Summer has seen no let-up in the number of dodgy environmental deeds investigated by West Coast Regional Council.
Westland Dairy Company is facing a fine for its wastewater discharges into Hokitika River. Photo: 123RF / Patrik Stedrak
The council hotline received fewer complaints over December and January, which was normal for the holiday period, consents and compliance manager Heather McKay reported this week.
But there were plenty of other complaints and incidents to keep staff on the hop, with a total of 121 site visits for compliance checks and potential problems.
One complaint about a smokey rubbish fire led to an infringement notice and fine for a person found to be burning car tyres and PVC pipes at Coal Creek.
A Greymouth resident was given a formal warning for taking dirty demolition waste from a burned down house and dumping a small amount at a site consented for clean fill. He was also told to remove the offending material.
Grey District Council will have a fine to pay after its Karoro wastewater plant overflowed from its wetland, spilling on to gravel. The council acted quickly to sort the problem but was served with an infringement notice.
Westland Dairy Company is also facing a fine for its wastewater discharges into Hokitika River.
A community group at Granity was found to be taking more water than their consent allowed to supply 28 homes. The group has been told to either apply for a variation to the consent or fix the pipe system so they comply.
A number of complaints were either not upheld, or are still under investigation.
The council will be taking no action about a complaint that several cows were seen on the bed of a river near Reefton. It has no rules forbidding stock access to waterways, outside of the Brunner catchment.
A complaint about blacksand mining close to the dunes at Hokitika also drew a blank; council staff found no evidence of damage to the dunes.
Staff checked out a complaint that a person was illegally excavating a creek at Hokitika and found they were clearing a drain, which is a permitted activity.
They are still investigating complaints from Mōkihinui that a gravel contractor damaged vegetation when a large crushing plant went on to the riverbed, and that a person cleared native bush while doing earthworks near the coastal marine area.
The owner of a four-wheel-drive vehicle stuck in the Deadmans Creek mouth has been found and ordered to remove it, following a complaint.
Over the two months, two farmers at Atarau and Hari Hari were served with formal warnings over the discharge of dairy effluent.
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
