New Zealand Energy Ltd concession application, Lake Matiri Conservation Area - final report

Consultation closed: 1 February 2011

What has been decided?

• A decision has been made by the Minister of Conservation's delegate to grant the concession.
• The decision to grant the concession is subject to certain conditions.
• The term of the concession is 35 years. This is the same term as the resource consents issued by Tasman District Council in respect of the hydro scheme.

What is the concession application for?

New Zealand Energy Limited (NZEL) submitted a concession application to the Minister of Conservation to locate part of a hydroelectric scheme at Lake Matiri Conservation Area.

Lake Matiri

NZEL's application involves:

1. The construction of three weirs at the outlets of Lake Matiri with crest heights that correspond with the mean annual water level of the lake.
2. The diversion of up to 6.3 cubic metres per second (cumecs) of water for hydro-electric generation purposes.
3. A 1.6 m diameter penstock, 2.3 km in length, from the lake outlet to the power station site. Approximately 700 m of penstock would be on public conservation land.
4. A control hut and vehicle turning area adjacent to weir 1.
5. Widening of approximately 800 m of existing walking access tracks to 3 m width to accommodate maintenance vehicles.
6. A tailrace from the power station to the Matiri River through the adjacent marginal strip to return water to the river.

What is a concession?

• A concession application needs to be made by any individual or business that wants to use public conservation land for commercial purposes. Concessionaires must pay a fee to the Crown for their usage of public conservation land.
• The consideration of this concession application is confined to the impact of the proposed concession activity on Lake Matiri Conservation Area, Lake Matiri Wildlife Refuge and the Matiri River Marginal Strip. It does not include an assessment of the entire hydroelectric scheme or its effects on the Matiri River downstream of public conservation land or effects on private land.
• A concession will specify conditions which the Concessionaire must adhere to when undertaking the concession activity.
• A concession is a legally binding agreement between the Concessionaire and the Crown, acting through the Minister of Conservation.

Why does this process take place?

• The Department of Conservation has a statutory obligation to assess applications to use public conservation land which it manages on behalf of all New Zealanders.
• The Department is often faced with complex situations where development is sought on land that has been set aside to protect and preserve conservation values.
• Public notification of the intention to grant an easement is at the discretion of the decision maker having regard to the effects of the proposed activity.

back to top

What conditions have been imposed?

• No more than 59 mature trees as identified in the application may be felled.
• 7 trees which have been identified as potential bat roosts must be monitored prior to felling to ensure that no bats are endangered.
• NZEL must provide a formed walking access track from the Matiri West Branch River through to Lake Matiri Conservation Area of a standard the equivalent of or higher than that specified for Tramping Tracks.
• Where the access track is on their property, NZEL must provide legalised walking and bike access in perpetuity (by way of easement) to the public.
• A landscape professional must prepare a Landscape Management Plan prior to construction.
• NZEL must implement a vegetation restoration programme in order to rehabilitate the construction zone.
• NZEL must engage a suitably qualified and experienced person to prepare an Aquatic Ecology Monitoring Plan. The plan must include monitoring of the effects of the scheme on native fish.
• There must be no significant adverse effect on native fish populations on conservation land due to the operation of the concession.
• Each weir must incorporate a fish pass.
• A continuous wetted surface must be provided for eel passage.
• The intake pipe must be screened with a mesh of no greater than 25mm bar spacing so as to avoid the entrainment of native fish.
• NZEL must make the following contributions:
• • $30,000 to enhance freshwater aquatic habitat in the catchment of the Buller River or its tributaries.
  • $20,000 for riparian planting along the walking access route on the marginal strip.
  • $20,000 to enhance terrestrial ecology as compensation for impact to long-tailed bat habitat.
  • $30,000 toward the development of a footbridge across the West Branch Matiri River.
  • $5,000 toward DOC signage.
  • Aggregate to upgrade the walking track to Lake Matiri hut.

For more information

First Determination Report to Conservator, Nelson/Marlborough Conservancy (PDF, 2,443K)
(Please note this is a large document and may take some time to download)

Final Report to Minister's delegate, Conservator, West Coast Conservancy (PDF, 560K)

Viewing these documents

These documents are currently only available on this website as PDFs or other files such as Word or Excel. If you can't view these files please get in touch with the listed contact to request another format or a hard copy. About PDFs and other inaccessible content.

Contact

If you have any questions about this concession application, please contact:

Sean Magee, Department of Conservation, Nelson/Marlborough
Email: smagee@doc.govt.nz,
Phone: +64 3 546 3141

back to top