Draft decision and conditions
On 13 March 2026, the Waitaha Hydro project expert panel released its draft decision and conditions.
The panel proposes to grant the approvals sought in this application.
- Minute 12 of the expert panel (PDF, 115 KB)
- Waitaha Hydro Draft Decision – Te 13 o Māehe 2026 (PDF, 6 MB)
- Appendix A – List of Resource Consents (DOCX, 148 KB)
- Appendix B – Resource Consent Conditions (DOCX, 12 MB)
- Appendix C – List of Concessions (DOCX, 112 KB)
- Appendix D.1 – Concession (Lease and License) (DOCX, 281 KB)
- Appendix D.2 – Concession (Easement) (DOCX, 154 KB)
- Appendix E – Wildlife Approval (DOCX, 2 MB)
- Appendix E – Wildlife Approval Schedule 7 Bat Protocols (PDF, 544 KB)
- Appendix F – Freshwater Fisheries Approvals (DOCX, 55 KB)
- Appendix G – Summary of Comments (DOCX, 124 KB)
- Appendix H – Glossary (DOCX, 114 KB)
Under section 70 of the Act, an expert panel must invite comments on the draft conditions from:
the applicant
every person or group that provided comments under section 35 or 53
any local authority or other body with a statutory responsibility to enforce or monitor compliance with the conditions.
The panel must also issue the panel’s draft decision document for each approval in accordance with section 70(2)(b).
The panel set a deadline of 27 March 2026 for receiving this response.
The panel also set a deadline of 7 April 2026 for the applicant to respond to comments received under section 70.
Under section 72 of the Act, an expert panel must invite comments on the draft decision, including any draft conditions, from:
the Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti
the Minister for Māori Development.
The panel set a deadline of 27 March 2026 for receiving this response.