The $12 million membrane biological reactor plant will be the first of its kind in the New Zealand dairy industry and only the third of its kind used anywhere in the world to treat waste.
Fonterra's moves caps off a stellar period of industrial investment in Clutha, coming just weeks after the district's other major industry, meat-works giant PPCS, confirmed $20 million worth of effluent and waste disposal improvements at its Finegand plant, 10km away on the other branch of the Clutha River.
The news was greeted with enthusiasm by both Fonterra and Otago Regional Council management, who met at the Stirling site to mark what both parties were calling a great day for the environment, a benchmark for other industries, and another valuable boost for the region's economy.
It comes almost two years to the day since both parties signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the river's water quality.
Fish and Game Otago was also impressed with the move. Newly appointed South Otago field officer Morgan Trotter said the Fonterra and PPCS developments were ‘‘good news for water quality on the Clutha''.
‘‘We're more than pleased to see these steps are being taken to improve water quality in areas where there have been issues in the past.''
Regional council chairman Stephen Cairns called the new plant ‘‘an absolutely magnificent development'', while plant manager Tony Smith said it was another solid sign of Fonterra's commitment to the Stirling plant and the Clutha area.
Construction has already started on the site at the eastern side of the factory.
The regional council is expected to provide the maximum allowable 35-year consent within the next few weeks.
Both parties have been working together for more than two years to find the best way to improve the quality of the waste discharge from the factory into the river. Their relationship has been testy at times, especially when the regional council, in early 2006, criticised the company for having what it called the worst quality discharge to a freshwater body anywhere in the world. All that was forgotten yesterday.
Regional council director of resource management, Dr Selva Selvarajah, said it was good news for the nation's largest river and it appreciated Fonterra making a substantial investment in bringing its water treatment process up to ‘‘the best international standards''.
‘We consider Fonterra Stirling's discharge as a significant discharge. The process we've gone through illustrates the successful and collaborative way a major industry and a regional council have worked towards an agreed outcome,'' he said.
The new plant will be tested in late October and commissioned in November.
The end result, Dr Selvarajah said, was wastewater with significantly reduced nutrient and bacteria levels. The plant discharges about 3500cu m of waste into the river every day through a pipe about 300m downstream from the Inch Clutha bridge about 2km from the factory.
The factory has 121 staff but Mr Smith said more staff would needed to monitor the treatment plant once it is operational.