"The risk is...it could shut off irrigation"

Another irrigation provider has been struck with the gavel, raising concerns for the future of farming in Mid Canterbury.

First it was Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Ltd (ALIL), whose discharge consent from 2021 was revoked in a watershed court case.

Now Mayfield Hinds Valetta Irrigation (MHV) is being taken to task over its water use.

In his update on the Government work programme to the Ashburton District Council, Rangitata MP James Meager covered the RMA reforms progressing.

He said, for Mid Canterbury, the big change is around “the section 107 issue around the ability to essentially irrigate through the Mid Canterbury plains.”

“There is a legislative fix coming from the Minister for that before it gets out of control.

“The risk is, the way the legislation is being interpreted, it could shut off irrigation.”

Councillor Richard Wilson was pleased to hear the RMA fix to “the 107 problem” that was impacting Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Ltd (ALIL).

He was aware MHV is “also being dragged into it”.

“The connotation being that huge amounts of money are going to be spent to defend the position until the fix happens.”

Meager said MHV has been challenged and “it wouldn’t surprise me if others were being lined up”.

“My understanding is that ALIL is now relying on an older consent that is actually more environmentally damaging than the one they were on.

“So instead of protecting the environment, it has actually made it a bit worse.”

MHV chief executive Melanie Brooks confirmed consents connected to their scheme were under judicial review.

“MHV is disappointed in the judicial review being raised when there is a current case, similar in nature, that remains under appeal.

“We will work with ECan, who are the first respondent, as we work through the legal process.”

She said the 200 farmers connected to the scheme would not be impacted in the short term, and that MHV will continue to operate under the current consent. “[The consent] was issued in line with Plan Change 2 of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan, including the requirement to reduce the nutrient leaching by 36% by 2035.

“We are well on our way to achieving these targets and our farmers continue to actively work towards improved environmental outcomes, with 94% of farmers an A audit grade or better this year.”

Lawyers from the Environmental Law Initiative bought the ALIL consent under judicial review in 2023.

In March this year, Judge Cameron Mander found that ECan had not applied sections 70 and 170 of the Resource Management Act 1991 when granting that consent.

The sections restrict regional councils from granting permissions, and prohibit the granting of consents, where discharge excessively contaminates the water.

The sections traditionally deal with “point source discharge,” like sewage pipes, but could expand to include the runoff of manure into nearby water sources.

At it's extreme, this could require farmers to need a consent to own animals in land near water.

The ALIL case is under appeal.

By Anisha Satya and Jonathan Leask