Grey council asks Ministry to investigate dump above water supply
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
The Grey District Council has asked the Ministry for the Environment to investigate the process that led to a company being given consents for a private dump directly above the Greymouth water treatment plant.
Mayor Tania Gibson says her council is not satisfied the Taylorville Resource Park landfill is safe and has not been able to resolve the issue of how consents were granted, by the West Coast Regional Council.
Neither the council nor the dump’s neighbours, nor local iwi were consulted when the WCRC consented to the dumping of demolition and construction waste on private land at Coal Creek.
The company – whose directors are also directors of Timaru-based Paul Smith Earthmoving - was served with an abatement notice in March by the Environmental Protection Authority, after tests showed an unlined sediment pond was leaching contaminated water.
That notice was lifted this month after the company complied with orders to empty the pond and build a new lined one.
But Grey District mayor Tania Gibson says that does not go far enough.
“We believe the landfill should never have been consented for this sort of waste in the first place; who builds a dump ab ove a water supply these days? We’re unhappy that we weren’t considered an affected party and we’ve written to the Ministry for the Environment asking them to look into how that was allowed to happen.”
Her council had also written to the Ministry of Health alerting it to the potential hazard it believes the dump poses to public health.
“We all learned from Havelock North’s experience and we want to make sure the risks are known to the authorities – in case there’s a major landslide or earthquake and contaminated material comes down, and enters the water supply.”
The regional council had declined to give her council information about the investigation and monitoring process, citing legal advice, Mrs Gibson said.
“It’s been very frustrating when one council won’t share information with another - they asked us not to go to the Ministry, but they’ve left us no option."
Both the WCRC and Taylorville Resource Park Ltd. have been approached for comment.
*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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!
⚠️ 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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61.6% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
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