The National Environment Service (NES) announces it has received an EIA Permit Application by Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) for public consultation
NES provides environmental sign off on projects that may have an impact on the environment (Tiers 1, 2 & 3). This particular EIA Permit Application falls under a Tier 3 category, which is an activity that is likely to cause significant environmental impact.
All applications that fall under a Tier 3 category must provide an EIA report.
According to the Environment Act 2003, NES is to undertake a public consultation process for all EIA Permit Applications in the form of publishing details of the project and making it accessible to the public.
- Applicant: Te Ipukarea Society (TIS)
Project: Akapuao (Enua Manea) Property Coastal Protection
Land: Akapuao Pt. Sec 42E, Takitumu
Village: Titikaveka
Island: Rarotonga
2. Public submissions for or against the project closes 4pm, Tuesday 1st October 2024.
The purpose of this project aims to prevent further erosion occurring along an approximately 200m length of beach and stream bank, extending from the existing rock wall at the Enua Manea Beachfront down to the eastern stream bank of the stream bed adjacent to the Garnier residence, and ending at the eastern end of the main road bridge.
Approximately 90% of the area to be protected has been set aside a recreational reserve by the Ngati Raina landowners. The project is needed to stop further erosion of the coastline along the reserve area. The most obvious option is to use granite boulders, as has been used in adjacent properties. However, the trial geotextile revetment at Avana provided evidence that a geotextile container revetment wall works effectively, and has a lower environmental footprint.
This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report has been prepared to ensure that possible adverse environmental, social and economic impacts are identified and avoided, minimized or mitigated. The management of impacts is provided on key areas that include land, waste, erosion control, hazards and risks. The EIA Permit Application has an Environment Management Plan section that outlines the measures planned to mitigate any environmental impact.
Vavia Tangatataia, NES Manager of Environmental Compliance stated “As part of NES’s new communication strategy, we are pleased to provide information about our EIA applications through multiple media channels to have a good outreach to our community. It is important that the public is consulted and engaged in this process to meet our mandated obligations and conduct our respective roles to protect our environment. I encourage any member of the public to reach out if you have any questions.”
The EIA Report is available on the NES website and is available for any member of the public to access here.
Other notifications of the EIA will be made via NES’s Facebook page, e-newsletter and a public notice on print media. Members of the public who wish to make a submission for or against this EIA Permit Application can do so by writing to NES by 4pm, Monday 1st October 2024.
We welcome submissions in either Cook Islands Maori or English.
The submission can be sent via email to nes@cookislands.gov.ck or delivered to the NES office in Tupapa.
