Pollution

Otago regional councillors deny suggestions their proposed enforcement process for those who continue to burn coal is too lax.

Rules requiring stock to be kept at least 3m from water-courses during intensive winter grazing are being enforced on all types of farms in Southland.

Cheap used cars imported from Japan have been the transport of choice for budget-conscious New Zealand motorists for almost a quarter of a century. But dealers who import the cars say the good times are about to end.

Do you hit people in the pocket or hit them in the lungs? That is the conundrum faced by the Otago Regional Council as it proceeds with much tighter rules for minimising air pollution.

The Otago Regional Council needed to become "accountable" to the Lakes district community in terms of its response to pollution, Mayor Vanessa van Uden said at a full council meeting in Queenstown on Tuesday.

How wood burners are used is a major contributor to winter air pollution in urban areas, new research is finding.

A wave of plastic-coated parking receipts washing up on Quarantine Island - some almost a decade old - shows something is not right in Otago Harbour, an island resident says.

A minor pollution spill on the Frankton Track went undetected last week after contractors mistook the cause as a blocked stormwater manhole and rotting tree matter.

Queenstown Lakes District Council infrastructure services general manager Mark Kunath said when the contractors first investigated a report of odour on January 18, they found a blocked stormwater manhole, which was cleared.

A minor pollution spill on the Frankton Track went undetected last week after contractors mistook the cause as a blocked stormwater manhole and rotting tree matter.

Queenstown Lakes District Council infrastructure services general manager Mark Kunath said when the contractors first investigated a report of odour on January 18, they found a blocked stormwater manhole, which was cleared.

More detailed tests for contamination in the sand dunes at Dunedin's Middle Beach have been completed and with results are expected within days, Dunedin City Council staff say.