CODC planning and infrastructure group manager Louise van der Voort told the council’s executive members the Otago Regional Council (ORC) had released its decision on the partially operative regional policy statement on the discharge of wastewater to land and water.
In the statement discharge was "required" to go to land. Previously it said it was "preferred" that discharge go to land rather than water, she said.
The CODC had the opportunity to join the QLDC appeal and a "leave to appeal" document would be needed as the CODC had not appeared before the freshwater panel, Ms van der Voort said.
Mayor Tim Cadogan said staff had an email from the QLDC on Friday asking for support and he felt the council’s executive committee needed to make the decision.
The executive committee is made up of Mr Cadogan, deputy mayor Neil Gillespie, who was absent, and Crs Stu Duncan, Tamah Alley and Sally Feinerman.
"There is a political element to the decision we make here today: [it] may have ramifications with iwi ... I just felt it was important that there was governance oversight of this and not just leaving staff exposed to having to make that decision without us saying yes or no," he said.
Ms van der Voort said the ORC decision had ramifications in terms of cost and the ability to gain consent for future wastewater discharge facilities.
The implications were that when the ORC revised its regional plan discharges to water may become a prohibited activity and it would not be possible to apply for a resource consent to do that, she said.
