A three-week hearing on the resource consent application to leave part of the MV Rena wreck on Astrolabe Reef will begin in June.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council announced today that the hearing will run from June 23, but a Tauranga venue for the hearing is yet to be confirmed.

The remains of the wreck at Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga in January 2012.

Hearing Commissioner's chairman Gordon Whiting says the panel held a pre-hearing conference last week to determine an appropriate timeline and procedure, and heard applications on the timing from five parties.

Along with Gordon, a retired Environment Court judge, the panel includes cultural commissioner Rauru Kirikiri, marine engineer John Lumsden and environmental scientist Dr Shane Kelly.

Gordon says the decision on the timeline enabled the parties to progress the hearing in a 'logical and timeous manner which enables all parties to be involved and to present their cases to the hearing panel”.

Factors to be considered at the hearing include Maori culture, salvage, contaminants and ecology, planning, natural character and landscape, dive safety and navigation and social and recreation.

The hearing comes after the Rena's owner lodged resource consent applications to leave sections of the wreck on Astrolabe (Otaiti) Reef, and to provide for any future discharges of contaminants, in May 2014.

The owner originally indicated it intended to seek a direct referral to the Environment Court, but decided to proceed to a regional council hearing last December.

The 37,000 tonne cargo ship MV Rena struck the Astrolabe Reef, about 25km off the coast of Tauranga, on October 5, 2011 spilling tonnes of oil that caused one of New Zealand's biggest environmental disasters.

It had 1368 containers and around 1,700 tonnes of oil on board at the time.

The ship later broke apart on January 6, 2012 leaving the bow section wedged on the top part of the reef, while the aft section slid down. A massive clean-up operation was undertaken, with more than 8000 volunteers assisting.

Most containers have been recovered, and much of the rest has been reduced to scrap by the sea. A total of 3344 tonnes of debris has been recovered, including container parts, scrap cargo, aluminium ingots, tyres, fibreboard and wire.

The salvage operation is now being handed over to a local firm to continue clearing the debris.

A timeline for the process is:

• 7 April: Survey, video imaging data, ecological characterisation report, most recent sampling results and copper recovery report sent to Regional Council and submitters.
• 7-30 April: Parties' experts meet to discuss the issues in a facilitated session.
• 4 May: Applicant provides evidence from its technical experts
• 21 May: Regional Council and submitter experts file technical experts' briefs of evidence.
• 8 June: Applicant's rebuttal evidence provided.
• 23 June: Hearing begins.

The full Memorandum, all information on the process, submissions and all material for the hearing can be found here.