A government ‘deadline' on the Matata sewerage scheme is being moved again to allow for an environment court hearing at the end of the month.

And according to Whakatane District Council public affairs manager Ross Boreham, it's now more of a time frame than a deadline.

The fight against using Matata dunes for sewerage disposal goes to the Environment Court this month.

The government promised $6.7 million for a $13.2 million sewerage scheme for Matata – a 50 per cent subsidy.

The original deadline set for WDC to start the scheme was June 30, 2013, but authorities had to scramble to get the Ministry of Health to extend the deadline by 12 months.

Now the project is facing further delays as opposition to the project works its way through the available court processes.

A group calling itself Sustainable Matata opposes the scheme, saying the science on which it is based is questionable and the economic impacts will drive out Matata's fixed income residents who cannot afford the additional $300 a year it will cost in rates.

Two Maori groups joined the appeal process last year - the Ngati Rangitihi Raupatu Trust Inc and Matata Papakainga Committee – while some of the 407 owners of the land took exception to the trustees' decision to enter into the lease with the WDC.

Maori Land Court Judge Craig Coxhead dismissed the application, saying the trustees have the power to enter into the lease, and that they consulted the owners about the sewerage decision even though they were not legally required to.

'They have made an assessment that the lease will ensure that the land is used to the best advantage of the beneficial owners,” says the judge.

'I am satisfied with the process that the trustees have gone through in coming to their decision to enter into the lease. I find that there is no serious question to be tried and therefore an interim injunction is not warranted.”

The Regional Council consents granted in June 2014 allow sewage to be piped to a treatment plant to be located on Maori owned land 300m east of the Matata township.

Following treatment the wastewater will be disposed of into coastal-reserve land on the Thornton Road dunes via a sub-surface irrigation system near Bennett Road and east of the Tarawera River.

The Environment Court Hearing is set down for three weeks at Mount Maunganui, starting January 27. A decision is not expected until late February or early to mid-March, but Ross Boreham says they aren't pressured by the current June 2015 deadline, which has been extended further.

'The $6.7 subsidy from the Ministry of Health is secured for the new time frame and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has also provided a $1.88m grant towards the construction costs, subject to being carried over within the regional council's long term plan,” says Ross.

'We don't consider it to be under threat at this point. The ministry and the minister have acknowledged that the Environment Court process has to go through its required time frame.”

Ross admits he doesn't know what the new deadline/time frame is, and the cut-off date will depend on the when the Environment Court decision is made and whether there is any appeal.

'There would be a reasonably tight time frame to get that underway but it would still have to go through a tendering process,” says Ross.