Kia ora,

We acknowledge receipt of your official information request received by us
24 July 2025 for the following information;

 1. The most recent joint witness statements (JWS) involving environmental
scientists or technical experts that discuss the setting or reviewing
of freshwater targets, limits, criteria, or thresholds,
 2. These statements should relate to your most recent regional plan
change where such matters were addressed.
 3. If no JWS exist, please confirm whether any expert conferencing or
similar collaborative evidence processes took place, and provide the
relevant outputs (e.g., conferencing reports, summary statements, or
meeting notes).
 4. Please provide the documents in digital format.
 5. If any part of this request is likely to require substantial collation
or processing, I am happy to refine it in consultation with you.

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 21 August 2025, being 20 working days after the
day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request
by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe. 

If you have any queries, please contact us by return email. If any
additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request,
please contact us so that these can be taken into account. 

 

Kā mihi, 

Naomi

Legal

[1][IMG] [email address]

[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
2. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
3. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
4. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora,

 

Your official information request received by us dated 27 June 2025 for:

“Any/all correspondence ORC has had with Santana Minerals / Matakanui Gold
about the Bendigo Ophir Mine development, including, but not limited to,
emails, meetings, phone conversations, presentations, reports etc any/all
emails / papers / reports etc describing preparations ORC has made for the
Bendigo Ophir mine application that you have from 16 May 2025 until
present day”

Has been partially granted and the release is attached.

You will see that some information has been redacted and is withheld:

* in order to protect the privacy of natural persons in accordance with
section 7(2)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). The information redacted are individual’s
email addresses, direct dial phone numbers, and signatures which
cannot be released.
* to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free
and frank expression of opinion to us in accordance with section
s7(2)(f)(i) LGOIMA. The information withheld and not released is an
opinion provided to us.

 You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman
of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602. 

 

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
us by return email.  

Kā mihi, 

Janet

Legal

[2][IMG] [email address]

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
3. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Adam,

We refer to your official information request received by us 24 July 2025
for:

 1. The most recent joint witness statements (JWS) involving environmental
scientists or technical experts that discuss the setting or reviewing
of freshwater targets, limits, criteria, or thresholds,
 2. These statements should relate to your most recent regional plan
change where such matters were addressed.
 3. If no JWS exist, please confirm whether any expert conferencing or
similar collaborative evidence processes took place, and provide the
relevant outputs (e.g., conferencing reports, summary statements, or
meeting notes).
 4. Please provide the documents in digital format.
 5. If any part of this request is likely to require substantial collation
or processing, I am happy to refine it in consultation with you.

We need you to clarify your request.

You have asked for JWS related to our most recent regional plan change ...
where such matters were addressed.

The most recent regional plan change to the Regional Plan Water for Otago
was Plan Change 8. This plan change in July 2020 was part of an Omnibus
Plan Change, which also involved a plan change to the Regional Plan: Waste
for Otago (Plan Change 1). This plan change did not involve the setting or
reviewing of freshwater targets, but did involve the setting of criteria
or thresholds for the management of specific activities (discharges). Plan
Change 7 occurred almost at the same time. ORC notified the Water Permits
Plan Change (Plan Change 7) in March 2020, but during the submission
period, the plan change was “called in” by the Minister for the
Environment. The EPA re-notified the plan change by issuing a Notice of
Direction and submissions closed on 17 August 2020. Plan Change 7 did not
involve the setting or reviewing of freshwater targets, but did involve
the setting of criteria or thresholds for the management of specific
activities (i.e. water takes).

As neither recent plan change involving water involved the setting or
reviewing of freshwater targets, limits, criteria or thresholds we do not
hold JWS within the scope of your current request. If you wish clarify
your request then please do so as soon as possible.

 

Please note that any clarification or amendment of a request is considered
to be a new request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory
timeframe for response—see section 13(7) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act. 

We look forward to your response. Please note, if we do not hear from you
by 21 August 2025, your request will be refused, as we are unable to
confirm the scope of the request.

Kā mihi nui,

Finn

Legal Services

Legal

[1][IMG] [email address]

[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
2. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
3. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
4. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...