Public could have a say in bottling firm's bid to use deep bore

Wednesday, 14 November 2018

A look at Christchurch's Cloud Ocean Estate water bottling production plant. (Video first published in November 2018)

The public could have their say on whether bottling firm Cloud Ocean Water can extract water from a deep bore at its plant in north Christchurch.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) is considering whether to appoint independent commissioner Richard Fowler, QC, to oversee a request by the company to use a 186m bore at its Belfast site so it can export 1.5 billion litres of bottled water a year.

ECan councillors will make a decision about the move at a meeting on Thursday morning.

If given the green light, Fowler will decide whether the public should be allowed to give their view on the China-owned company's application.

Cloud Ocean Water is seeking permission to extract water from a 186m aquifer under its Belfast plant.

* Fears over threat to city drinking supplies from water bottling plant

* Canterbury water on way to Chinese market as bottling plant starts production

* Decades-old consents should not be used to allow for water bottling, court hears

* Bottler caught illegally taking water likely to avoid serious punishment

Richard Fowler QC may be appointed by ECan to decide if the public should have a say in an application from water bottling firm Cloud Ocean Water.

* Environment Canterbury orders China-based firm to stop water bottling after it breached consent

* Environment Canterbury accused of 'bending the law' over water bottling consents**

He will decide if the application is publicly notified, where anyone can offer an opinion; limited notified, when only people considered to be adversely affected can have their say; or non-notified, when the impact is deemed to be no more than minor, a decision on approval usually being made behind closed doors. If it is notified, Fowler will chair a hearing panel.

Whether or not a commissioner is appointed – ECan staff would take responsibility if not – a decision on the notification status of the application will likely be made by December 3.

Independent hearings commissioners are used in all notified consent applications if parties wish to be heard. Bringing them in for notification decisions is unusual.

An ECan spokeswoman said: 'The staff recommendation to the committee is to appoint an independent commissioner.

The Christchurch City Council is opposing an application by Cloud Ocean Water to take water from a deep well at its plant in Belfast.

'This is due to the application being to change the conditions of an existing consent which is currently the subject of a judicial review proceeding being considered by the courts.'

Christchurch City Council and campaign group Aotearoa Water Action (AWA), which previously urged independent commissioners be involved, have both called for the application to be made public.

AWA has raised concerns about the way Environment Canterbury (ECan) has dealt with the application, saying it calls into question the 'integrity and independence of its processes'.

ECan initially rejected a request through Cloud Ocean Water's drilling contractor to change the conditions of an existing consent, saying the proposal to take from the deep bore would have to be treated as a new application.

But three weeks later ECan agreed to consider the same change of conditions application.

Council staff fear the bottling firm's use of the deep bore could threaten supplies of drinking water in Christchurch.

The China-owned firm has permission to take more than 1.5 billion litres of water from an aquifer beneath Christchurch.

AWA believes ECan's acceptance of this application allowed Cloud Ocean Water to get around a ban on new takes in the fully-allocated Christchurch/West Melton area.

AWA spokesman Peter Richardson said: 'We believe ECan has a fundamental conflict of interest arising from the possibility they could be sued by Cloud Ocean for advice given by ECan staff before the company set up its bottling plant, if Cloud Ocean is unable to obtain the consents it needs for its operation.

'Where there is a conflict of interest, or even a perception of a conflict of interest, ECan must stand aside from the decision-making.'

But ECan said the original application was rejected because it did not contain an 'assessment of environmental effects', and a resubmitted version meant it could be accepted as a request for a change of conditions.

The city council last week demanded ECan assess the potential impacts on the public drinking water supply before progressing with the application.

The ECan spokeswoman said the organisation 'continues to audit' potential effects, and that 'all the relevant groundwater science and planning matters are being considered'.

Documents published online by councillor Vicki Buck revealed council staff have serious worries that use of the bore could compromise an aquifer and leave parts of the city short of drinking water.

The bore is in a water supply zone which could see a 50 per cent increase in demand over the next 30 years, and 20 per cent in the next decade alone.

Cloud Ocean already has permission to extract water from a shallow bore, but wants the option to take some or all of that water from its second, deeper bore.

Adding the second bore will not allow it to take any more water than it already has permission to use.