Meridian Energy Limited - Horizons Regional Council

Introduction

Meridian Energy Limited (Meridian) has lodged Resource Consent applications to construct, operate and maintain a new wind farm on Mount Munro, located approximately 5km south of Eketāhuna (Mt Munro Project).
The Resource Consent applications have been lodged with the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council (Horizons Regional Council), Greater Wellington Regional Council, Tararua District Council, and Masterton District Council (collectively referred to as the ‘Councils’).

General information

Application details

Meridian Energy Limited (the Applicant) has submitted an application for a suite of resource consents to Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council (known as Horizons Regional Council) (MWRC), Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), Tararua District Council (TDC) and Masterton District Council (MDC) associated with the construction, operation and maintenance of a new wind farm on Mount Munro, in particular applications for:
MWRC

land use consents in accordance with section 9(2) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Regional Plan for the Manawatū – Whanganui Region (“One Plan”) and the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations 2020 (NES-F);
land use consents in accordance with section 13 of the RMA and the One Plan;
water permits in accordance with section 14 of the RMA and the One Plan; and
discharge permits in accordance with section 15 of the RMA and the One Plan.

GWRC

land use consents in accordance with section 9 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Natural Resources Plan (NRP) and the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations 2020 (NES-F);
land use consents in accordance with section 13 of the RMA and the NRP;
water permits in accordance with section 14 of the RMA and the NRP;
discharge permits in accordance with section 15 of the RMA and the NRP.

TDC

land use consents in accordance with section 9 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Tararua District Plan (TDP).

MDC

land use consents in accordance with section 9 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Combined Wairarapa District Plan (CWDP).

The Resource Consent applications relate to the construction, operation and maintenance of a new wind farm, including all ancillary activities such as earthworks, transmission lines and substations, on Mount Munro. The Mt Munro Project applies to an area of land located 5km south of Eketāhuna, on land approximately bound by Falkner Road to the west, Kaipororo Road and State Highway 2 to the southwest, Old Coach Road to the north, Hall Road and Smiths Line to the east, and Opaki-Kaipororo Road and Coach Road South to the south.

The consents and durations sought are summarised as follows:

Table 1: MWRC Consents Sought

Activity	Consent Type	Duration
A land use consent, a water permit and a discharge permit is sought pursuant to sections 9(2), 13, 14 and 15 of the RMA and Rule 13-7 of the One Plan for land disturbance and vegetation clearance (including any ancillary disturbance of the bed of a river, division of water and discharge of sediment) that is not in a ‘rare’, ‘at-risk’ or ‘threatened’ habitat and is: - within 5m of the bed of a permanently flowing river; or - within 5m of the bed of a river that is not permanently flowing and has a width greater than 1m.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent, a water permit and a discharge permit is sought pursuant to sections 9(2), 14 and 15 of the RMA and Rule 13-6 of the One Plan for land disturbance and vegetation clearance in a Hill Country Erosion Management Area.	Restricted Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent, a water permit and a discharge permit is sought pursuant to sections 9(2), 13, 14 and 15 of the RMA and Rule 17-23 of the One Plan for the placement of three culverts in tributaries of the Mangaroa River and a tributary of the Makākahi Stream, and a bridge over a tributary of the Makākahi River (and associated disturbance, diversion, deposition and discharges).	Discretionary Activity	35 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to sections 9(1) of the RMA and Regulation 45 of the NES-F for vegetation clearance, earthworks and land disturbance within or near natural wetlands for the purpose of constructing specified infrastructure.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to sections 13 of the RMA and Regulation 71 of the NES-F for the placement of culverts in, on over, or under the bed of a river.	Discretionary Activity	35 years

Table 2: GWRC Consents Sought

Activity	Consent Type	Duration
A discharge permit is sought pursuant to section 15 and Rule R42 of the NRP for a discharge to air from concrete batching plant and mobile aggregate crushing.	Discretionary activity	35 years
A land use consent, water permit and a discharge permit is sought pursuant to sections 9(2), 13, 14 and 15 of the RMA and Rule R142 of the NRP for the reclamation of ephemeral streams.	Discretionary Activity	35 years
A land use consent and a discharge permit is sought pursuant to sections 9(2) and 15 of the RMA and Rule R107 of the NRP for earthworks, vegetation clearance and the associated discharge of sediment.	Discretionary activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to sections 9(1) of the RMA and Regulation 45 of the NES-F for vegetation clearance, earthworks and land disturbance within or near natural wetlands for the purpose of constructing specified infrastructure.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to sections 13 of the RMA and Regulation 71 of the NES-F for the placement of culverts in, on over, or under the bed of a river.	Discretionary Activity	35 years

Table 3: TDC Consents Sought

Activity	Consent Type	Duration
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.3.7.2(b) for construction, operation and maintenance of a windfarm.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 4.1.6.1 for a renewable electricity generation facility in the rural management area.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to sections 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.1.5.3 for land disturbance.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.3.3.3 for transport – access radii.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.4.3.4 for signs.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.4.4.3 for height of structures.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.4.1.3 for construction noise.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Standard 5.3.6.2 for a network utility.	Controlled Activity	10 years

Table 4: MDC Consents Sought

Activity	Consent Type	Duration
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Rule 21.6(j) for wind energy facilities.	Discretionary activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Rule 4.5.6(a) for the concrete batching plant and mobile aggregate crushing.	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Rule 21.6(n) for the quantity of hazardous substances (transformer oil and cement material stored on site).	Discretionary Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Rule 21.2.2 for the quantity of hazardous substances (30,000L diesel tank and 3,000L diesel tank for the concrete batching plant).	Controlled Activity	10 years
A land use consent is sought pursuant to section 9(2) of the RMA and Rule 21.2.4 for metrological structure.	Controlled Activity	10 years

Direct Referral

Information

Direct Referral

Meridian Energy has requested that the Regional Council allow the applications to be ‘directly referred’ to the Environment Court. The direct referral process is a streamlined procedure under the Resource Management Act 1991, which allows a requiring authority to make a request to the Council that its notified applications be decided by the Environment Court, rather than the Regional Council. The Regional Council granted the applicants request for direct referral on 1 November 2023.

If you decide to make a submission on the applications then you will be entitled to also be involved in the proceedings before the Environment Court as a section 274 party. However, while the Court will consider all submissions on the applications before it makes a decision, you will only be able to be heard by the Court if you file a section 274 party notice. A copy of the relevant form of the notice, Form 33 of the Resource Management (Forms, Fees and Procedure) Regulations 2003, will be available after close of submissions, on Horizons website. Any section 274 party notice will be due with the Court 15 working days after receipt of the reports of Council officers (s87F reports) on the applications. Further timetabling information will be made available to submitters, including via the Horizons website, in due course. In the first instance, you need to lodge a submission with Horizons by 4:45pm on 6 December 2023.

All documents relating to the Direct Referral of this application to the Environment Court, including court correspondence, application documents and evidence, can be found on the Environment Court website

Reports

Application can be viewed

Online

In person

• Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, Palmerston North, situated at 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North

• Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, Woodville, situated at Vogel Street, Woodville

• Greater Wellington Regional Council – 34 Chapel Street, Masterton

• Masterton District Council – 161 Queen Street, Masterton

• Masterton District Waiata House – 27 Lincoln Road, Masterton

• Masterton District Library – 54 Queen Street, Masterton

• Eketāhuna Library – 31 Main Street, Eketāhuna

• Tararua District Council – 26 Gordon Street, Dannevirke

• Tararua District Council – 136 Main Street, Pahiatua

Email

You can also request a copy of the application from the Consents Department of the Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council via email You can also request a copy of the application from the Consents Department of the Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council via email consent.submissions@horizons.govt.nz

Other information

Submissions

Public submissions can be received up until December 06, 2023 4:45 PM

Public submissions can be received up until December 6 2023 4:45 PM

Please find the Submission Form in the "ONLINE" drop down at the top.

Where to get help preparing your submission:

We have a ‘Friend of Submitter’ service which can be utilised to assist with understanding the submission process. The ‘Friend of Submitter’ operates independently of the Councils and Meridian and has had no involvement with the development or assessment of the application. David Forrest has been appointed by the Councils and is a qualified and experienced planner who is available to help you navigate the information provided and answer questions about the submission process, any hearing processes and procedures.
While David cannot advise you on the content, nature or merits of your submission, he is available to assist you with any questions regarding the submission process.

This is a free service available to you, if you wish. David can be contacted via email or phone and is happy to meet in person by appointment. If you wish to utilise this service please contact David by email: FriendOfSubmitter@horizons.govt.nz or by phone on 021 2477 336.

Alternatively, should you require any assistance or have any queries, please contact any member of the consents team at any of the four Councils to discuss the proposal and your submission. Horizons Regional Council: Email: consents.enquiries@horizons.govt.nz , Freephone: 0508 800 800
Greater Wellington Regional Council: Email: notifications@gw.govt.nz Freephone: 0800 496 734
Tararua District Council: Email: planning@tararuadc.govt.nz Phone: 06 376 4080
Masterton District Council: Email: planningadmin@mstn.govt.nz Phone: 06 370 6300

Please note that as this is a legal (statutory) process you may wish to engage or seek advice from relevant experts or legal assistance. You can also request an electronic copy of the application from the consents department of the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council via email consent.submissions@horizons.govt.nz. Public submissions must include: Details of the applications in respect of which you are making the submission Your name, postal address, telephone number, fax number and email address (if applicable) Whether you support or oppose the applications Whether you wish to be heard in respect of the submission The reasons for making the submission, and the decision you wish the consent authority to make Be dated and signed by the person making the submission A copy of every submission must be served on the Applicant and the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council at 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North.

APP-2022203902.00 - Meridian Energy Limited

Address for service:

Further enquiries:

Introduction

General information

Application details

Direct Referral

Information

Direct Referral

Reports

Application can be viewed

Online

In person

Email

Other information

Submissions