120 Feredays Road RD 3 Phone: Sandy 0274389576 or A/H 3243217

Email: [email protected] ------31 May 2018

Application for a renewal of resource consent for the extraction of Gravel from the River adjacent to Headworks Road

Assessment of environment Effects

We, Sandy Robert Shirtcliff and Leanne Tracey Shirtcliff would like to renew our consent # CRC142700 to extract shingle from the Rakaia River. We have been in the river for the past ten years working closely with river engineers David Ayres, Dan Harrison and Verity Kirstein. We have had regular phone calls and onsite visits to ensure we are all working towards the same adjectives in the management of water flows and shingle deposits. I, Sandy Shirtcliff have been in the south branch of the Rakaia and taken heights from sea level with an app on my phone over the length of the consented area. As you can see from the simple grid map that the change in height from the active channels where the water is running or will run when the river comes up. You can see from the aerial photos that I have taken with my drone that there is also a lot of Islands where the water has not run for a very long time. The grids on the map are 300 metres long by 400 metres wide making the consent in the south branch about 1080000 square metres. The south eastern part of the consent is about 600000 square metres and at an average depth of 1300 millimetres there is around 780000 cubic metres of shingle. In the top part of excavation site A in the south branch there is about 480000 square metres, at an average depth of 1500 millimetres there is around 720000 cubic metres of shingle. In the north branch we can also take shingle from excavation site B. I have supplied a drone photo and marked where we take shingle from. There is an area of 250 metres long and 150 metres wide. That is a total of 37500 square metres at a depth of 2 metres is around 75000 cubic metres. We only take shingle from the north branch when the river is in flood and it is too dangerous to cart from south branch. We are providing this information for two reasons. The first reason is to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of shingle to go to 50000 cubic metres a year and also to increase the amount at the processing site from 5000 cubic metres to 15000 cubic metres. The demand for aggregate from our aggregate business has grown rapidly in the past three years to the point that 30000 cubic metres will not satisfy the demand of our clients. This is partly due to the range of specialist types of aggregate we supply such as 2A Sand for water treatment systems and 2mm Sand for sports fields and golf courses around Canterbury. We also make drainage aggregates from by-products, which eliminates our waste and aggregates for roading, housing and industrial projects around Canterbury. The second reason is because we plan to be in the Rakaia River for the next 100 years supplying Canterbury with aggregate. Some really exciting things about the Rakaia River is the amount of alluvial shingles coming from the head waters of Wilber Force River, , and the Rakaia River itself going back 150 kilometres from the ocean. Another really exciting thing is we are using a regenerating resource making Ellesmere Excavation and Aggregate the only environmentally friendly full time working aggregate supplier within the . One of the really great things about the location of the processing site Lot 28 Rakaia Reserve that we lease off Environment Canterbury is having no neighbours for thousands of metres on three sides and the one neighbour that we do have is 1002 metres away behind four rows of trees. I have supplied an aerial photo taken from the drone showing road locations and wind directions and where the Pangbourn house is in relation to the processing site. It is not possible for them to be effected by the south west wind in relation to dust and noise from the quarry. Also our quarry site is not visible from the road so there is no visual pollution, noise, dust and vibration, this having a less than minor effect on the Pangbourns. We have put in a two metre high dirt bund around three sides of the processing site for two reasons, one for noise and dust and also as a fire stop to help prevent fire from spreading from or to the quarry site to the river bed. There are times when dust can be a problem. This is mainly during a north west wind which a dust storm travels down the river from up country. At times we have stopped extracting for the safety of our staff carting into the processing site as days like that visibility is limited. When necessary to eliminate dust while crushing at the processing plant we water it which alleviates dust during this process. The effects on the environment over the last 10 years will have been more than its going to be in the foreseeable years to come. In the past ten years we have had to build a road into the processing site. Roads for dump trucks to cart shingle from the south branch and north branch to the processing site and all the work on infrastructure at the processing site. The infrastructure is now in place and minimal changes may need to be made, this meaning that effects on the environment will be less than minor. Other measures to help with the environment is having longer service intervals on machinery and having most of the processing machinery running from one generator on site. We have also been trapping stoats, ferrets, hedgehogs and shooting wild cats, rabbits and hares. We commenced this after John Dowding had been out to do a bird survey and he alerted us to the stoats and ferrets footprints around where he was for bird surveying. Finally another advantage on the environment which we follow, which has less than a minor effect on the environment is driving though flowing water. The average flow of water is 8 - 18 cubic metres a second that needs culverts in place. As installing culverts does create a considerable amount of sediment (all culvert installs can make the water run dirty for up to four to five hours and taking out the culvert can make the water dirty for another two to three hours) and some weeks we could put culverts in and out two or three time a week if the river is going up and down with the nor west rain in the mountains. I have had Steve Terry from North Canterbury Fish and Game Council out to the river to view the dump truck driving though the water and look around the extraction process to ensure that we are doing things in a satisfactory manner. Steve also told me that the small fish that have hatched from spawning streams in the high country make their way to the sea by swimming at night and in dirty water so they cannot be seen by predators. That is another reason for not making the water dirty for long periods of time during the day as the fish think the water is dirty so they will stop hiding and start swimming downstream and when the water starts to clear they are then vulnerable to predators. I have attached the letter that Steve Terry provided and a link If you wish to learn more. http://www.gsweventcenter.com/GSW RTC References/2012 0329 Chapman.pdf. If you require further information please contact Steve on 0212218327. As part of this application no extraction will be carried out within 5 metres of flowing water or near any structure flood protection works or areas of significance. I have not consulted any other parties or consent holders relating to this as the consent renewal from five years ago, for which we were advised to alter by Dan Harrison, where we changed our main excavation area from the north branch to the south branch. At that time we were not required to consult any other parties of the change and with the renewal we will be remaining with in the same restrictions. We also have not made contact with any consent holders on the north side of the river because no one in the last ten years within two kilometres has taken shingle (we are the only people in the river on the north side below the main bridge) I cannot see how we will have an effect on them as they have not been active in the past 10 years. A DOC public conservation area is located 400 metres upstream of the existing consented site and high voltage transmission towers and line cross the river 250 metres downstream of the existing consented site. With the renewal of our resource consent CRC142700 we are happy with the following conditions. General conditions 1,2,3,4. Prior to works 5 because it is a renewal and we are already active full time. Conditions 6 & 7 are suitable to our needs. During work conditions 8,9,10 & 11, we would like to increase this to 15000 per cubic metres. Conditions 12,13,18,19,20,21a/b/f/g/h/j/k/l 22, 23a/b/c & 24. Post-excavation and rehabilitation 25, Tangata Whenua 26a/b/c/d. Advice notes. Administration 27, 28, 29 & Advisory note 30, 31 & Appendix A 32 are all compliant to our needs. We have attached Z Energy Limited safety data sheets which we follow to ensure we meet correct procedures for refuelling. We have made contact with Taumutu Runanga and they have emailed Ngai Tahu. At present we are awaiting their reply but we do not see there being any problem with this. Shaun McCracken and Verity Kirstein river engineers for Environment Canterbury Regional Council Kaunihera Taiao Ki Waitaha are more than happy with the way that we are meeting the river gravel extraction code of practice and facilitating sustainable and that the volume of gravel required to satisfy this application is likely to be available. No effects arising from this activity will impact on the enjoyment of fishermen and jet boaters or recreational use of the riverbed. As the effects of this proposal are less than minor we request that the proposal be processed on a non-notified basis.

Thank you for your time

Sandy and Leanne Shirtcliff Company Directors

Kind Regards Sandy Shirtcliff Company Director