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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A local penguin trust had to intervene during emergency repairs to a temporary rock buffer, north of the Hokitika seawall, where Kororā are known to nest.
The West Coast Regional Council rockwork buffering the Hokitika Beach headland, behind the … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A local penguin trust had to intervene during emergency repairs to a temporary rock buffer, north of the Hokitika seawall, where Kororā are known to nest.
The West Coast Regional Council rockwork buffering the Hokitika Beach headland, behind the Revell Street residential area, was undermined following a storm which hit the region from April 9-12.
The section of beach - between Beach and Hampden streets - was scoured out leaving a rock overhang, which posed a potential fall risk for beach users below, council said.
Acting catchments manager Shanti Morgan said the emergency work in the past 10 days to fix that had included re-positioning rock moved during the recent storm and adding extra material to remediate the worst erosion.
The area is an active habitat for the kororā or little blue penguin, which breeds and moults on the Hokitika foreshore.
Morgan said the council had worked with the West Coast Penguin Trust and the Department of Conservation (DOC).
However, West Coast Penguin Trust manager Inger Perkins said they only became aware of the work after the Kororā habitat in beach head vegetation had been disturbed the day after the work started on April 12.
She said the breeding cycle for Kororā in vegetation on the foreshore was quite broad, meaning the presence of penguin at any time.
"Fundamentally, they could be in their nests at any time of the year."
Perkins said she was disappointed given the trust and the council had agreed protocols around emergency rock work in penguin habitats.
The council's decision on April 12 to start work meant the trust was not on the ground to point out the area is still an active breeding area, she said.
"The decision was made quite quickly without the people being involved who know that."
Perkins said when she became aware of the work the following day she asked the contractor to stop clearing vegetation due to the penguin nesting site.
The contractor was "very responsive".
Perkins said there had been no need to remove vegetation to do the emergency work, based on their previously agreed protocol with council around access to such work areas. The protocol was to construct a ramp to get access down to the beach.
"It was hugely disappointing that all the submissions, all the collaboration with council putting in signs and the GPS (co-ordinates), that none of that had come before those that were making an urgent decision. It is just frustrating ... why isn't this front of view?"
However, Perkins said council had then been "immediately responsive" when the issue was raised.
Morgan said the team considered all adverse environmental impacts prior to works occurring, including assessing the time of year penguins typically nest (July-November).
"Being outside this key season, there is very little penguin presence in the area."
Morgan said the work was completed under emergency consent conditions as a risk to public safety was identified.
"Overhanging rock that could potentially fall on beach users was removed and the site secured, making the best use of onsite material.
"Disturbance of overhanging vegetation was kept to a minimum and only removed what was necessary to ensure public safety."
Meanwhile, a proposal to do further work would be discussed at the first meeting of the Hokitika Joint committee on May 6.
This would detail options for reinstating protection against the coastal hazard.
A long-term solution and advancing a consent application is in train to extend the existing 2013-built Hokitika Seawall north as well addressing coastal inundation on the Hokitika River side.
"A hearing date to be set by the Independent Commissioner is currently pending."
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Members of special rating districts up and down the West Coast should attend their annual meetings, elected representatives say.
The West Coast Regional Council is holding a round of annual meetings in the next month for each of the two dozen … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Members of special rating districts up and down the West Coast should attend their annual meetings, elected representatives say.
The West Coast Regional Council is holding a round of annual meetings in the next month for each of the two dozen special rating areas it administers on behalf of local ratepayers for flood or coastal protection assets.
Council chairperson Peter Haddock said ratepayers within each special rating district give the mandate to the annual asset maintenance budget presented by council, and the consequent levy above their general rates.
That was why it was so important for people to attend their annual local rating district meeting to tell council what they wanted, he said.
"It's the people that make the decision on what their budget is for the year. That's the reason they should attend," Haddock said.
Nearly 75% of West Coast residents are affected by one of 22 special rating districts dotted up and down the 650km long region.
They are mainly for small rural or farming communities but include the three main towns and the tourist hotspots like Punakaiki and Franz Josef.
As the council's rating mess emerged in late 2023 some ratepayers such as the Greymouth floodwall area were shocked to find substantial special rating increases.
CHaddock said in the end rating district members had a significant say.
"The regional council run the programme for the rating district members - it is important people turnup, so they can have their say."
The reserves held ensured money in the pot when unforeseen events such as storm damage came up.
Haddock said this was demonstrable at Punakaiki following a battering 10 days ago of its coastal defences and the annual meeting there last week demonstrated "good conversations" to be realistic.
"There was varying people from commercial operators down to people with holiday homes.
"Everyone is concerned. They know that if they don't continue to maintain the walls, it could fall behind and then they are up for a big bill."
The Karamea meeting saw about 50 show up but many had a false impression for the meeting.
"I think they thought it was (for) the long-term plan submissions rather than the rating district."
A private landfill and the use of 1080 were among unrelated issues brought up.
"A lot of people, I think, don't realise what the regional council does," Haddock said.
Council deputy chairperson Brett Cummings said it was obvious a lot of attendees at the Karamea meeting came to raise other issues -- in itself not a bad thing.
"They thought it was a meeting about rates. A lot of people didn't understand what a rating district is, and they possibly should … there's a lot of confusion."
Cummings said the issues at the heart of the purpose of rating districts -- flood and inundation -- were only going to escalate for them.
"The amounts are getting bigger because the problems are getting bigger … I think a lot of them are beginning to understand we are not spending (the rating district) money ourselves."
Cummings said some meetings also exposed a gulf between the priorities of local landowners and those who did not live in the district but had an interest.
An example was the recent Kongahu meeting where the locals were "all for" addressing an outbreak of the listed water weed Parrots feather in the area but with an absentee landowner
haggling over that priority, he said.
At the same time, the council had a big job ahead of it with the first formal meeting in May of the new Franz Josef/Waiho joint rating district, where council had been "through a torrid time," after years of no meetings for the locals to have their say.
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
E coli found at the Waiho River in January appears to be linked to seepage near a controversial stopbank and the Franz Josef sewage ponds.
West Coast Regional Council environmental consent monitoring staff detected "a spike" in E coli … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
E coli found at the Waiho River in January appears to be linked to seepage near a controversial stopbank and the Franz Josef sewage ponds.
West Coast Regional Council environmental consent monitoring staff detected "a spike" in E coli discharge levels to the Westland District Council's wastewater treatment cells after the Waiho River shifted course in mid-January.
The finding was flagged in council's first quarterly compliance and enforcement report for 2024.
The river began running hard up against the Westland District Council's Havill Wall, in front of the wastewater treatment plan, following a storm in January.
That event saw the Waiho River's avulsion escalate into the separate Tatare Stream catchment to the north.
The Havill Wall was controversially built following a moderate flood event in April 2016 where the river overtopped a stopbank to the north of Franz Josef township. It flooded the now abandoned Scenic Hotel site and swamped the district council's current wastewater treatment site.
The council's quarterly compliance report said the E.coli discharge to the treatment plant's disposal cells was found during regular monitoring by staff.
"Surveillance of the site found an unusual stream of water emanating from below the site," the report said.
A council compliance officer took samples of the surface water below the site.
"This was found to be contaminated with E coli bacteria.
"At the time these samples were taken the Waiho River was pushing up against the Havill Wall outside of the wastewater treatment ponds," the report said.
Subsequent additional protection work by the district council to stop the river from cutting back up towards the ponds had covered over the water sample area.
"The area sampled is now under these works."
Further inquiries were ongoing "to pinpoint" the source of the contamination.
Westland District Council chief executive Simon Bastion on April 18 said his council had been advised by the regional council an area of ponding below the level of the oxidation ponds had been sampled and found to be positive for E coli.
"The level of E coli can fluctuate in any standing or flowing water body depending on natural contamination via wildlife or human interference factors," he said.
Both councils then visited the oxidation ponds.
"A very minor clear stream of river water was visible and flowing along the toe of the stopbank and ponding near the base of Maturation pond 1. This was believed to be the cause of the positive E coli sample."
Bastion said the district council was confident its sewerage treatment ponds at the site were not permeable or posed a risk to the river.
"The new primary and secondary oxidation ponds are lined with PE (Polyethylene) to ensure they do not leak. The oxidation ponds are fit for purpose and have operated satisfactorily since commissioning in 2020."
Bastion said the final effluent disposal cells for the site were located further away from the Waiho River and complied with their Resource Consent.
The council's iwi partner, Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, were also approached by LDR.
Makaawhio chairperson Paul Madgwick said it was the first he had heard of the incident.
Madgwick said his expectation was that council would have informed the rūnunga about the finding in the spirit of their joint agreement.
The council not keeping them in the loop undermined the formal Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement between Makaawhio and the council, he said.
The agreement, first signed four years ago, sets out a working relationship where council and iwi work together on resource management issues.
Regional council chief executive Darryl Lew said the E coli initially found at the site had disappeared, following more tests.
"The recent sampling is clear. That doesn't mean to say we've cleared that line of inquiry," Lew said.
He believed Makaawhio had previously been briefed about the contamination but it was a case of nothing further emerging to keep them in the loop.
However, Lew said he would communicate further.
"We certainly informed the district council."
Escherichia coli (E coli) is a bacteria commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. Some E coli strain can cause serious food poisoning.
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A 'rotten egg' smell at a private landfill on the West Coast could be caused by crushed and wet gib board, recently released documents show.
The West Coast Regional Council has accepted fresh applications from Taylorville Resource Park … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A 'rotten egg' smell at a private landfill on the West Coast could be caused by crushed and wet gib board, recently released documents show.
The West Coast Regional Council has accepted fresh applications from Taylorville Resource Park (TRP), 5km east of Greymouth, to vary its consents.
It includes a new assessment for the applicant, which details the cause of the pungent odour that has resulted in numerous complaints to the council in the past 15 months.
The air assessment says the saturation of gib board in anaerobic conditions significantly enhanced rotting, causing the generation of a rotten egg smell at the site.
"The best way to address the production of sulphide gas is to prevent it at the source," the Davis Ogilvie report said.
It is not yet clear if latest application by TRP will result in a public resource consent hearing.
The controversial site was recently hit with an abatement notice from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), after council called in the authority in January to take over its investigation of the site.
It followed a string of complaints and previous abatements in 2023, including neighbours raising concerns about a pungent smell.
The EPA slapped down an abatement in mid-March after finding contaminated leachate water collected in a landfill cell at the site was being released from a sediment pond.
Taylorville Resource Park has three months to meet the "required environmental standards". In the meantime, the landfill is allowed to operate, the EPA said on March 18.
LDR approached Taylorville Resource Park on April 18 for comment on its latest applications.
A WorkSafe investigation into an incident at the site last August, in which two workers were overcome with gas, is still ongoing.
The landfill has now applied to bring the operation in line with the Class 3 Managed Fill guidelines under the Waste Management Institute New Zealand Technical Guidelines for Disposal to Land.
It is also seeks to vary its discharge consent for water containing "landfill leachate", and a separate consent to discharge landfill gas to air.
The periods sought are for 25 years.
A bundle of documents lodged with council include a discharge to air assessment by Davis Ogilvie for Taylorville Resource Park in February this year.
It says the potential for gas generation at the site was originally assessed to be "less than minor" in 2021, and possible adverse effects beyond the site were thought to be unlikely at the time.
What had subsequently emerged could be attributed to:
* Expansion of the site beyond the area originally assessed;
* The deposit of "a large volume" of shredded gib board;
* Disposal of tomato vine material, which may have accelerated hydrogen sulphide gas;
* Issues with the leachate drain and sump from one of the site's cells leading to about 1.5m of water ponding in the base.
Davis Ogilvie also said gas generation at the site could increase when demolition gib board material was crushed, compacted or hit by rainwater.
Repair of a sump to limit water ponding in a dump cell, sealing of the leachate discharge system to minimise emissions, and installation of a gas treatment system to absorb gas had all been undertaken to try and fix the issue.
The documents also include an asbestos management plan and an assessment of environmental effects (AEE) from May 2023.
The assessment notes planning and hazard information held by the Grey District Council did not consider the site "prone to landslides".
Another memorandum backgrounds Taylorville Resource Park's desire to simplify the acceptance of contaminated soil at the site to move beyond the current case by case basis requiring council approval, which it says is onerous.
It noted existing lined cells and the collection and treatment of leachate at the site exceeded current monitoring and engineering requirements.
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
An increase in staff numbers to nearly 90 at the West Coast Regional Council is defensible, says its chief executive.
It follows finger pointing by former chairperson Allan Birchfield who tried to pin down CEO Darryl Lew during an April meeting on … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
An increase in staff numbers to nearly 90 at the West Coast Regional Council is defensible, says its chief executive.
It follows finger pointing by former chairperson Allan Birchfield who tried to pin down CEO Darryl Lew during an April meeting on the exact number of staff he employed.
This week Birchfield said the figure was around 60 back in April 2022 at council, including West Coast Civil Defence Emergency Management staff.
Lew initially said the number of staff was somewhere in the 70s before acknowledging it was nearer 80; he promised to forward the exact numbers after the meeting.
On April 16, Lew said any suggestion of a significant increase of staff at the small council is not credible.
"I reject that the staff numbers in this organisation have increased significantly. They have not.
"This organisation has been carrying a substantial vacuum and in the past has had trouble recruiting. As a result I have had to employ contractors."
That practice going back several years had never been sustainable.
"It had got out of balance here because of the lack of ability to recruit."
Lew confirmed the council has 66 full-time staff, 17 part-time staff, and five casuals.
The council has struggled to retain or recruit staff for several years including having three chief executives in three years when Birchfield was chairperson, prior to his sacking a year ago.
Lew arrived at council last June as the fourth chief executive in four years.
Meanwhile, the elected council confirmed a policy of returning to in-house direct employment rather than relying on external contractors to plug gaps, particularly as it had to prove to Government it could manage the large Westport flood resilience contract build.
Lew said it was not easy to quantify the use of contractors in proportion to the permanent positions council needed but had been unable to fill.
"It's a very difficult question because they come in for projects and then go: it's a point in time."
However, Lew said the council was working towards having the expertise permanently on board.
"As a general trend, this organisation has been using over its history, and before I arrived, more contractors than I am comfortable with.
"Some have come with a very large price. For our ratepayers, its better and much more advantageous if we can employ in-house because it comes at a lessor cost," Lew said.
He said council would still need to employ contractors for specialised areas from time to time.
LDR has previously requested the cost to council of employing contractors. The council in a response early this year to a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request said the costs and numbers were difficult to separate from the CAPEX of council projects.
Lew said council recruiting had turned a corner in the past nine months and it was now "highly successful" in attracting "the right talent" across the organisation.
For example, the council has gone from having no in-house finance team last June to having four chartered accountants on staff.
Lew said the council also had its first charted engineer on board for at least 30 years. Senior engineering team leader Peter Blackwood, who is domiciled in the Bay of Plenty, is coming to council to lead a renewed in-house team.
Aaron Prendergast of the central North Island will continue act as corporate services manager for the first year of the 2024-34 Long Term Plan.
He has been consulting for council on its audit, systems review and Long Term Process since last year.
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