Minutes of a meeting of the Cyclone Recovery Committee

 

Date:                                    Wednesday 21 June 2023

Time:                                    9.00am

Venue:

Council Chamber

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

159 Dalton Street

NAPIER

 

Present:                              Cr S Siers – Chair

Cr D Roadley – Deputy Chair

P Eden – Māori Committee representative

Cr W Foley

Cr X Harding (online)

Cr T Hokianga

K Kawana – Māori Committee representative

Cr N Kirton

Cr J Mackintosh

Cr H Ormsby

Cr J van Beek

Cr M Williams

 

In Attendance:                 B Bayfield – Interim Chief Executive

C Dolley – Group Manager Asset Management

I Maxwell – Group Manager Integrated Catchment Management

K Brunton – Group Manager Policy & Regulation

L McPhail – HBRC Recovery Manager

S Young – Group Manager Corporate Services

C Comber – Chief Financial Officer

J Bennett – Senior Manager - Finance Recovery

D Cull – Strategy & Governance Manager

A Doak – Governance Advisor

K Ropiha and T Hopmans (online) – RPC observers

J Kingsford – Manager Regional Projects

D de Klerk – Silt & Waste Recovery Taskforce Lead

T Kay – Forest & Bird NZ (online)

J Hoyle & R Measures - NIWA

 

1.         Welcome/Karakia /Apologies

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and Cr Jerf van Beek opened with a karakia.

Resolution

CRCCC13/23         That the apologies for absence from Councillor Charles Lambert, from Councillor Xan Harding for intermittent attendance online, and councillors Jerf van Beek, Hinewai Ormsby and Di Roadley for early departure be accepted.

Siers/Ormsby

CARRIED

2.         Conflict of interest declarations

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

 

3.         Confirmation of Minutes of the Cyclone Recovery Committee meeting held on 24 May 2023

CRCCC14/23

Resolution

Minutes of the Cyclone Recovery Committee held on Wednesday, 24 May 2023, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Siers/van Beek

CARRIED

 

4.

Rapid Rebuild Projects update

 

Jon Kingsford introduced the item, which was taken as read with the addition of updates from the intervening week. Discussions traversed:

·    Repair work on scour sites near Waipawa township have been completed and Walker Road repair will be complete as soon as fine weather allows.

Katarina Kawana arrived 9:12am

·    Repair of a breach 150m upstream of Springfield Road is on hold waiting for an archaeological authority to disturb, under way with mana whenua, archaeologist and Heritage New Zealand.

·    Staff met with Kanoa officials to discuss the IRG projects and impacts of the cyclone in terms of timelines and the options to progress projects with extended funding timelines. There will be negotiations to come, with Kanoa, for funding for flood scheme repairs and ‘building back better’.

·    HBRC is working collaboratively with and Waka Kotahi for permanent solutions at Awatoto as well as opportunities for other sites; current rail bridge repairs are being carried out as a temporary measure to get trains to the Port in the shorter term.

·    The HBRC telemetry system review and implementation of improvements is a separate workstream as part of the HBRC recovery work programme.

·    Landowners impacted by stopbank repairs will be kept updated on progress.

·    Repaired stopbanks will be fenced off where there is potential for deliberate damage from vehicles – and communications to the community asking to stay off of them.

·    It was suggested that the celestial compass project cultural assessments be the starting point for the work at Awatoto.

·    Negotiations are under way with central government for the build back, buyouts and (improved) resilience funding.

·    Rapid-rebuild are projects specifically to repair the stopbanks and flood schemes to pre-cyclone levels. There are many projects in the pipeline for new and/or improved flood protection.

·    2P categorised properties are proving challenging due to solutions funding issues, so decision-making has been paused in some areas where these properties are located. It was noted that Te Puni Kokiri is doing some work in some of these areas.

CRCCC15/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the Rapid Rebuild projects update.

Williams/van Beek

CARRIED

Councillor Hinewai Ormsby left the meeting at 9:52am

5.

Silt and Waste Recovery Taskforce

 

Darren de Klerk introduced the item, which was taken as read. Discussions covered:

·    An independent project manager has been appointed to help coordinate wood recovery work across the Wairoa district using local contractors.

·    Collection from marae and Māori-owned land are part of the programme, not treated separately, although there is some specific funding in the pipeline through Te Puni Kokiri.

Councillor Di Roadley left the meeting at 9:55am

·    Silt is subject to comprehensive testing for pathogens when deposited at the collection sites. Windblown silt will present challenges and tools such as water carts and hydroseeding are available for control. NIWA and Te Whatu Ora are working together to monitor the associated risks.

·    Mixed waste is basically anything not natural (inorganic), e.g. wire, netting, tanalised timber, etc.

·    Taskforce funding is forecast to be ~$12m to the end of June, ~$21m combined with Napier and Wairoa.

·    Taskforce is supporting the entire region, with the test being whether the ‘waste’ is the result of the cyclone.

·    Rural recovery team is investigating ‘landscape scale’ land recovery options.

CRCCC16/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the Silt and Waste Recovery Taskforce staff report.

van Beek/Foley

CARRIED

 

6.

HBRC Recovery Update

 

Iain Maxwell introduced the item, which was taken as read, and discussions covered:

·    The rural recovery discussions are focused on engagement, including traditional topics such as re-grassing slips through to detailed economic advice.

·    Regional Recovery Plan 2nd edition is providing an exceptional challenge due to difficulties engaging with the community and mana whenua within the shortened timeframe. Pieri Munro has been engaging with Post Settlement Governance Entities and Taiwhenua to establish whether they will submit their own locality plans or feed into the TAs’ plans. It was suggested the Recovery Agency needs to change the deadline for the 2nd edition back to the end of September so the

·    Flood protection scheme reviews will provide input for the long term planning for potential increased levels of protection or other scheme improvements after the rebuild to pre-cyclone state has been completed.

·    Flood frequency analysis was subcontracted by NIWA to the University of Auckland and Opus. An initial broad scale assessment should be available in 1-2 months and the refined figures in 6-8 months.

·    NIWA’s Kaharoa completed multi-beaming survey of Te Angiangi Marine Reserve and compound stable isotope analysis to track sediment. Pania Reef has been surveyed by NIWA but the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle will take time to understand.

CRCCC17/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the HBRC recovery update.

Siers/van Beek

CARRIED

 

7.

Wider recovery update

 

The item was taken as read. Discussions covered:

·    The Order in Council to allow some burning of cyclone waste is not proposed to be retrospective and intended to have effect from 27 June however a cabinet decision is still pending.

·    Discussions with MfE are under way in relation to an OIC relating to consenting requirements and timeframes for flood scheme construction projects.

·    Land Categorisation maps are being finalised and properties moving out of the 2C, 2P and 2A categories into 1 or 3 as further, more detailed assessments are confirmed.

·    Landowners can contact the MSD dedicated call centre or their TLA to ask for reassessments.

CRCCC18/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the Wider recovery update.

Kirton/van Beek

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned at 11am and reconvened at 11:23am

8.

Giving rivers room

 

Forest and Bird’s Tom Kay delivered a presentation, acknowledging the contributions of Ngati Kahungunu. Queries and discussions covered:

·    Cyclone Gabrielle demonstrated the success of the stopbank network but also the limitations.

·    Rivers used to have room to spread out and spread gravel deposits over a wider area. A constrained (by stopbanks) river has the potential to become higher than a neighbouring community.

·    Costs to constrain rivers also extend to ongoing maintenance and repair, and loss of habitat and biodiversity.

·    International studies show that allowing a river to self-adjust is cheaper and more effective than active interventions that force a river into a particular place.

·    Councils looking at prioritising non-structural, soft engineering, green infrastructure, room for the river or mātauranga Māori solutions.

·    The NPS for freshwater management includes policies 7 and 9 that align with the making room for rivers approach, as does Action 5.9 prioritise nature-based solutions in the National Adaptation Plan.

CRCCC19/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the Giving rivers room presentation by Tom Kay, Forest & Bird Aotearoa.

Williams/Mackintosh

CARRIED

 

 

 

9.

Lincoln Agritech Braided Rivers Recharge Research Project

 

The project team, Jo Hoyle (NIWA), Scott Wilson (Lincoln Agritech) and Richard Measures (NIWA) delivered a presentation, and discussions covered:

·    Braided rivers are important sources of groundwater recharge

·    There have been long term declines in aquifer levels

·    To increase recharge rates from braided rivers requires either deeper gravel beds or wider braid planes.

·    Research questions were - How do braided rivers actually work beneath the surface? How much water goes where? and How does management of the river influence the water balance? Ngaruroro River’s main recharge reach, between Roy’s Hill and Fernhill, studied.

·    River management should include nature-based solutions in upper catchments that slow water flows and hold it in forests and wetlands.

·    Coastal inundation and erosion issues are interrelated and so are solutions.

·    Giving rivers room could have positive implications for indigenous biodiversity to the extent that other factors such as pests were also managed as well as increased groundwater recharge.

Councillor Jerf van Beek left the meeting at 12.41pm

CRCCC20/23

Resolution

That the Cyclone Recovery Committee receives and notes the Lincoln Agritech Braided Rivers Recharge research project presentation.

Williams/Mackintosh

CARRIED

 

Closure:

There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 1.02pm on Wednesday 21 June 2023.

 

Signed as a true and correct record.

Date:  by CRC resolution 16 August 2023                     Chair:  Sophie Siers