SUMMARY OF SUBMISSIONS REPORT MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal September 2012 Submission period Saturday 14 July 2012 – Friday 10 August 2012 www.epa.govt.nz 2 MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal Summary of Submissions report Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. 2 1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 3 2. Structure of this report .................................................................................................................... 3 3. Limitations of this report ................................................................................................................. 4 4. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 4 4.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 4 4.2 Notification ................................................................................................................................... 5 5. Submissions ..................................................................................................................................... 5 5.1 Submissions received .................................................................................................................. 5 5.2 Positions of submitters ................................................................................................................. 5 5.3 Submissions by location and whether they wish to be heard ...................................................... 6 5.4 Submissions received outside of time ......................................................................................... 7 5.5 Submissions received by sector .................................................................................................. 7 5.6 Trade Competition ....................................................................................................................... 8 6. High-level issues raised in submissions ....................................................................................... 8 Appendix One - Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 10 Appendix Two – Schedule of Submitters (submitter number) ....................................................... 14 Appendix Three – Schedule of Submitters (alphabetical) ............................................................... 18 Appendix Four - Summary of Submissions Table ........................................................................... 22 September 2012 3 MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal Summary of Submissions report 1. Executive Summary The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has lodged an application for a Notice of Requirement and 29 Resource Consents with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal (the proposal). Of the 725 submissions the EPA received on the proposal: · 408 submitters (56%) oppose the proposal either in full or in part, 302 submitters (42%) support the proposal either in full or in part, and 14 submitters (1.9%) are either neutral in full, in part, or have a mixed position. One submitter chose not to state a position. · The majority of submitters are from Waikanae (27.3%) and Paraparaumu (18.5%). · 234 submitters wish to be heard at the hearing. · Fifty-one submissions were received out of the submission period; of which 49 have been accepted by the Board of Inquiry. · A wide range of concerns have been raised in the submissions. 2. Structure of this report This report is structured to assist the MacKays to Peka Peka Proposal Board of Inquiry (the Board of Inquiry) and parties in identifying the following matters: · The nature of submissions (submitter position); · The number of submissions received by location; · The number of submitters that wish to be heard; · The number of submissions received incomplete, non-complying or outside of the submission period, and the Board’s determination on these. · Trends within the submissions, including submissions received per sector · The number of submitters that are trade competitors; · The high level concerns raised in submissions. Appendix One includes a list of commonly used abbreviations within both this report and the Appendices. Appendix Two provides an index of submitters by submission number. Appendix Three provides an index of submitters alphabetically. The ‘Summary of Submissions’ Table provided in Appendix Four describes the nature of each individual submission, and summarises the general concerns raised in each of the individual submissions. The discussion provided in the body of this report therefore draws on the submissions themselves and the tabulated information contained within the ‘Summary of Submissions’ table. September 2012 4 MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal Summary of Submissions report 3. Limitations of this report · Identification of trends and concerns within the report are based on information provided by submitters in their written submissions lodged during the submission period. · Information is accurate at time of receipt of submission and takes into account changes requested by parties following close of submissions up to 30 August 2012. · For the purpose of section 5.2 of this report, if a submitter has indicated a position both ‘in full’ and ‘in part’, ‘in full’ has been recorded as their overriding position. · The categorisation of information in section 5.5 of this report were based on the submitter name on the submission form and does not reflect if an individual submission refers to businesses or other types of groups in their submission. · It is not unusual for submissions received on notified proposals of this nature to cover a broad range of issues and offer differing levels of detail. Whilst each submission can be unique, the summary of the submissions necessarily involves a degree of generalisation. Summaries are therefore not a replication of the original submission. The original submission should be referred to at all times for the full content of the submission. Full copies of all of the submissions are available as PDF (Portable Document Format) files on the EPA website. · The Summary of Submissions table in Appendix Four needs to be regarded with caution. The analysis is based solely on the content of the submission form and the stated position of the submitter. In some cases it is not immediately evident what decision a submitter seeks from the Board of Inquiry with respect to the information provided in their submission. If the submitter has strongly inferred through the reasons for the submission and/or their stated submitter position, the EPA has interpreted this inference and stated (inferred) in Appendix Four. 4. Introduction 1.1 Background On 20 April 2012, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) received an application from the NZTA for a Notice of Requirement and 29 Resource Consents ("the matters") for the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal (the proposal). The proposal involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of an approximately 16 km section of State highway, formed to an expressway standard, from 2 kms north of MacKays Crossing to Te Kowhai Road, Peka Peka in the Kāpiti Coast District. The proposal will provide for an Expressway with two lanes of traffic in each direction, connections with local roads at four interchanges, new local roads and access roads to maintain local connectivity, and an additional bridge crossing over the Waikanae River. The EPA recommended to the Minister for the Environment to direct the matters to a board of inquiry for decision. The Minister has accepted the EPA’s recommendation and directed the matters to be September 2012 5 MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway Proposal Summary of Submissions report decided by a board of inquiry under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The role of the Board of Inquiry is to hear and decide these matters. 1.2 Notification The proposal was publicly notified on Saturday 14 July 2012 and closed at 5pm on Friday 10 August 2012, by way of public notices in the New Zealand Herald, the Dominion Post, The Press, and the Otago Daily Times. A public notice was also placed in the Kapiti Observer on Monday 16 July 2012. The 20 working day submission period was from 14 July 2012 to 10 August 2012. A submission form tailored to the proposal was prepared by the EPA, and made available to submitters, in hard copy, electronic copy, and through an online form on the EPA website. 5. Submissions 5.1 Submissions received The EPA received 676 complete submissions before the close of the submission period at 5pm Friday 10 August 2012. On 28 August 2012 the Board of Inquiry granted a waiver to accept an additional 49 submissions the EPA received as incomplete, late or non-complying. The total number of submissions received on the proposal is 725. 5.2 Positions of submitters A total of 406 submitters (56%) opposed the proposal either in full or in part, whilst a total of 304 submitters (42%) supported the proposal either in full or in part. These positions were received either as a check box on the submission form, or within the written submission itself if a