A decision on whether a new $150 million to $200 million irrigation scheme for the Waimate district will be able to draw water from the lower Waitaki River is unlikely before May this year.
The Meridian Energy Ltd-South Canterbury Irrigation Trust Hunter Downs irrigation scheme, which could irrigate up to 40,000ha, applied to Environment Canterbury (ECan) for a resource consent to take up to 20.5cumecs from the river. The application was heard at the end of 2007 in Timaru.
A decision by the commissioners - former Environment Court judge Prof Peter Skelton (Christchurch), environmental consultant Mike Bowden (Kaiapoi) and freshwater scientist and ecologist Greg Ryder (Dunedin) - was delayed until they had considered another 56 applications to take water from the lower Waitaki River.
Those applications were heard in Oamaru during August and September last year.
The commissioners started deliberating on all the lower river consents, including Hunter Downs, last week.
However, ECan chief executive Bryan Jenkins said applicants had asked for the hearing to be reconvened so they could present further evidence relating to the minimum flow in the river and flow sharing of water.
Commissioners were considering the request.
"It is likely that if the commissioners wish to hear this new evidence, a reconvened hearing could occur in April," Dr Jenkins said.
ECan also has yet to consider 116 resource consent applications involving 44 proposals in the upper Waitaki catchment, west of the Waitaki dam.
A tentative date of September 7 has been set for the three commissioners to start a hearing that could take up to six weeks.
However, Dr Jenkins said a prehearing meeting on May 19 between all the applicants and submitters could resolve some issues, which could reduce the time set aside for the hearing.
