Coal tar dump opened near Greymouth
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council has agreed to a consent change to Taylorville Resource Park Ltd to allow coal tar and pitch to be disposed of at the existing landfill site.
The change allows construction of an additional lined asbestos cell.
Consents and compliance manager Colin Helem told the council's resource management committee meeting the coal tar and pitch was in common use for road making until the 1970s, "and does have the potential for leachate".
The cell to be constructed would provide containment of the material from leaching into ground water.
Councillor Peter Ewen asked if that meant bitumen could be dumped in a clean fill site, which Helem confirmed.
Councillor Peter Haddock clarified if the new dump was above the existing Greymouth water supply treatment site at Coal Creek, which Helem affirmed.
Meanwhile, the problem with river and stream beds on the West Coast continually building up with gravel and not being managed was also a discussion point.
Westreef Services had been granted a non-notified resource consent to disturb the dry bed of the Punakaiki River to remove gravel.
Councillor Brett Cummings wondered why this was allowed when water courses on the Barrytown Flats, for example, was far more urgent for gravel management, with "culverts overflowing".
"Why are we allowing gravel take from the Punakaiki River?"
Helem said council simply processed the requests before it.
"We don't have control over getting applicants going to rivers we want them to get gravel out of."
Cummings said believed those seeking gravel would "find their own way" to viable gravel sources if they received some direction.
Photo: The historic Broadcasting House in Greymouth is currently being demolished. With other major demolitions pending in the area and the need for safe disposal of demolition materials including asbestos, along with old coal tar bitumen, several sites including the one at Taylorville are being opened up. The 1930s Public Works era Broadcasting House was built after the 1929 Murchison Earthquake and has proved a substantial demolition challenge in the past 10 days.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.2% Summer
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36.3% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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