DONT FRACK THE BAY - NEWSLETTER 14 Sept 2014 Guardians of Aquifer Rally Napier Tomorrow - by Paul Bailey Probably you have probably read that Napier City Council have consented to seismic testing from oil and gas near the airport and Esturary. Pauline Doyle of Guardians of the Aquifer has organised a public rally against Endevour Energy at 12 Noon on Monday 15 September outside the Napier City Council building, Cnr Hastings & Station St. Dont Frack the Bay are not part of this action, but are supportive of anyone who is working towards the same outcome. We wanted to announce the event so you can make a choice on supporting this effort. Action with Napier City Council by Paul Bailey We have already spoken to the Chair of the Napier City Council regulatory committee and Mayor Bill Dalton to express our concerns that the consent for seismic surveying was not publicly notified. We have good relationships with these individuals who are acting from the current city plan. Mayor Dalton commented that whilst his council was very unified, when it came to fracking they cannot come to agreement. The fact that this industry is causing such division in his council must be of concern to the Mayor - as it is indicative of public sentiment. Action with Hastings District Council by Filipa Hope Hastings District Council are more involved than Napier City Council with this seismic testing. The application submitted to Napier City Council sought resource consent for the small area of seismic survey proposed by Endeavour Energy (NZ) that was within the Napier City Council jurisdiction. The majority of the 55km of survey lines are located within the Hastings District Council jurisdiction. Hastings District Council does not require consent for seismic testing. Perhaps pressure on HDC for plan changes to include oil and gas activity, as they promised but have not delivered, is where we could be putting our energy. More about the Consent Email from Napier City Council As a temporary activity of 4-6 weeks involving minimal staff and equipment, it is not envisaged that the proposed activity would be prominent or appear inconsistent with accepted rural activities across the site. Noise associated with the detonation of charges is described as a dull thud, and would be required to accord with the District Plan noise standard for the area. Vibration is described by Endeavour Energy Ltd’s planning consultant, BTW Company, as being avoided by way of a minimum 200m separation from boreholes to buildings. Where the cables connecting the listening devices cross the estuary waters (into Hastings District Council jurisdiction) they would be required to be suspended above the water to prevent any interaction with that environment. The seismic survey as presented in the resource consent application is not considered to result in adverse effects on the surrounding area or to be contrary to the policies and objectives for the Rural Conservation Zone in the Council’s District Plan. There are therefore not considered to be grounds to notify the application for public submission or to justify refusal of the application. This assessment is limited to the scope of the application considered by the Council, and in no way represents an assessment or expressed opinion on any activity other than the seismic survey proposed by Endeavour Energy (NZ). Consideration of the resource consent by the Council was restricted to the effects arising from the seismic survey. The wider principle of mineral extraction was not available for discussion within the scope of this resource consent. Should the proposed seismic survey result in the discovery of viable gas/oil reserves then any subsequent mining/extraction of those materials would be subject to further resource consent approval. Subject to the nature, scale and location of any subsequent mining, Council have the discretion to require full public notification of any future resource consent and thus an opportunity for the community to have their say on the merits of mining. The applicant has advised in their resource consent that this same seismic investigation work also falls within Hastings District Council jurisdiction and unlike Napier does not require resource consent within the Hastings District area affected by the work. Interesting Links: PCEs Final Report Baybuzz Blog on HBRC decision to fund consultation Feel like helping out? For those of you in Hastings and Napier you may have noticed Jill of Aotearoas wonderful artwork on a fence near you. Would you like one of Jills artworks on your fence? Email me [email protected]. We are also looking for a newsletter editor. If you can write a bit of a story then please conatct me at the above address.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 21:22:58 +0000
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