Today marks the beginning of the first of two consecutive court cases challenging Environment Canterbury’s freshwater management at the Christchurch High Court. The Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) is set to argue against a rule in the regional plan that permits certain farming discharges as a permitted activity.
ELI’s senior researcher, Anna Sintenie, asserts that the rule allowing the discharge of nutrients onto or into land can lead to contaminants entering water, thus violating the Resource Management Act. Rather than safeguarding Canterbury’s waterways and people for future generations, the council has been criticized for being “illegally permissive” of activities that have resulted in significant pollution.
In the subsequent week, ELI will return to the High Court to challenge the legality of a consent granted for the Mayfield Hinds Valetta (MHV) irrigation scheme. This follows a similar victory in 2024 when the court deemed a resource consent for the Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Ltd irrigation scheme unlawful.
Sintenie highlights the council’s failure to consider potential impacts on local drinking water supplies and the need for community notification. ELI’s focus on water quality outcomes in Canterbury stems from the region’s significant nitrogen pollution issue and the council’s responsibility to effectively manage these concerns.
Canterbury holds about 70 percent of the country’s freshwater and the majority of irrigated land in New Zealand. As the cases proceed in court, the council has refrained from commenting on the matter.
