Media Release

For immediate release: Friday 25 September 2009
NBTC water consents granted

Meridian has received notification it has been granted water-only consents for its North Bank Tunnel Concept (NBTC) in Canterbury, subject to the Court being satisfied on a couple of issues relating to the consent condition.

Meridian CE Tim Lusk welcomed the decision saying it had provided the company an opportunity to continue to engage with the community and work towards a successful and satisfactory outcome.

The decision follows an 11 day Environment Court hearing in June and July this year which occurred as a result of appeals of the Environment Canterbury consents granted in 2008.

“The decision is very comprehensive, so our next step is to work through it carefully to better understand it and its implications for the project,” said Mr Lusk.

“There’s much opportunity for Meridian to positively engage with the community and this engagement will be a key focus for us as we move to address the outstanding issues.”

The water-only consents allow for water take, use and discharge.

The decision says consent will be granted subject to further work to address management and mitigation issues in the areas of wetlands and braided river birds.

The NBTC would divert water from behind the Waitaki Dam into a large tunnel, through a power station then return it to the Waitaki River at Stonewall, 34 kilometres downstream. It will generate an average of between 1100GWh and 1400 GWH of electricity annually - enough to supply the equivalent of all the households in a city the size of Christchurch.

To further advance the project Meridian will also have to apply for land-use and construction consents for the building of the tunnel and power station. Obtaining these consents is expected to take several years.

Once all consents have been secured and a full feasibility engineering study has been completed, Meridian will be in a position to commit to the design and construction of the project. This is not likely to occur until at least 2012.

ENDS

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