West Coast monitoring staff busy
From Local Democracy Reporter Brendon McMahon:
West Coast Regional Council monitoring staff have been busy in the past month, with 79 site visits.
Compliance staff received 16 complaints, issued one formal warning and one abatement notice.
The formal warning was to an Arahura Valley goldminer for an unconsented water take, and a Kapitia Creek miner received an abatement notice.
Of the 79 site visits, 16 were due to complaints, eight for resource consent monitoring, eight mining compliance and bond release checks, and 47 dairy farm checks.
The Kapitia mine site abatement followed several complaints from one complainant that sediment laden water was being discharged into the stream.
"The mining treatment ponds had a leak in the pond wall. The discharge flowed down a bush creek into Kapitia Creek... The investigation is still ongoing," staff said.
At nearby Stafford, a goldminer and an outside complainant both notified of sediment laden water escaping into Waimea Creek.
"The miner had shut the operation down to cease any further discharges."
When the council visited the creek had cleared upstream, but deeper pools downstream were "discoloured with sedimentation".
No decision had yet been taken on enforcement action.
At Fox Creek, a miner received a formal warning for taking water without consent after staff visited the Arahura Valley site following a complaint about sediment discharges.
Staff found the miner carrying out "exploration testing" but the creek was not discoloured.
The miner is now applying for a water take consent.
Council staff found visible sediment in Boatmans Creek in Inangahua following a complaint the stream was "significantly discoloured".
An adjacent farm property, impacted by the February floods, was found to be the culprit after the landowner moved gravel in the creek bed, breaking permitted activity rules allowing bank reinstatement and removal of flood debris. An "educative approach" was used and the landowner was seeking a resource consent.
At Ruatapu, a complaint about harvested logs from a forestry block being dragged through a creek was "a minor non-compliance".
The forester had neglected to notify the council as required but there were no issues with the operation method, staff said.
Other complaints/incidents not yet found to be either compliant or non-compliant included:
* Multiple complaints about a burn-off at Blue Spur discharging smoke and ash on to neighbouring properties.
* Multiple other complaints about discharge from the Kapitia goldmine.
* Large amounts of baleage wrap "caught high in the trees" along the Little Totara River north of Charleston and washed down the river during the February flood was traced to the owner who was organising a clean-up.
* Flooding at Inangahua allegedly caused by land development on a farm was related to severe weather events but the nearby land development might be exacerbating the situation;
* A complaint about the discharge of dust from a gravel quarry in the Grey River bed at Omoto. The gravel access road to the site was the likely cause but as the road was public it did not breach regional rules or resource consent conditions.
The gravel operator had been advised to consider the neighbouring properties and use a water cart.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.6% Second half of November
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43.5% 1st December
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17.4% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.