SIRRL’s second resource consent application was returned due to “insufficient information”, in particular, a lack of a Cultural Impact assessment (CIA). SIRRL lodged an appeal, which an independently appointed commissioner heard. Barrister Rob Enright, “by a narrow margin”, found in favour of SIRRL and directed the two councils to accept the resource consent application as complete. This means that the application will proceed and be subject to last century’s Resource Management Act (RMA) regulations that will not be subject to new legislation considering greenhouse gas emissions, potentially impacting the project significantly.
