Despite saying he had been threatened, abused and had property damaged, an Otekaieke man still intends to dredge gold from the Maerewhenua River after yesterdaygetting the go-ahead from Environment Canterbury.
The proposal has angered New Zealand and international anglers who fish the river.
Despite that and without calling for public submissions, the regional council (ECan) has granted 10-year resource consent to Dale Franklin, the last hurdle before he can start dredging.
He plans to use a 2.4m-long pontoon boat with a suction pump driven by two petrol motors to suck gold from 53.43ha of the river on the north, south and main branches, past the Dansey's Pass Holiday Park to just below Pringle's Gully Rd.
The proposal caused ''all hell to break lose in the fishing community,'' local angler Neil Thorpe said last year when the Otago Daily Times first reported it.
Mr Thorpe was unable to be contacted yesterday for comment on ECan granting the application without publicly notifying it.
Mr Franklin, when contacted yesterday by the Otago Daily Times, initially said he would use the consent ''at some point in the near future''.
''Won't be immediately 'cause I had a bit of an accident and back injuries, so I can't really be doing it.''
He then asked the purpose of the phone call, and said he did not want to comment because, after details were published last year, he had ''threats, illegal behaviour, abuse ...
destruction of property'', and he did not want to add to that.
Last year in the Otago Daily Times he said he had a legal right to dredge for gold in the Maerewhenua through a 10-year mining permit he held from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals.
But before he could use it, he needed land use resource consent from ECan.
When that was filed in November last year, Mr Franklin requested it be non-notified. He obtained written approvals, some subject to conditions, after consultation with affected parties -Te Rununga O Waihao, Department of Conservation and Central South Island Fish and Game Council.
ECan consents planning manager said yesterday, when contacted, the consent was non-notified because Mr Franklin provided sufficient evidence and mitigation to allow that under the Resource Management Act.
That information allowed ECan to determine potential adverse effects on people would be less than minor and potential adverse effects on the environment would be no more than minor.
''There were a number of comments, mostly approving the conditions imposed, and no-one sought notification,'' she said.
Details in yesterday's consent stipulate it will lapse if it is not used by March 31, 2019.
Only a 15cm suction dredge can be used and it must not cause any visible change in water clarity 50m downstream from dredging.
Dredging is restricted, including the Friday before and the three days of Labour Weekend, cannot take place within 20m of any structure, water takes or within 100m of the flow recorder at Pringle's Gully Rd bridge.
Other conditions cover refuelling the pump, returning rocks manually removed to as close as possible to their original position, taking before and after photographs, contacting Ngai Tahu if any greenstone is found, stopping work if any human remains or taonga (treasured Maori artefacts) are found and review periods.
