BOARD of INQUIRY Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal in the MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 and in the MATTE
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BOARD OF INQUIRY Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of a Board of Inquiry appointed under s149J of the Resource Management Act 1991 to consider the application for resource consents by Watercare Services Ltd to increase abstraction of water from the Waikato River. STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF HANNAH JANE RAINFORTH 18 June, 2021 2 INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Hannah Jane Rainforth. 2. I am an uri of Ngāti Rangi, Te Āti Haunui ā Pāpārangi, and Ngāti Hauiti. 3. I hold the degree of Master of Science in Restoration Ecology and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Māori Studies, both from Victoria University of Wellington. I graduated from Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, The Institute of Excellence in Māori Language at the Eastern Institute of Technology and hold a Pōkaitahi Ngā Muka o te reo o Whanganui (Certificate in Whanganui Reo) from the Universal College of Learning. 4. I have 13 years’ experience as an environmental practitioner, specialising in providing freshwater, resource management and biodiversity services to iwi and hapū. 5. I am a Kaupapa Taiao Specialist at Kāhu Environmental Ltd. As part of that role, I have developed and executed freshwater monitoring plans for iwi and hapū for topics such as sewage spills and diquat use. This monitoring involved both ‘Western’ science and tailored kaupapa Māori assessments. I have also developed iwi-led stream restoration plans, conducted fish rescues for stream dewatering projects, undertaken īnanga spawning surveys and trained hapū members in īnanga spawning survey techniques. I have run workshops on the numerous kaupapa Māori assessment tools now available, and produced a synthesis of these tools and frameworks for councils and iwi and hapū. 6. Both in this role and in previous roles, I have facilitated wānanga to teach iwi and hapū members about freshwater monitoring techniques, and run workshops on how to design monitoring programmes that answer iwi and hapū needs. 7. I am a member of the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society Hannah Jane Rainforth Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal 3 (NZFSS), have previously been the editor for the Society, and served on the Executive Committee. As part of that role, I helped establish what is now called Te Wai Māori – the collective of Māori members of NZFSS. 8. Prior to joining Kāhu Environmental, I was Pou Taiao/Environmental Manager for Ngāti Rangi Trust. In that role I was involved in assessments and negotiations on the flow regime for the Eastern Diversion of the Tongariro Power Scheme, which I refer to in this evidence. As Pou Taiao, I lead the development of Ngāti Rangi’s Taiao Management Plan, and was involved in hydroelectricity resource consent applications in the rohe. I helped establish continuous monitoring of key parameters in the mainstem of the Whangaehu, developed a monitoring app for use by iwi members, trained iwi members on how to assess fish passage issues and undertook fish surveys throughout the rohe. 9. I participated in the Land and Water Forum and was a technical advisor to the Iwi Leaders Group for Freshwater of the Iwi Chairs Forum. As a representative of that group, I also served on the Reference Group for National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) 2014 and participated in the development of the National Objectives Framework for that iteration of the NPSFM. 10. I have also worked as a freshwater ranger for the Department of Conservation, and as Acting Technical Support Officer Freshwater. 11. I am a Trustee for Ngā Tangata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post settlement governance entity for Te Awa Tupua, the Whanganui River Claims Settlement. I am also a member of Te Pae Toka, the governance relationship group between Ngāti Rangi and RAL. I regularly participate in the Whanganui annual iwi wānanga, Te Tira Hoe Waka and other iwi hui and wānanga. Hannah Jane Rainforth Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal 4 CODE OF CONDUCT 12. I confirm that I have read the Expert Witness Code of Conduct set out in the Environment Court's Practice Note 2014. I have complied with the Code of Conduct in preparing this evidence and agree to comply with it while giving oral evidence. Except where I state that I am relying on the evidence of another person, this written evidence is within my area of expertise. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the opinions expressed in this evidence. 13. As a member of the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society, a constituent organisation of the Royal Society of New Zealand - Te Apārangi, I am also bound by the Royal Society of New Zealand Code of Professional Standards and Ethics in Science, Technology, and the Humanities.1 SCOPE OF EVIDENCE 14. I am appearing on behalf of Ngāti Rangi, for Ngā Waihua o Paerangi Trust. I am a descendant of Ruapehu and whakapapa to all the rivers impacted by the Tongariro Power Scheme (TPS) – the Whanganui, the Whangaehu and the Rangitīkei. This evidence covers the relevance of the water diverted through the TPS to the Waikato River to water allocation in the Waikato, the impacts of those diversions on Ngāti Rangi, and relevant planning considerations. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15. The Tongariro Power Scheme (TPS) diverts the headwaters of the Whangaehu, the Rangitīkei and the Whanganui into Lake Taupō and on into the Waikato River. 16. It is Ngāti Rangi’s aim to see the waters of the Whangaehu returned to their rightful waterbodies. 1 https://royalsociety.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Code-of-Prof-Stds-and-Ethics-1-Jan-2019-web.pdf Hannah Jane Rainforth Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal 5 17. It is my opinion that the impact of the TPS diversions on the water availability in the Waikato River has not been sufficiently assessed by the applicant. The natural flows in the Waikato River need to be calculated before any further resource consents for water takes are considered. 18. A rough calculation of the amount water added to the Waikato River through the TPS is 35.6 m3/s. If this amount is removed from the Q5 of the Waikato Coastal Marine Area Water Allocation Calculation catchment, the Q5 would drop from 187.9 to 152.3 m3/s. The allocable flow would drop by 3.57 m3/s to 15.23 m3/s. 19. Based on the Q5 that still contains the water diverted from the TPS, the applicant’s Mr Bassett has estimated that between 3.24 m3/s and 7.74 m3/s remains available for allocation, depending on the time of year. 20. Given that I have roughly calculated that the allocable flow could drop by 3.57 m3/s, this would mean for part of the year the Waikato may already be over-allocated. For the remaining part of the year, only 4.17 m3/s may be available for allocation. Clearly, the TPS impacts on the availability of water in the Waikato, and this influence needs to be removed before any further water is allocated or consented. Planning Considerations 21. The NPSFM is a relevant matter which the BOI must have regard to when considering this application under s104(1((b)(iii). 22. The NPSFM contains objectives and policies that direct protection and avoidance. The Court has found in other cases that policies that direct ‘protection’ or ‘avoidance’ can be read as being ‘akin to bottom-lines’.2 Because the NPSFM is directive and sets cultural and environmental ‘bottom-lines’ that are relevant to achieving the 2 Environmental Defence Society v New Zealand King Salmon Co Ltd [2014] NZSC 38.[132] Hannah Jane Rainforth Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal 6 purpose of the Act3 the level of regard had to those policies should be very high. 23. The NPSFM also requires WRC to undergo a process to change its plan to reflect the directions set in the NPSFM, most notably to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai. 24. Giving effect to Te Mana o te Wai is a responsibility of this BOI, and that obligation does not wait until the WRC has completed a freshwater plan change. 25. Policy 11 of the NPS requires that future over-allocation is avoided. Take limits must be set in the future regional plan, before the end of 2024. These limits must provide for environmental flows and levels4 which in turn must achieve environmental outcomes5 that provide for the values of the waterbody6. 26. All parts of the future, NPSFM-compliant water allocation regime, including minimum flows, take limits and rule frameworks must achieve the environmental outcomes for the waterbodies. These environmental outcomes must give effect to Te Mana o te Wai, provide for ecosystem health, indigenous species, mahinga kai and any Māori Values identified by tangata whenua. 27. This must occur in both the Horizons Region (affecting the source awa for the TPS) and in the Waikato Region. Because of cultural effects, Te Mana o te Wai and values that will be identified by us as Ngāti Rangi that must be provided for in the future regional plan, it is highly likely that the amount of water diverted from Ngāti Rangi’s rohe and therefore flowing in the Waikato will reduce. 28. The Ngāti Rangi settlement, Rukutia te Mana, requires that decision makers working under RMA must recognise and provide for Te 3 RMA s45(1) 4 3,17(1)(a). 5 NPSFM 3.16(2)(a) 6 NPSFM 3.9(3) Hannah Jane Rainforth Watercare Waikato River Water Take Proposal 7 Mana Tupua and Ngā Toka Tupua7.