A judge has advised an industrial waste processor to consider abandoning its fight to continue running a polluting composting works in Taranaki, and instead focus on cleaning up the site.
Photo: screenshot
Remediation New Zealand appealed to the Environment Court after it was denied resource consents for the Urutī site last year, following repeated consent breaches.
At the end of a week hearing evidence, Judge Laurie Newhook advised the company to reassess the future direction of its appeal.
He said the company needs to complete detailed future management plans and that the court would demand a substantial bond for any work on the site.
With the bond so expensive, and Remediation NZ's financial heft relatively small, Judge Newhook said the company needed to think carefully about the way forward and whether the fight was worth it.
The main issue at Urutī is a 20,000-tonne stockpile of oil and gas drilling mud containing arsenic, hydrocarbons and chemical additives, some of it mixed with unauthorised treated-timber sawdust.
While its legal appeal is still active, Remediation NZ is allowed to carry on working at the site 40 kilometres northeast of New Plymouth.
Judge Newhook expressed horror after viewing the contaminated stockpile during a visit to the remote site on Monday, along with two Environment Court Commissioners.
"Dealing with the site could be a very, very expensive thing: we were frankly horrified at what we saw."
The consenting authority Taranaki Regional Council is a respondent to the appeal, along with objectors to the Urutī plant - Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga iwi and Urutī Community Parties, a coalition of three community groups.
Judge Newhook said if the respondents could negotiate an agreed exit plan with Remediation NZ, he would return to hold a settlement conference.
Otherwise the Environment Court - which the judge earlier described as in a workload "crisis" - would struggle to return to complete the "highly complex" hearing before the end of the year.
Apart from the stockpile, the court is also investigating the environmental and cultural impacts of chemicals leaking from the site, and offensive odours that neighbours say have made them sick.
The court fell behind its own schedule this week as lawyers for the four parties cross-examined panels of expert witnesses.
After the hearing, Remediation NZ managing director Kerry O'Neill was frustrated at the pace, but tight-lipped.
"There's still a lot of evidence to be heard, but it's an ongoing process and we are making progress."
The community alliance is led by John McLean of the North Taranaki Awa Protection Society, Sarah Roberts from Taranaki Energy Watch and Rodney Baker from the Urenui and District Health Group - who is also a trustee of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga.
They also were wary of saying too much as the case continued, but issued a statement.
"Urutī Community Parties are pleased the court process is finally underway… and feel that although progress was made much is still unresolved."
"It was disappointing that odour issues were not heard this time. We are hoping that the next court days will be soon despite the load on the Environment Court."
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
