A move by three companies wanting to develop dairy farms in the Omarama and Ohau areas to delay a Government-appointed board of inquiry dealing with the effluent discharges has been rejected by Minister for the Environment Nick Smith.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Dr Smith said the minister received a request last month to put the discharge consents on hold until the water take consents hearing, which was under way, was complete.
Dr Smith was uncomfortable doing this as both sets of consents were closely related and the Resource Management Act system "should not be gamed" in this way.
Dr Smith has given the applicants the choice of either continuing with the board of inquiry process on the discharge consents or withdrawing their applications.
Southdown Holdings Ltd, Williamson Holdings Ltd and Five Rivers Ltd want to develop 16 new dairy farms housing up to 17,850 cows on 8555ha on three properties they either own or have contracted to buy.
Resource consent applications for discharging effluent to land, effluent storage ponds, construction of cubicles to house the cows, excavating land for storage ponds and discharges to air from the ponds were called in by Dr Smith in January under the Resource Management Act.
That followed a public outcry, prompting more than 5200 submissions on the consent applications, after some groups criticised the developments as "factory farming".
Dr Smith appointed a five-member board, headed by Environment Court Judge Jane Borthwick, to process and make decisions on the applications.
However, the three companies, through their legal counsel, Christian Whata, of Auckland, requested Dr Smith to put the board of inquiry on hold.
Mr Whata, when contacted yesterday, could not comment on what the companies' actions might be without instructions from the company owners.
The Otago Daily Times understands they wanted the process delayed while an Environment Canterbury (ECan) panel was hearing and making a decision on the companies' resource consent applications for water for irrigation and to dilute the effluent on the farms.
The water applications are vital to the dairy farms proceeding - without the water there would be no irrigation to grow feed for the cows nor dilution so the effluent could be sprayed on to land.
The water consents could also be subject to an Environment Court process, adding further delays to any final decision.
The ODT understands the companies argued the cost of preparing for the board of inquiry and its hearings could be wasted if the water consents were not granted.
Without the water, the effluent discharge consents would be superfluous.
