And a neighbour wants odour issues at the landfill dealt with or for the tip to close.
But of the four public submissions made regarding the Dunedin City Council’s bid for consents for the ongoing "use, extension, closure and aftercare" of the landfill, none were opposed.
The Otago Regional Council publicly notified the city council application for the continued use of the landfill until its closure at the end of the decade last month.
Adverse odour effects could be more than minor and there was uncertainty about the extent to which landfill leachate might affect nearby waterways, regional council senior consents planner Shay McDonald said in her notification recommendation report.
Submissions closed earlier this month — three were neutral and one was in support.
Otago Fish & Game councillor, and former Dunedin city councillor, Colin Weatherall provided the lone submission in support — but he said he had matters he wished to raise with the hearing panel, including odour, noise and leachate control now and in the future.
Landfill neighbour Colin Venables said his family and their business suffered from ongoing odour issues and unless they were dealt with, the city’s tip should close.
"Our position is that we want a massive improvement on odour control from the landfill.
"Our property has been subjected to foul odours coming from the site despite us reporting them to the landfill and lately the ORC pollution hotline many times over the last few years," he said.
Otago Fish & Game chief executive Ian Hadland said heavy industrialisation had had negative impacts on the health of Kaikorai Stream and Estuary for more than 100 years and further adverse effects needed to be avoided.
Mr Hadland noted the underlying assumption in the city council application was that the "leachate collection trench" would collect all the liquid seeping out of the landfill — but the council lacked evidence to back the claim up.
Fish & Game was calling for further investigation.
Additionally, the uncertainty around whether leachate was seeping out of the landfill was magnified because of "inadequate monitoring measures which may lead to unforeseen impacts on ecological health", Mr Hadland said.
A series of measures is listed in his submission to ensure the potential for leachate to enter the surrounding environment is addressed.
Consultancy Aukaha, on behalf of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, also raised concerns about the implications for the estuary’s health.
Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou accepted there was a need for continued waste disposal at the landfill until the planned Smooth Hill landfill at Brighton was ready to accept waste "and that there is a long-term, ongoing requirement to manage surface water run-off, leachate and landfill gas once the [Green Island landfill] closes".
The rūnanga called for the city council, along with mana whenua, to investigate the seeping of leachate into Kaikorai Stream and Estuary, to investigate the cumulative impacts of leachate on the nearby water bodies and to develop ways to "avoid or mitigate the impacts of leachate on the environment".
"The loss of leachate to the Kaikorai Stream and estuary would have more than minor impacts on the mauri of Kaikorai Stream and Estuary and the aspirations of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou to provide healthy habitat for mahika kai and taoka species."
