Understanding the Fast Track process
The Fast Track process is designed by the government to assist regions with recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 to get projects underway quickly. For this boat harbour, a great deal of work has been done in a short timeframe to understand and address the concerns of submitters that contributed to the process. Here is a timeline of the Fast Track process so far.
March 2020 - Funding confirmed
In March 2020, Te Rāhui Lands Trust, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Limited, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and Whakatāne District Council announced their successful applications to the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) for the proposed boat harbour in Whakatāne.
February 2022 – Lodgement of consent
Documents filed with Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhā Taiao (EPA) under Covid-19 Recovery Act 2020 Fast Track Process.
28 February 2022 – Expert consenting panel formed
An expert panel was appointed by the EPA to consider and decide the application. You can read about the panel here.
16 March 2022 – Submissions invited
72 individuals and organisations were invited by the EPA to take part in a submissions process. These included, local authorities, customary marine title and protected customary rights groups, owners and occupiers, government agencies, environmental groups, and others identified to have an interest in the project. 26 provided comment. 12 of these were in opposition, and 14 were in support. A full list of comments are published on the EPA website
6 May 2022 - Comment review
Next the project team was provided with two weeks to understand and address the submitter’s comments. This was an opportunity for the project team to address any concerns they had not been aware of.
Responses are then addressed by the EPA’s expert panel. Draft conditions of consent were developed in order to address concerns and ensure a well informed, robust project.
9 May 2022 – Draft Conditions published
On 9 May the EPA published its draft conditions. Submitters were provided with two weeks to respond to the draft conditions. These responses are published on the EPA website.
On 22 June 2022 the panel granted resource consents subject to conditions to Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Whakatāne for the Whakatāne commercial boat harbour application. Use this link to download a copy of the decision.