"We are not gloating - and we're not saying we lost," was Lower Waitaki River Management Society chairman Bill Penno's reaction to an Environment Court interim decision granting provisional approval for water for a new power scheme on the lower Waitaki River.
The society opposed the Meridian Energy Ltd north bank tunnel concept scheme. However, the Environment Court has paid tribute to evidence produced by the society and said that, without it, it might have turned down Meridian's applications.
Meridian chief executive Tim Lusk yesterday welcomed the decision, but said advancing the project would still "take several years".
Waitaki First president Helen Brookes said the decision was a case of "win some, lose some".
Both the society and Waitaki First felt the court had provided more comfort for the community and greater safeguards for the river than Environment Canterbury did when it granted the consents in December.
Mr Penno said: "The issues were important and would affect the river and power production in New Zealand for a very, very long time, so the very best information had to be provided to the court."
The court has directed Meridian and appellants to sort out specific issues, particularly in relation to wetlands and braided-river birds. Mr Penno welcomed that opportunity.
He emphasised it was an interim decision, which acknowledged the depth and importance of the issues raised by the society.
A great deal of work needed to be done for the interim decision to stand.
Matters raised in the decision were many the society had raised on behalf of the community, Mr Penno said.
Mr Lusk said the decision provided an opportunity to continue to engage with the community and work towards a successful and satisfactory outcome.
"The decision is very comprehensive (284 pages), so our next step is to work through it carefully to better understand it and its implications for the project," he said.
Community consultation would be a key focus for Meridian as it moved to address the outstanding issues, he said.
To further advance the project, Meridian would have to apply for land-use and construction consents for the scheme, expected to take several years.
Once all consents were secured and a full engineering feasibility study was completed, Meridian would be in a position to commit to the design and construction of the project. This was not likely to occur until at least 2012, Mr Lusk said.
Dr Brookes said the interim decision was "a typical situation - win some, lose some".
"While it would have been really beneficial to the community and the river if the consents had not been granted, the big plus is the proposed conditions are far, far tighter than they were on those granted by Environment Canterbury," she said.
