An application by Port Otago to continue disposing of material from its maintenance dredging programme will be heard today.
The company has applied to the Otago Regional Council to replace its coastal permit for the dredging which expired on December 1, 2011.
It proposes to continue disposing of the dredging material at its three inshore sites for a further three years to monitor the effects of the practice.
Eight submissions had been received and five of those were in opposition to the application.
Those who made submissions were mostly concerned with its impact on Aramoana and Warrington, in particular the surf breaks in those areas.
The hearing, before independent commissioners, was expected to continue for two or three days, at the Southern Cross Hotel in Dunedin.
