ORC to be investigated over water permit concerns

Environment Minister David Parker has launched an investigation into the Otago Regional Council over concerns that the Council is not prepared for the coming influx of water permit replacement applications.The Chair of ORC Stephen Woodhead has responded saying “Here in Otago we face a unique water management challenge, with hundreds of deemed permits arising from 19th-century mining operations due to expire in 2021.We have a plan in place to work through this. Hon David Parker, the Minister for the Environment wants to make sure we are on track, and has appointed Peter Skelton to look into this.We will of course cooperate with this investigation and show what we are doing to meet our obligations under the Resource Management Act.”Read more