"The Rotokākahi Board of Control is imminently filing challenges in the High Court against Rotorua Lakes Council's construction of the Tarawera sewage pipe through wāhi tapu at Lake Rotokākahi," said Board of Control chair Wally Lee.

The council's works resumed yesterday.

"Our whawhai now goes from the Environment Court to the High Court," said Mr Lee. "In the Environment Court we challenged the council's lack of resource consent, and their issuing of a permission notice days before they resumed earthworks in February. The Environment Court ruled that this issue could only be dealt with by the High Court. So that is where we are now headed to."

"The current process appears to reflect one rule for council and another rule for everyone else," said Mr Lee. "For years, the council had us believe they didn't need resource consent for this project. When we proved that they did need resource consent and we told them we would take it to court, they suddenly accepted they needed resource consent, but they issued for themselves a permission notice."

"It is disempowering for our people to have the council run over the top of us and our wāhi tapu with questionable processes," said Mr Lee.

"Our High Court action is both an appeal of the Environment Court decision and a judicial review of the council's decision making," said Mr Lee. "The judicial review seeks to overturn the council's irregular permission notice as well as their decision to install this pipe without consulting the Rotokākahi Board of Control.

"The Board agrees with the need to protect Lake Tarawera, but not at the expense of Rotokākahi, Te Wairoa Stream, and heritage environments," said Mr Lee.

"We have been protecting our lakes and ecosystems for many generations, and we will continue fighting until Tarawera sewerage no longer poses a threat to spill into Rotokakahi and Te Wairoa stream," said Mr Lee.

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