hawkes Bay Regional Council (HBRC) which is promoting the dam and Plan Change Six says he’s more surprised than shocked at the stringent nitrogen limits imposed by the board of inquiry. Fenton Wilson says the constraints on nitrogen don’t help the council with its plan to deal with phosphorus. It will have to look again at its modeling to see the implications of the decision. “I am reasonably calm about this… but I’m not saying I will remain calm if I can’t get clarification out of the board itself. At the moment we still have an opportunity to ask some questions and that’s what we intend to do.” But Wilson is concerned for dairy farmers because of the board decisions on nitrogen limits set for the Tukituki catchment. “At first glance existing dairy farmers are put under pressure to meet a standard with this ruling and I am not sure that was the intention… let alone make it more challenging for new farmers to get involved with irrigation and intensification. “I don’t think the board will shift on the nitrogen but it would be nice to work out how they see it working. There will be an opportunity before they come out with their final ruling for us to try to understand better what they have done. And if we get to the end and there is still a challenge, then we will have to weigh up our options.” Wilson says the nitrogen limits also affect intensive
cropping operations which also require lots of nitrogen. “Environment is one consideration when you do a plan change, [so is the possibility of ] unforeseen consequences to the economy, which is a big part of the RMA decision making process. We believe our scientific programme created a balance that provided a better environment allowed for increased economic growth for the community and the country. This decision has implications nationwide.”
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