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James Palmer introduced the item,
noting that Covid related delays appear to be working themselves through and
business is largely where it should be according to the annual plan.
Discussions covered:
· Leaders of sub-catchment
groups (e.g. Tukituki landcare group) are regularly invited to meet together
to share wisdom with iwi Māori, and discuss regulatory requirements and
innovations.
· One of the areas of
Wairoa hardest hit by the March/April rain events was Ruakituri, which was
cut off due to damage to Te Ranga bridge. Repairs have enabled the bridge to
re-open for small vehicles under 3 tonne.
· FEMPs that have not been
resubmitted by the deadline are referred to the Compliance Team with the
ultimate penalty being prosecution for non-compliance.
· Consenting of flood
scheme pump stations was highlighted through the last LTP process and it new
in the Key Projects as it is now at the commencement stage.
· A map of the priority
sites for Tukituki gravel extraction was requested.
· ICM team is contacting landowners
with erosion control plans in the Wairoa area to work through impacts of the
rain events and how that will affect their erosion control plans.
· Right Tree Right Place
challenges have included changes of ownership, developing the legal and
commercial relationship documents to suit ownership as well as the availability
of trees. Leads for pilot properties have typically come from catchment
advisors and been followed up by Michael Bassett-Foss for more technical,
detailed discussions. Woolshed talks are being planned to get the messages
out into the community about the programme being targeted and not wholesale
conversion to pine forest.
· An update on the Water Efficiency
Programme (Future Water Use) will be scheduled for a future meeting, most likely Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee.
· The Coastal Strategy Memorandum
of Transition has been signed by all partner councils and the next step for
this Council is consultation, which will be discussed at a workshop on 8
June.
Mike
Paku left the meeting at 2.07pm
· Details about the Right
Tree Right Place project will be provided to the July Environment and
Integrated Catchments Committee meeting.
· External native plants
and planting projects are supported by Council separately from the willow and
pole nursery and supply. Priority supply has been directed to Wairoa area but
there are still limits due to the number of poles produced by the nursery and
the need to provide poles to other areas of the region.
· Issues with backlog of
planting contracts is caused by lack of employees and priority given to farm
fencing projects, and not due to lack of confidence that there will be future
work.
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