March 31, 2015
Kahungunu win water argument
Fish & Game says Ngati Kahungunu has done the country a favour by stopping Hawkes Bay Regional Council shirking its responsibility to uphold water quality.
The iwi took the council to the Environment Court to challenge its "unders and overs" approach, which would allow some waterways to decline in quality if that decline was balanced by improvements elewhere.
The court says that’s inconsistent with the council’s requirement to maintain and enhance water quality, and it also jars with the government’s National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.
Fish & Game environmental manager Corina Jordan says the court has resoundingly rejected the regional council’s claim that it is impossible to prevent further degradation of groundwater from the impact of agriculture.
It also told the council the status quo isn’t good enough, and it needs to improve water quality to meet its obligation to Maori.
The council is pushing the massive Ruataniwha water storage project, which would massively alter water flows and quality in the central Hawkes Bay for the benefit of a small group of farmers.
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