EPA Imposes Ludicrously Short Response Time On Basin Flyover Submitters

The whole Basin “Bridge” (flyover) Board of Inquiry process  has been rendered dangerously close to farce by the nine-month timetable imposed on the Board process by the Government. However, the latest move by the Kerry Prendergast-chaired Environmental Protection Authority, which administers the Board, has plumbed new depths in its apparent contempt for submitters on the project.

At 5.35pm on Friday 17 January, the EPA sent submitters the Draft Hearing Schedule, a complex document that requires careful consideration – even making it legible is a challenge. Each submitter needs to check the time(s) that they are meant to appear and respond to the EPA if any changes are needed.

And how long have submitters been given to respond? One working day. The EPA has imposed a deadline of 5pm on Tuesday 21 January, and Monday 20 January is a public holiday in Wellington – so it’s Tuesday or bust, especially if you’re away from Wellington for the weekend.

Is this fair or reasonable? Absolutely not. Whether this is a deliberate attempt by the EPA to make it impossible for submitters to appear before the Board, or whether it is merely the product of incompetence, we will leave for the reader to decide. But such absurd and unrealistic deadlines raise serious questions about any notion of this Board of Inquiry conducting a fair, unbiased and objective hearing process.

Please contact your local MP and let them know how unfairly this EPA process is treating submitters.

What Submitters Do And Don’t Have To Do This Week

Some submitters have contacted the Campaign, concerned that they have to finish the oral submission they plan to make to the Board (also known as their representation) by this Friday, 13 December. This is not the case.Friday 13 December is the deadline for expert evidence, and so it is only relevant to those submitters who are putting forward expert witnesses.

The important date for all submitters who pan to appear before the Board is Monday 16 December. There are two things you must do no later than Monday 16 December:

1) Notify the Board if you plan to cross-examine any witnesses. You also need to send this notification to the party (e.g. NZTA) who is calling each witness. You must make these notifications by noon on Monday 16 December.

2) Notify the Board if you plan to make an oral submission (representation). You must do this even if you have previously told them (e.g. at the time of making your original submission) that you want to make a representation/oral submission.

As usual, you should contact the Board at BasinBridge@epa.govt.nz

These are the main points about Monday the 16th, but for the full details, see the latest version of the Indicative Timetable at

http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/BB66_Memorandum_No.27_Changes_to_timetable.pdf

Note that the hearing start date has now been postponed until Monday 3 February.

Grant Robertson asserts his opposition to the proposed flyover

The following is an excerpt written by Grant Robertson for the November 2013 edition of the Mt Victoria Newsletter.

Basin flyover not a done deal

Residents in Mt Cook, Mt Victoria, Newtown and the whole Wellington area are justifiably concerned about the Basin Reserve flyover. The final decision to build a flyover at the Basin Reserve is currently with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), but the government and New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) seem determined to pursue spending $90 million despite 83% of submitters opposing it.

Both Annette King, MP for Rongotai, and I oppose the Basin flyover. It is a bad idea and not an answer to the frustration some people feel about traffic congestion at this one location in Wellington. 

NZTA appears to be following the instructions of the government that has no smart solutions for improving the way people and freight move around New Zealand.

The EPA is requiring that anyone who submitted attend meetings with the NZTA to “resolve concerns”, even if they noted in their submission that they don’t wish to be heard in person. The significance of these meetings on the final decision is unknown because they have never before happened in a Board of Inquiry process. 

The Board of Inquiry will begin the hearings on 22 January* and the decision is due by May 2014. Labour has promised that we will do whatever we can to stop the flyover, and support a transportation system within and around Wellington that is efficient, promotes public transport, and helps protect our environment.

My electorate office telephone is 801 8079 and I am always happy to hear your comments on this or any other issue affecting the Mt Victoria community. 

*The Board of Inquiry’s latest indicative timetable shows the hearings beginning on Monday 27 January.

Basin Flyover Board Of Inquiry Issues Revised Hearing Timetable

The Board of Inquiry convened to run the hearing process on the proposed Basin Reserve flyover held a Pre-Hearing Conference on Wednesday 25 September.

The pre-hearing conference was held in the unlikely surroundings of the Mercure Hotel at the top end of the Terrace – a venue which is up a hill, unsheltered, and has no public transport access and little parking. We hope the hearing itself will be held somewhere that has good public transport access, is central, and is on the flat.

The Pre-Hearing Conference heard submissions on a number of procedural issues. Many submitters to the Pre-Hearing Conference, including Save the Basin, argued that the proposed hearing start date of Monday 13 January was unrealistic and unfair, and argued for a start date of Monday 3 February or later.

While we didn’t get everything we wanted on this one, the Board has moved the hearing start date forward two weeks to Monday 27 January. Here is the revised indicative timetable from this point forward:

Friday 25 October: Applicant’s Evidence in Chief (EIC) lodged with EPA

Friday 13 December: Submitters evidence lodged with EPA

Monday 16 December: Expert witness conferencing begins no later than this date

Friday 10 January: Applicant’s rebuttal evidence lodged with EPA

Monday 20 January: Last day for giving notice of making representations

Monday 27 January: Hearing starts

Friday 28 February: Hearing ends

Thursday 17 April: Draft decision released

Monday 19 May: Comments on draft decision due

Friday 30 May: Final decision released

Some points to note:

  • The new deadline for lodging “submitters evidence” with the Board is Friday 13 December.
  • NZTA have been given a deadline of 10 January to lodge their rebuttal evidence.
  • The end date for the Board of Inquiry process has been pushed out to 30 May 2014 (as allowed for by a recent change to legislation).

Even with these changes, the timetable for these hearing processes is very tight. Several previous Boards of Inquiry have had to be extended beyond the intended nine-month period.

Last Day To Submit On Proposed Basin Flyover – And What To Do If Your Submission Isn’t Acknowledged

STOP PRESS: Submissions have just closed – and we’ve had one submitter who submitted by email contact us to say that they haven’t received any response to their submission. We suggest that, if you don’t get a reply to your submission, you send a followup email to basinbridge@epa.govt.nz asking whether your submission has been received, and cc it to the Friend of the Submitter, Mark St Clair, m.stclair@hyc.co.nz

Your submission should be acknowledged! If you haven’t had a satsifactory response to your followup enquiry after a couple of working days, please contact stoptheflyover@gmail.com with “Submission Not Acknowledged” in the subject line, and we’ll follow this up for you.

— original post —

This is it, folks: submissions on the proposed Basin Reserve flyover (“Basin Bridge”) close today at 5pm. Don’t leave it until the very last minute to submit.

The online submission form is on this page: http://www.epa.govt.nz/Resource-management/Basin_Bridge/Pages/Basin_Bridge.aspx

Remember that it times out after an hour.

Save the Basin’s Submission Guide is here: http://savethebasin.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/24/submission-guide-proposed-basin-bridge-flyover/

And please remember to:

Good luck, and many thanks to all those who have already submitted!

Submission Guide: Proposed Basin Bridge (Flyover)

Note: For formal purposes , the flyover proposal is called the “Basin Bridge Proposal”.

This guide has been developed by the Save the Basin campaign to assist people in making a written submission to the Board of Inquiry that has been established by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to hear the NZTA’s resource consent application for a ‘Basin Bridge’. The Guide is divided into Part One – the process of making a submission – and Part Two, which gives you some pointers on what you might want to cover in your submission.

The Guide is below, but you can also download it as a PDF file:

Submission Guide: Proposed Basin Bridge (Flyover) (PDF, 184 KB)

STOP PRESS

Three things we’ve recently learned that aren’t in the Submission Guide, and one further suggestion:

1) You don’t need to be 18 or over to submit – there is no minimum age limit. So school-age children can submit – and they should, especially if they live or study in the vicinity of the proposed flyover.
2) You don’t have to be living in New Zealand to submit.
3) The EPA has released its draft schedule for the Board of Inquiry process – and it shows the hearings starting on Monday 13 January, when many people are still on holiday. If you feel this is unfairly early, tell the EPA so in your submission, and urge them to start the hearings later. The draft schedule is on p24 of this EPA Inquiry Procedures document.
4) In the online submission form, when you ask to appear, you are given the option of going in with other submitters making similar points. We suggest that you ask to appear separately.

PART ONE – THE PROCESS

Here are the main points about the submissions process:

Note: All details can be found on the Environmental Protection Authority’s Information for Submitters):

Save the Basin is encouraging submitters to:

Why are we asking submitters to say they want to appear in front of a Board of Inquiry?

How scary is it to appear before a Board of Inquiry?

Not very scary! You’re not on trial – NZTA’s proposal is. The Board is a lot less formal than a court room. You don’t have to do it alone. You can bring a support person. Save the Basin will endeavour to have someone at the hearing at all times.

If you find later that you aren’t available or can’t face the Board you can always pull out, or get someone else to appear on your behalf (see below).

Other points about appearing before the Board

PART TWO – IDEAS TO HELP YOU MAKE A SUBMISSION

Set out below are some key headings and bullet points that may give you some ideas on what to say in your own words why you are against the flyover. Please note that we do not want lots of identically-worded submissions – these points are meant only as a guide. But you should make sure to include each topic area that concerns you in your submission, so that you can return to it in later evidence to the Board if you wish.

The Personal Touch

For Cricket Fans and Players

Urban Design and Heritage

Environment, Safety and Health

Transport

For more ideas on what to say in a submission you might want to go to:

The Save the Basin presentation from our public meeting on 3 August (PDF, 1.5MB) that is now available on our website. (Or just see savethebasin.org.nz)

Environmental Protection Authority – Friend of the Submitter

You can find information about this and the Friend of the Submitter sessions on the EPA website.

Some News Media Stories:

Dominion Post: Wind Gusts Pose Potential Hazard On Flyover

Wellington Scoop: Richard Reid – Why One Basin Flyover Will Be Followed By A Second Flyover

Wellington Scoop: Packed Theatre Hears Richard Reid Warn Of “Irrevocable Damage” From Second Flyover

KEY POINTS

  1. Make a written submission by 5pm on Friday 6 September 2013
  2. Cover all the topic areas you are concerned about, at least briefly
  3. If at all possible, ask to speak at the Board hearing
  4. Keep in touch with Save the Basin to find out the latest

This Sunday, 2pm: Save the Basin Workshop on Basin Flyover Submissions

In recent posts we have highlighted the importance of campaign supporters making their own voices heard in the upcoming Board of Inquiry. The Save the Basin Campaign will be making a submission, but it is also important that campaign supporters make their own submissions to express their opposition to the Flyover.

To assist campaign supporters in preparing their submissions, we are running a submissions workshop:

When – 2 PM Sunday 25 August 2013
Where – New Crossways, Level 1, 6 Roxburgh St
Duration – up to 2 hours

The workshop will:

The Friend of Submitter (Mark St Clair) will attend the workshop to provide advice. Some of you might have been planning to attend one or some of the other “drop in” sessions already arranged by the Friend of Submitter – and you might still choose to do that. Our workshop will provide you with a similar opportunity to receive advice direct from the Friend of Submitter, but it will also go well beyond what the Friend of Submitter can do as it will also provide an opportunity to discuss and receive advice on what you actually put in your submission in opposition to the Flyover. That is something the Friend of Submitter is not able to do**.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at the Workshop. If you cannot make the Workshop but still need advice or help with your submission, please contact us at stoptheflyover@gmail.com and we will provide as much help as we are able to.

** The Friend of Submitter is appointed by the EPA but is otherwise independent of the EPA. The EPA explains the role of the Friend of Submitter as follows: The Friend of Submitter is able to help with information on the board of inquiry process, making a submission, how to capture your views in your submission, and what steps you will need to take after your submission is lodged. The Friend of Submitter cannot advise you on whether to make a submission or what to include in it.

Save the Basin Flyover Presentation – Full Of Good Submission Ideas

The closing date for submissions on the proposed Basin flyover is 5pm on Friday 6 September. We’ve explained how to make a submission, and stressed the crucial importance of saying that you want to appear in person before the Board.

But what should you say in your submission? That’s up to you – a whole lot of identical submissions is the last thing we’re looking for – but here’s a presentation that can help give you ideas:

Save the Basin Flyover Presentation (August 2013) (PDF, 1.5 MB).

It’s based on the presentation given at our very successful public meeting on Saturday 3 August, and it’s full of very good reasons why a Basin Reserve flyover should not proceed.

We’re aiming to have a full Submission Guide on the site and distributed to our supporters by this time next week. But don’t feel you need to wait for that before you get cracking on your submission!

Auckland shows the legacy of NZTA-style transport planning
Auckland shows the legacy of NZTA-style transport planning

Basin Flyover Submission Process

The submission process for NZTA’s proposed Basin Reserve flyover has now been announced. You’ll find all the details on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Information for Submitters page and their downloadable Basin Bridge Information Sheet, but here are the main points:

We’ll be producing a submission guide and putting it up here soon, but the key points are:

Remember – we have had to listen to NZTA’s spin and lies for far too long. This hearing is the time when they have to sit there and listen to us. Let’s make the most of it.

Dominion Post Puts The Wind Up NZTA’s Flyover Plans

In a front-page story today the Dominion Post raised serious questions about the safety of the proposed Basin Reserve flyover in strong wind conditions. Journalist Tessa Johnstone drew attention to the statement in NZTA’s own resource consent application documents that wind gusts in the middle of the one-way flyover could be “extremely high” and NZTA’s admission that pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and the drivers of high-sided vehicles (e.g. vans and light trucks) could all be affected – with the risks, according to NZTA, running up to ‘complete overturning’ of high-sided vehicles.

NZTA says that it will put up guard rails on either side of the proposed cycleway/walkway. But when it comes to drivers and motorcyclists, NZTA’s proposed mitigation for this problem amounts to putting up warning signs on a route from which they have no escape!

As Cycle Aware Wellington’s Patrick Morgan states in the article, “Signage is not a solution, it’s an admission of failure.”

NZTA tried to downplay this story. They failed, and now one of the many deficiencies of this flyover proposal is out there in the public eye. In Save the Basin’s eyes, the whole flyover project is an admission of the Government and NZTA’s failure to deliver a modern, sustainable transport solution for Wellington. More of the proposal’s many failures will come to light over the next few months.

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