Wai 898, #A150 THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE WAIPA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES Matthew Cunningham Case-study commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal for Te Rohe Potae district inquiry (Wai 898) March 2014 Contents FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ IV AUTHOR ................................................................................................................................ VI EXPLANATORY NOTE ........................................................................................................... VII INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................................ 1 Claim issues ....................................................................................................................... 2 Maori ownership and kaitiakitanga ............................................................................ 3 Customary and indigenous resources ......................................................................... 6 Wahi tapu ................................................................................................................... 8 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 8 1. CHAPTER 1 - HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ................................................................................ 13 1.1 The landscape of the Waipa River ............................................................................. 13 1.2 Maori and the Waipa River in the nineteenth century ............................................... 14 1.3 The establishment of Crown authority over the Waipa River, c.1900-1941 .............. 19 1.3.1 The draining of Te Kawa swamp ........................................................................ 25 1.3.2 Riparian rights ..................................................................................................... 30 1.3.2.1 Shingle extraction at Otorohanga, 1921-1928 ............................................. 30 1.3.2.2 Shingle extraction on the Puniu River, 1912-1931 ...................................... 40 1.3.2.3 Shingle extraction at Pirongia Farm, 1916-1956 ......................................... 46 1.4 Consolidation of river management, 1941-1967 ....................................................... 53 2. CHAPTER 2 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGIMES FROM THE 1970S ......................................... 57 2.1 River management ..................................................................................................... 57 2.2 Customary resources ................................................................................................. 62 2.3 Wahi tapu ................................................................................................................... 66 3. CHAPTER 3 - WATER QUALITY OF THE WAIPA RIVER ........................................................ 69 3.1 Initial responses, 1953-1963 ...................................................................................... 69 3.2 The first water classification and enforcement regulations, 1963-1991 ................... 74 3.3 Water quality and the Resource Management Act, 1991-2013 ................................. 88 4. CHAPTER 4 - SPECIFIC POINT SOURCES OF POLLUTION AND THE RESOURCE CONSENT PROCESS .............................................................................................................................. 102 4.1 Otorohanga wastewater treatment plant ................................................................. 103 4.1.1 Early monitoring regimes, 1966-1989 .......................................................... 103 4.1.2 The inclusion of Maori in the consultation process, 1989-1998 ................... 107 ii 4.1.3 Monitoring the resource consents, 1998-2010 .............................................. 114 4.1.4 Renewing the resource consents, 2010-2012 ................................................ 119 4.2 Te Kuiti wastewater treatment plant ........................................................................ 129 4.2.1 Early monitoring regimes, 1969-1995 .......................................................... 129 4.2.2 The inclusion of Maori in the consultation process, 1996-1999 ................... 132 4.2.3 Monitoring the resource consents, 1999-2004 .............................................. 147 4.2.4 Renewing the resource consents, 2005-2013 ................................................ 159 4.3 Te Kumi limestone quarry ........................................................................................ 172 4.3.1 Early monitoring regimes, 1972-1991 .......................................................... 172 4.3.2 The inclusion of Maori in the consultation process, 1991-2011 ................... 179 4.3.3 Revised consents for a cement manufacturing plant, 2011-2012 ................. 191 5. CHAPTER 5 - NGA WAI O MANIAPOTO (WAIPA RIVER) ACT 2012 .................................. 196 6. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 201 APPENDIX A – CONSENT COMPLIANCE OVERVIEWS AND SUMMARY TIMELINES .................. 204 Otorohanga wastewater treatment plant – consent compliance.................................... 204 Te Kuiti wastewater treatment plant – consent compliance .......................................... 205 Otorohanga wastewater treatment plant – timeline ...................................................... 206 Te Kuiti wastewater treatment plant – timeline ............................................................. 209 APPENDIX B – COMMISSION ............................................................................................... 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 216 Primary sources ............................................................................................................. 216 Secondary sources ......................................................................................................... 222 iii Figures Figure 1: The Waipa catchment and its intersection with Te Rohe Potae inquiry district boundaries ..................................... 12 Figure 2: The Waipa River upstream of Otorohanga ............................................................................................................... 13 Figure 3: The Waipa (right) meets the Waikato (left) after a flooding event in July 1998....................................................... 14 Figure 4: Development of local government in Te Rohe Potae, 1876-1940 ............................................................................ 22 Figure 5: Waipa catchment Drainage Districts within Te Rohe Potae inquiry district ............................................................. 24 Figure 6: Land alienation in Te Rohe Potae, 1910-1939 (Source: Wai 898 #A119, plate 20) ................................................. 25 Figure 7: The land adjoining the Waipa River in the vicinity of the Otorohanga Railway Station, 1921 (Source: LS1 1486 6/5/90, Archives New Zealand) ................................................................................................................................................ 32 Figure 8: Shingle extraction on the Waipa River at Otorohanga in 1924 (Source: TR1 622 54/15/60, Archives New Zealand) ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 9: Site of shingle extraction by Otorohanga Town Board in 1928 ................................................................................ 39 Figure 10: Plan of Tokanui 1B2B1A-1C, 1B2B2A-2C, and 1B2B3A-3C (Source: HNC ML 12600, ICS database) ............. 44 Figure 11: Plan of Tokanui 1D2B (Source: HN ML 15708, ICS database) ............................................................................. 45 Figure 12: Pirongia S.D. Section 1 Block 8 (highlighted in pink) (Source: HN SO 7258, ICS database) ............................... 46 Figure 13: Public works takings for roads on Pirongia S.D. Section 1 Block 8 and adjoining blocks, 16 December 1919 (Source: HNC SO 19207, ICS database) ................................................................................................................................. 48 Figure 14: Pirongia S.D. Section 1 Block 8 (Lots 1-6) (Source: Wai 898 #A60(a), p 10249 [modified by author]) ............... 49 Figure 15: Proposed takings of Pirongia S.D. Section 1 Block 8 Lots 3 & 4 and parts of the Mangauika Stream, 2 September 1954 (Source: HN SO 35002, ICS database) ........................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 16: The boundary of the Waikato Valley Authority and the Waipa catchment ............................................................ 54 Figure 17: The Waitomo, Mangaokewa, and Upper Waipa catchment control scheme areas (Source: Carol Cramp and Geoff Ridall (ed.), The