New dairy farms in the Omarama and Ohau areas are the second most controversial resource consent issue Environment Canterbury (ECan) has had to deal with in its 20-year history.
By late yesterday, about 4300 public submissions had been processed by ECan on the three developments proposed by Five Rivers Limited, Southdown Holdings Ltd and Williamson Holdings Ltd.
The final number of submissions would probably not be available until next week because of the sheer volume remaining to be processed.
The Meridian Energy Ltd Project Aqua power scheme on the south side of the lower Waitaki River attracted about 6000 submissions to ECan before it was cancelled in March 2004.
ECan received 3587 submissions on the controversial Kate Valley landfill in north Canterbury and about 1500 for the Central Plains irrigation scheme.
ECan estimated it had received 1424 submissions on the Five Rivers proposal to establish seven standalone dairy farms with up to 7000 cows at Ohau Downs on Lake Ohau Rd.
The Southdown Holdings proposal for seven dairy farms on Glen Eyre Downs, Quailburn Rd, with up to 7000 cows attracted 1399 submissions.
Submissions on both developments closed at 5pm yesterday.
The third development - by Williamson Holdings for three dairy farms with up to 3850 cows on land bordered by SH8 and Broken Hut Rd, just south of Omarama - has so far attracted 1480 submissions.
Submissions on that proposal close at 5pm on January 15.
All three want to house cows in cubicles full time between March and October and for 12 hours a day from November to February.
That led to claims by the Green Party the new dairy farms were "factory farming", immediately prompting huge interest in the developments and a flood of submissions, with at times two to three a minute being received.
Prime Minister John Key also came out in opposition to "factory farming".
The number of inquiries ECan was receiving prompted it to set up a special section on its website home page, which since its inception has ranked as the most popular content on its site.
Submissions have poured in from all around New Zealand and overseas, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Sweden.
ECan now has the mammoth task of processing all the submissions, including ascertaining the number of those making submissions who want to appear at a hearing, which could be held some time in the first quarter of next year.
ECan will also have to decide whether to accept any submissions received after the deadline.
All three companies are seeking five resource consents each for discharging solid effluent on to land, storing dairy effluent in ponds, building the cubicles, excavating land for effluent storage ponds and discharging contaminants into the air from the effluent ponds and cubicles.
The same three companies have also applied for water for irrigation through the Mackenzie Irrigation Company, in which they are shareholders.
