Terms of Reference
[ Last Updated 22 December 2005 ]
September 2003
Purpose
The cost benefit analysis of proposals to take water in the Waitaki catchment will provide an assessment of the net national benefit of water for different uses at different points in the catchment to inform the development of a water allocation framework and the decision making process for consent applications.
Background
There are currently in train a number of applications for take and use of water in the Waitaki catchment. These include irrigation proposals, for both the upper and lower catchment, and the energy focused Project Aqua.
The processes of the Resource Management Act (1991) do not allow for all the competing proposals to be considered together. There is no ability to do a comparative assessment. All applications have to be considered on their individual merits and in the sequence in which they are notified. As a result, there is an advantage in being first in line.
The government has announced that it will introduce special legislation for the Waitaki catchment to allow for an enhanced resource management process. The legislation will establish an independent statutory body that will develop a water allocation framework for the Waitaki. It will be able to take public submissions and will have extra powers such as the ability to enquire and call for extra evidence. A panel of commissioners will then decide on the applications.
This cost benefit analysis will inform the development of a water allocation framework and the decision making process for consent applications, from a national perspective. An interdepartmental working group, including representation from the Ministries of Economic Development, Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry for the Environment and the Treasury, will oversee the cost benefit analysis.
Requirements
In preparing the cost benefit analysis the consultant will:
- Identify the significant proposals to take water from the Waitaki catchment and potential combinations of proposals;
- Provide advice on the net benefits of water use at key points in the Waitaki catchment based on the significant proposals;
- Identify for each scenario or critical point in the catchment:
- the national costs and benefits of irrigation;
- the national costs and benefits of energy;
- the national costs and benefits of changed land use;
- significant social and environmental impacts, whether these impacts are positive or negative and their likely magnitude. Comment on the implications of these impacts for the analysis and where they can be quantified, incorporate them into the cost benefit analysis.
- Consult with key stakeholder groups to test methodologies and assumptions used in the analysis.
Communication
The consultant will:
- communicate regularly with the Ministry to provide reports on progress and issues arising in the course of the work;
- seek the approval of the Ministry on the stakeholders to be consulted prior to any liaison with stakeholders.
Key Deliverables
The key deliverables are:
- a scoping report that identifies the approach, scenarios, information sources and the consultation process;
- a draft report that provides an assessment of the national costs and benefits of proposals to take water from the Waitaki catchment and identifies significant social and environmental impacts;
- a final report that incorporates feedback from peer reviewers, from the workshop with stakeholders and from the Ministry (on behalf of the interdepartmental working group), and meets the purpose of the work as set out above;
- an electronic copy of the cost benefit framework or model, enabling the testing of all key assumptions and parameters (i.e. MS Excel format).
The reports will:
- record assumptions used in the analysis;
- be analytically and technically robust;
- include user friendly discussion where appropriate to summarise in-depth analytical and/or technical work;
- be comprehensive and well written; and
- include an Executive Summary.
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