The Conservation Department is rejecting allegations that its stance on a coal-fired power station was weak and ill-informed.
Greenpeace says DOC was too ready to accept the word of Mighty River power over potential pollution by Marsden B.
The department, which is pressing for a marine reserve in Whangarei harbour, did not appear at the power station hearing or hear scientific evidence about proposed mercury discharges.
But the Northland conservator Chris Jenkins says that was one issue Mighty River Power was able to reassure DOC about.
A decision on the Marsden B power station is expected in the next few weeks.
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