The Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Conservation have declined to refer this project to an expert consenting panel for fast-track consenting under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting Act 2020).
2020-029
Port of Tauranga Limited
To extend the existing Sulphur Point and Mount Maunganui wharves and dredge the access channel in the Stella Passage at the Port of Tauranga, to accommodate growth in cargo and vessel sizes.
Tauranga Harbour
It is more appropriate for the project to go through a standard consenting process under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) as there is a fair expectation that there will be the opportunity for submitters to be involved in consenting decisions on the project (section 23(5)(b)), as some activities involved will occur in the public domain.
Other RMA processes include the option of requesting that the application go directly to the Environment Court under section 87D of the RMA, which could be an appropriate process in this case. Also, given the significance of this project, consideration could be made to requesting that it be called into the Environment Court or a Board of Inquiry under section 142 of the RMA.