214Investigations

214 Investigations (1) The Minister may, if he or she decides that an investigation in relation to water management should be carried out, publish in the Government Gazette and in a newspaper circulating generally in the affected area a notice which— (a) states the intention of the Minister to appoint a community-based committee to carry out the investigation; and (b) briefly describes the proposal to be investigated; and (c) describes the general area affected by the proposal. (2) The following provisions apply with respect to the membership of a committee appointed under this section— (a) more than one half of the membership must consist of persons who are owners or occupiers of land in the affected area; (b) any council whose municipal district is wholly or partly within the affected area must be represented on the committee; (c) any public statutory body which the Minister considers to be directly affected by the proposal must be represented on the committee; (d) the Minister must make sure that, so far as possible, all relevant interests (including environmental interests) are fairly represented on the committee. (3) The Minister must give the committee sufficient resources to enable it to carry out the investigation. (4) Subsections (2) to (6) of section 318 apply to a committee appointed under this section. (5) The committee must carry out an investigation in accordance with the terms of the notice. (6) In carrying out an investigation, the committee must consult with all public statutory bodies that function in the area affected by the proposal. (7) A committee performing functions under this section, section 215 or section 216 performs those functions as the delegate of the Minister.