Power struggle
Supporters of an open-cast coal mine and a hydro scheme previously rejected by the Government are trying again. Charlie Mitchell reports on how economic recovery could be used as an excuse to sidestep traditional environmental safeguards.
The letter is more in hope than expectation. Dear Prime Minister, it reads, ‘‘We see mining jobs as resilient jobs, and we understand that with the appropriate authorisations, we could generate approximately 120 mining jobs in the Buller region within the next six to twelve months.’’
Signed by seven West Coast leaders – including the elected leaders of its four councils, the chief executives of two iwi, and the head of the regional economic development agency – it makes a case for the Government to support a string of projects in the region, citing the economic downturn created by Covid-19.
The wishlist includes the Te Kuha coal mine; a haul road across the Denniston plateau, enabling the development of a new mine; and the Waitaha hydro scheme.
The letter does not make any specific requests of Jacinda Ardern, and notes none of the projects require financial support. It instead ‘‘highlights promising opportunities within two sectors for your consideration to support’’.
The implied request is for the Government to relax bureaucratic steps that would allow the mines and the hydro scheme to proceed.
Those steps would likely include access to public land, minerals permits, and potentially changes to Resource Management Act (RMA) processes.
Although it appears to be separate from the call for ‘‘shovel-ready’’ infrastructure projects, it is a clear sign the economic recovery will be cited as a reason to sidestep traditional environmental safeguards.
While the Government looks to flood the economy with cash in a wave of infrastructure spending, some environmentalists see danger in the projects that could be fast-tracked.
Many hundreds of other infrastructure projects will largely bypass the RMA, through a process that is already equal parts speedy and opaque.
To make them happen quickly, the Government is planning legislation that would significantly truncate usual processes.
The legislation has not yet been introduced, but it is likely to largely devolve decisionmaking authority to politicians, with limited scope for public scrutiny and expert opinion. Similar powers were used to fasttrack several projects after the Canterbury and Hurunui/ Kaiko¯ ura earthquakes.
The suspension of business as usual appears to have already emboldened those with projects that may struggle to succeed under regular processes.
The open-cast Te Kuha mine, proposed near Westport, would allow its owner, Stevenson Mining, to export 250,000 tonnes of metallurgical coal annually over the mine’s expected life of 16 years.
Part of the mine’s footprint would be on a 12-hectare section of conservation land, which its owner says is necessary to make the mine economically viable.
In 2019, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage and Energy Minister Megan Woods declined access to the land, largely due to the environmental damage it would cause to habitat for kiwi and other native species. That decision is now subject to a judicial review.
The Waitaha hydro scheme in Westland was scuttled last year, also for environmental reasons, when Environment Minister David Parker rejected an application to use the river.
The haul road would connect the Stockton mine to a planned mine on the nearby Denniston Plateau, which the mines’ owner, Bathurst Resources, says would be necessary to make a new mine economically viable.
Environmentalists have long campaigned against mining the plateau, which contains unique biodiversity.
The letter to the prime minister describes the economic benefits tied to the projects, with a particular focus on employment.
It notes about the Waitaha hydro scheme: ‘‘While Minister Parker declined to issue the Department of Conservation concession that would allow the [scheme] to proceed, there are compelling reasons which now warrant a reconsideration of the Government’s position and potential support of the project.’’
The letter is a long shot, given the Government’s position on developing conservation land. Given two of the projects have been subject to a ministerial decision, a law change would likely be needed to reverse course.
Even one of the letter’s signatories, Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine, acknowledged mining was unlikely to make a comeback any time soon: ‘‘Do I think they [the Government] will suddenly open the gates to mining on the West Coast? No,’’ he told the Westport News.
The Government has quelled any notion it will change the law to allow mining on conservation land, or make special exemptions for the projects.
‘‘I expect the Department of Conservation to continue to process applications for access to conservation land efficiently under the current law,’’ said Sage, who is minister of both conservation and land information, when asked about the letter.
‘‘There are no plans to weaken conservation law to make it easier for companies wanting to mine on public conservation land.’’
She added that she expects Land Information New Zealand to process any haul road application ‘‘in the usual way under existing law’’.
It is also unclear whether the mines would be financially viable in the current economic environment.
International coal prices have plunged more than a third from the same time last year.
The fast track
The request, successful or not, has highlighted an effort to push through projects that may otherwise struggle in normal times.
Despite assurances from the Government that it wants to
prioritise projects that friendly to the climate and the environment in its infrastructure binge, the ‘‘fasttrack’’ legislation, as proposed, contains no environmental bottom lines.
A law allowing for fasttracking consents is expected to be introduced to Parliament in June, but a Cabinet paper hints at what it could look like.
Some large, Government-led projects – such as roads – would be individually listed in the legislation as going through the fast-track process. This would likely include six larger transport projects already on the books, awaiting resource consents.
More Government-led projects – specifically those led by the NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail – would be able to ‘‘occur as of right’’, effectively a standing consent to do things like road and rail maintenance. This could also be extended to local authorities, the Cabinet paper said.
The final piece is a fasttrack consenting process for all other projects. A public or private project could apply to the environment minister to go through this process.
The minister must then decide whether the project meets a list of criteria, including whether it would have a ‘‘significant public benefit’’. The minister can reject the application for any reason.
If approved, the project would be referred to an expert panel, led by an Environment Court judge, to receive consent. A project referred to a panel would be expected to receive consent, the Cabinet paper says.
There would be fewer information requirements than a typical RMA process, and no requirement for public notification.
The minister, however, would be able to require that certain groups, such as iwi or environmental groups, be notified.
The panel must then issue a decision within 25 days.
The ‘‘shovel-ready’’ projects that will be chosen by ministers are likely to go through this process.
It remains unknown what the shortlisted shovel-ready projects are, and what criteria are being used to choose them.
The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment has declined to release the list of projects, which prompted Forest & Bird to seek intervention from the Ombudsman.
‘‘There just simply doesn’t appear to be any transparency around how decisions are going to be made,’’ said Jen Miller, a Forest & Bird spokesperson.
‘‘We don’t know what the matrix is, or to what extent they’re putting weight on environmental outcomes, or the extent to which they’ll be transformative, if you like, in terms of reducing carbon emissions and that sort of thing.
‘‘We don’t know. Nobody knows.’’
The fast-track consenting process those projects would go through was ‘‘really alarming’’, Miller said.
‘‘It doesn’t set any bottom lines and it gives the minister extraordinary powers.’’
Others have pushed for a more transparent commitment to environmental protections, and a focus on climate-friendly development. They include the Climate Commission and the Sustainable Business Council.
Seven environmental groups have signed a joint letter to the Government proposing an environmental reference group to give input on the proposed projects.
Among them was the Environmental Defence Society (EDS), which has argued the thrust of the Covid-19 recovery should be centred on climate change and environmental concerns.
‘‘We urge the Government to place environmental and climate change objectives at the heart of the bill, to ensure they do not become subsidiary or secondary considerations,’’ the society wrote in its submission on the bill.
The group was nevertheless optimistic that the responsible ministers would not approve the likes of what the West Coast leaders were pushing for, chief executive Gary Taylor said.
‘‘I don’t think there’s a chance in hell of a coal mine or rejected hydro getting the nod, and I think that consideration of environmental bottom lines will still happen during the consenting process’’.