B-5 – Area 5 - Assessment of Environmental Effects 141 The sole objective of the NPSFM reflects this hierarchy of obligations and states: …to ensure that natural and physical resources are managed in a way that prioritises: (a) first, the health and well-being of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems (b) second, the health needs of people (such as drinking water) (c) third, the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being, now and in the future In respect of the NPSFM policies, those of most relevance to the activities within Area 5 are discussed in detail below. 7.4.1.1 Policies 1 and 2 Policy 1 of the NPSFM seeks to ensure that freshwater is managed in a way that gives effect to Te Mana o te Wai. Policy 2 seeks to ensure that tangata whenua are actively involved in freshwater management and Māori freshwater values are identified and provided for. The activities proposed in Area 5 have been carefully identified and assessed to ensure that the health of freshwater and of the wider environment is prioritised and protected, as set out in Section 5 of this AEE and summarised below: Development of the GOP is expected to have minimal effects on the deeper groundwater system, which has already been dewatered by existing mining activities. Deep groundwater levels will recover when underground mine dewatering ceases; Shallow groundwater flows may reduce, but the effects of this on the Gladstone Wetland are likely to be unmeasurable and, in any case, within natural variability. Discharges to groundwater from the GOP TSF are not expected to adversely affect water quality, given discharges will be within the receiving water quality criteria. When the GOP TSF is closed, the capping layer will be contoured to direct flows to the Gladstone Wetland, reinstating and expanding the wetland from its pre-mining state; No water users are registered in the 210 m – 290 m zone of influence of shallow groundwater drawdown expected to be produced from development of the GOP. Discharges of groundwater and runoff from the GOP to the Ohinemuri River (via the WTP) while the GOP is operational are expected to produce a net neutral or gain to flows in the Ohinemuri River. As explained in Boffa Miskell (2022a) and summarised in Section 5.15 of this AEE, the potential adverse effects of the GOP on freshwater ecology values are assessed as “Low” or “Very Low” when effects management measures are included; As discussed in Section 5.13 of this AEE, ongoing monitoring of WTP discharges to the Ohinemuri River reveals that there is no evidence of adverse impacts on the water
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