You are here: Resource Management
Act 
Administration of the RMA Call in of matters of national significance Contact’s proposal for a new geothermal power station at 'Te Mihi'
Letter to submitters re update on Contact Energy Te Mihi Application
Reference: RA/MC/04/03
11 April 2008
Dear Sir/Madam
Update on Contact Energy Te Mihi Application – First meeting of the Board of Inquiry
The Board of Inquiry – Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station Proposal held its first meeting on the 3 April 2008. The following topics were discussed and the following information is provided to you on how the Board propose to progress the matter.
Conflict of Interest
At their first meeting all board members considered possible conflicts of interest that may affect their consideration of this application.
Board member Mr Denis Nugent advised the Board that he is an expert planning witness being called by a group of submitters that includes the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board, in respect of appeals on Variation 5 to the proposed Waikato Regional Plan. Variation 5 is seeking to institute land use and discharge controls in the Lake Taupo catchment to limit the amount of nitrogen entering the lake. His evidence is directed to how the Variation affects the activities that can occur on the Tuwharetoa landholdings, particularly those administered by the Forest Trusts.
Mr Nugent has advised the Board that he has provided no advice to Tuwharetoa or the Trusts on any matter other than Variation 5 and was unaware that they were submitters in this application until receiving the draft of submissions yesterday. It should also be noted that Judge Whiting is presiding on the Environment Court hearing the Variation 5 appeals.
The Board discussed this potential conflict of interest and felt that the circumstances did not raise a sufficiently serious potential conflict. However they felt that the matter should be disclosed to all affected parties.
The Board have asked that should you have any issue with this then you should advise the Board in writing through the Project Manager, within 5 days of receipt of this letter. The Board will then commence a public hearing to consider this matter.
Board Report
The Board intends to commission, under Section 42A of the Resource Management Act, a report from a consultant that will provide information on reviews of plans and other statutory information related to the application, reviews of applications and submissions and identification of any issues, asses the adequacy of information and whether further information should be sought. This report will not recommend a decision to the Board. It is expected that this report will be prepared in parallel with the pre-hearing meeting referred to below, and that an outcome may be a suite of possible conditions that could be attached to any consent that the Board might approve. Parties could then include comments on these possible conditions in their presentations to the Board.
Pre Hearing Meetings
The Board wishes to pursue pre hearing meetings to allow the applicant and submitters to clarify issues and to explore possible areas of agreement. These pre-hearing meetings might be conducted to deal separately with different topic areas. The applicant and submitters will be contacted directly. If you wish to register your interest in any pre-hearing meetings please contact the Board in writing through the Project Manager on the contact details below.
Board of Inquiry Site Visit
The Board wishes to visit the site in early May. The visit may require the Board to come into contact with Contact Energy staff. The Board will limit this to a local representative whose role will be to provide access to and answer any questions about the site and to ensure that any Health and Safety requirements are met. This visit will not be an opportunity for Contact staff to provide any representation to the Board on the application and key staff involved in preparing the application will not be present.
Should any person have any concern with this visit please contact the Board in writing through the Project Manager, within 5 days of receipt of this letter, to outline your concerns.
Hearing Details
The hearing is expected to be held in Taupo. The venue and other information will be advised when available. Hearing procedures will also be prepared and available closer to the time.
The Board has decided that evidence will be pre circulated to the Board before the hearing and that it will be lodged sequentially. The Board have agreed that cross examination of witnesses will be allowed during the hearing with prior notice.
The Board also advised that should there be expert witnesses of the same discipline, they may be requested to meet prior to the hearing and provide a report to the Board on the issues that are agreed and those that are contested.
The Board proposes to begin the hearing with opening statements from the applicant and will then retire for the remainder of that week to read all the evidence that has been provided. This evidence will then be taken as read when the hearing re starts again the following week. A second site visit may also occur during that first week.
Proposed Timeframes
A possible hearing starting date of 21 July 2008 is proposed, based on the above sequence, and the following proposed timeline -
Pre Hearing Processes |
Date |
|---|---|
Applicant to provide evidence to the Board |
12 May 2008 |
Submitters to provide evidence to the Board |
9 June 2008 |
Contacts rebuttal evidence |
7 July 2008 |
Notice of wish to cross examine witnesses |
11 July 2008 |
Hearing Begins |
21 July 2008 |
At each stage the evidence provided to the Board will be made publically available.
If any party has any issues with any of the above, please contact the Board, via the Project Manager, using the details below. The Board will then confirm or amend the above timeframes and will advise you accordingly.
Extension of Timeframes
To provide for the above processes, the Board has extended the timeframes by which a hearing must be held as allowed for under the Resource Management Act. Under Section 37A(2)(a) of the RMA this timeframe has been doubled to allow 80 working days from the date of submissions closing.
Project Manager
The Project Manger can be contacted to discuss any of the issues outlined above. You can contact her at the following:
Kim Morgan (Project Manager)
Phone - 0800 836 444 or DDI: (04) 439 7447
E-mail - temihicallin@mfe.govt.nz
All relevant information can be found on the Ministry for the Environment webpage below. A new link will be included to the Board of Inquiry’s own webpage - http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/call-in-temihi/index.html
Yours sincerely
Judge Whiting
Chairman
Board of Inquiry - Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station Proposal
Last updated: 6 May 2008
