The consent hearing for a major dredging programme to deepen Tauranga Harbour shipping channels begins at the Mount Cosmopolitan Club on Monday.
The port company wants to deepen shipping channels by up to 3.3 meters – removing 15 million cubic metres of soil from Tauranga Harbour.
There are 91 submissions to be heard, 80 opposing the dredging and nine in support.



The opposition is concerned about the impact of the dredging on kaimoana and cultural practices, water quality, tidal movements and the coastal processes, says Environment BOP consents manager Aileen Lawrie.
Submissions in support of the port company's resource consent application promoted the economic benefits of the Port of Tauranga to the Bay of Plenty region and the positive impact that deepening the harbour to accommodate much larger ships was likely to bring, says Aileen.
Environment BOP's regional coastal environment plan contains a port zone which recognises the Port of Tauranga as the primary operation in that zone. Port of Tauranga holds a range of resource consents for all aspects of port operation.
Greg Hill and Vaughan Payne are the independent commissioners appointed by Environment BOP to the hearing panel.
The Minister of Conservation has also appointed Richard Heerdegan as a commissioner to the panel because of the scale and significance of the application.
The hearings begin at 9:30am.