A Bay of Plenty , whose marae is threatened by flooding from the Waikato river, has refused Contact Energy's offer to re-locate to a safe site.
Ngati Tahu's marae at Ohaaki, northeast of Taupo, has been sinking since 1992 due to underground steam extraction by a nearby power station.
The ground has subsided almost 3.7 metres and now stands just a metre and a half above the level of the Waikato river.
Contact Energy, which owns the nearby Ohaaki Geothermal Power Plant, offered to pay for the marae to be moved to land beside the Taupo-Rotorua highway.
Hapu administrator Aroha Campbell says a working party was given a mandate to come up with recommendations for the marae's future a year ago.
She says those recommendations were presented to a hui at the weekend and rejected, which means the marae will stay where it is.
Aroha Campbell says the hui did not make a decision as to what to do with the small meeting house or wharenui.
