Intact forest from the proposed mining site on conservation land at Te Kuha. Photo: Neil Silverwood / Supplied by Forest & Bird
Te Kuha Mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
The project has raised concerns over its impact on the environment and had already been rejected multiple times by courts.
Now, a letter sent to the company behind the plan, Stevenson Mining, in March but only recently published, showed the application never got as far as the minister for final approval, with the Ministry for the Environment finding it did not comply with seven requirements in the Act.
Notably, it lacked an explanation of why the fast-track approvals process would enable it to be processed in a more timely and cost-effective way than under normal processes.
It did not consult with local authorities like Buller District Council, the Ministry for the Environment, Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and the Department of Conservation.
It did not address other approvals which would be needed for the project to go ahead, like access to land owned or administered by other parties, including KiwiRail, which runs the Stillwater to Ngākawau line near the proposed mine site.
The proposed mine site at Mt Te Kuha, near Westport. Photo: Neil Silverwood
Stevenson Mining has been approached for comment.
Te Kuha Coal Project would have created an opencut mine, with a footprint of 144 hectares, near Westport. It would have extracted some 4 million tonnes of coking coal - the kind used for making steel - over 16 years.
It would have necessitated a land swap with the Department of Conservation, as it overlapped with stewardship land.
The project had already been rejected by the Supreme Court in 2020 and the Environment Court in 2023.
Adam Currie, campaigner for 350 Aotearoa, said it was welcome news.
Patrick Phelps, Minerals West Coast Photo: Supplied
"MfE declining it for now is a win for the environment," he said. "It's the process in this instance working as it's supposed to."
He said it showed the lack of regard for detail and process which mining companies often demonstrated.
"It's pretty incredible that companies are making these massive applications that have ginormous impacts on all these things, and they're just not thinking through these basic things."
But Patrick Phelps, manager of Minerals West Coast, said it was a new piece of legislation, and companies were "getting to grips with how it actually works".
"It's a novel process - any applicant, they don't fully know what the expectations are. They'll get the best advice, hydrology experts, and they'll put forward the best information that they can.
"While I'm disappointed that they haven't got over the line, I would simply say that that should be an indication to people that the fast-track process is not just a rubber stamp."
Photo: Kennedy Warne
A spokesperson from the Ministry for the Environment said it generally did not comment on individual fast-track referral applications, but explained that it checked referral applications against the requirements of the Acts.
"Incomplete or non-compliant applications are returned to applicants, along with reasons for them being returned."
Applications which met the requirements would then be sent on to the Infrastructure Minister (currently Chris Bishop), who gathered advice and reports on the project's impact and, if they saw fit, would refer it on to the final step, the expert panel.
The ministry said applicants were allowed to reapply if their initial application was found to be incomplete, but it would be treated as a new application, with a fresh application fee - which, according to the MfE website, would cost $12,000.
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