The council confirmed yesterday in a statement that, during a closed door extraordinary meeting, councillors approved a response to Ms Simmonds’ request for further information on the costs associated with implementing its next land and water plan for the region.
"We understand and appreciate there is public interest in the land and water plan process," council chairwoman Cr Gretchen Robertson said in the statement.
"However, due to the nature of the information being requested by the minister it is not all able to be made public yet.
"ORC will provide an initial response to the minister’s letters and will provide further information later in September."
Council chief executive Richard Saunders said the council received legal advice that its process could be at risk if all of the information was to be released publicly yesterday.
As much information as possible would be available on the council "in the coming days".
Through a spokesman, Mr Saunders yesterday said the council hoped "to release a portion of the response tomorrow".
It took nearly an hour of debate to decide whether to hold yesterday’s meeting in public or behind closed doors.
Ultimately the same majority of seven councillors who have directed staff to work towards an October 31 notification date for the plan voted for the meeting to be held in private.
After the vote, Cr Michael Laws called the group "the secret seven".
He was among those arguing for a public meeting yesterday.
"This is an extraordinarily important public issue.
"It is an issue on which literally thousands of lives will depend and be governed by."
Wynn Williams special counsel Michelle Mehlhopt, who provided legal advice to the council yesterday, said because extracts of the council’s draft section 32 were expected to be included in the response to the minister, she believed the meeting should not be held publicly.
Cr Gary Kelliher said the minister had not asked the council for a look at its draft section 32 report.
He felt it was it was being used as a "convenient" reason to keep the discussion out of the public eye.
During the meeting yesterday, Cr Robertson said it could be held in public but it would need to "exclude discussion on some really significant parts of what we actually need to discuss".
A discussion in private allowed the council to discuss "absolutely everything we’ve got as a council".
The council and the environment minister have appeared at odds for months after she called for the council to delay its land and water plan process until new national policies for freshwater management were in place.
Most decisions relating to her engagement with the council have been decided by the same 7-5 split among councillors.
