A confidential plan of the Queenstown-Lakes District Council to discharge the treated sewage on the Shotover river, promulgating “emergency powers” under the resource management law, was revealed by a counselor.
Photo: UNSPLASH / BULB CREATIVE
- A Queenstown counselor revealed a confidential board plan to unload the treated sewage on the Shotover river
- The elected members were informed about the closed -door plan last week during negotiations on their response to “Disposal Field Performance questions” at Shotover wastewater treatment plant
- The board says that the details of the workshop excluded the public due to “legal procedures in progress” with the Regional Board of Otago
- The Queenstown-Whakatipupa wing counselor Niki Gladding
A Queenstown advisor is accusing his advice of “confidentiality” and underground tactics about his plan to promulgate emergency powers to deflect the sewage treated into the Shotover river.
The elected members were informed to closed doors last Thursday, with the council team revealing that he would pour more than 12,000 cubic meters of effluent in Rio daily from this week.
The District of Queenstown-Lakes said it was planning to update the public in the coming days, but confirmed that emergency discharges have not yet started.
A door -vo said that the council would not comment until then.
After the workshop, the board said the discussions were in response to the performance of the disposal field at the wastewater treatment plant.
The Otago Regional Council filed a request to the Environmental Court in January to seek an execution order against the District Council around “aspects” of plant operations.
There are provisions under section 330 of the Resource Management Law that allows authorities to use emergency powers, replacing the need for resource consent.
Counselor Niki Gladding said they were informed that the discharges would take place in “three to seven days” of the last Thursday briefing.
She asked the board to rethink a plan that put them in “significant risk” of prosecution.
“We have passed these powers to our Chief Executive to use very carefully and we hope the board will not be endangered.
“But I think that does just that.”
The council referenced three emergencies, including an aviation risk due to a poultry increase in the lagoons of the treatment plant, along with a “health and health emergency emergency.”
“My instant reaction was that this was a little opportunistic,” said Gladding.
“Suddenly we have an emergency at a time when we just finished mediation.
“It seems a very convenient way to make some of these questions disappear.”
Last week, Board’s General Manager of Property and Infrastructure, Tony Avery, said the treatment of wastewater at the factory remains in force.
The General Manager of the District Council of Queenstown District Council, Tony Avery.
Photo: RNZ / MARIKA KHABAZI
“Stover WWTP continues to produce highly treated water at the end of several processes that are working well,” he said.
The advice said “bird attack” was an issue that Queenstown airport was running in its daily operation, like other airports worldwide.
But Gladding said the use of a potential bird strike problem to deal with in particular with in progress issues “was not right.”
“The fact that you are not telling anyone makes it very difficult for someone to oppose it,” she said.
“IWI is fighting because they have not received the information that it was promised and that they need to take their next steps.
“Everything seems quite strategic and very exhausted.”
She said she looked like the discharges were not a temporary solution and could be undefined.
“My understanding is that the treated effluent will be discharged in Rio for the next five years or even having another long -term discharge solution.
“There may be no other practical land discharge solution.”
Hokonui Rūnanga’s Hokonui Gate, Darren Rewi, said the situation required urgent attention.
“Hokonui Rūnanga will discuss this underground action as opposed to a solution to Marama and Aukaha in the second.”
Regional Council Executive Director Richard Saunders said he was not informed by the District Council on the potential use of emergency powers.
“The Resource Management Act includes provisions for emergency works and we hope that the QLDC would guarantee that any action taken will be consistent with the law.”
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