Ocean Outfall resource consents granted

2 November 2005

All resource consents sought to build and operate the Ocean Outfall have been granted subject to conditions, according to a decision received by the Christchurch City Council this morning from Environment Canterbury.

The Christchurch City Council Project Delivery Team Leader, Assets, John Moore, says the Ocean Outfall project team received the consent commissioners’ decision from all three consenting authorities: Banks Peninsula District Council, Christchurch City Council, and Environment Canterbury.

“We’re really pleased that all the consents have been granted, however it’s a pretty extensive document at 381 pages, so we’ll be examining the conditions under which the resource consents were granted within the next 15 working-day appeal period to see whether any concerns arise,” Mr Moore says.

This takes the City Council a step closer to removing the city’s treated wastewater discharge from the Avon-Heathcote Estuary, and piping it, buried all the way from the oxidation ponds, 3 km out into Pegasus Bay.  A previous Environment Court decision ruled that the discharge must be removed from the Estuary by 2009.

A team made up of Council staff and independent consultants will shortly enter a more detailed design and interactive tender process with contractors once tenderers have been selected from the Registration of Interest process, to discuss options for building the Ocean Outfall, Mr Moore says.

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