A proposed solar sludge-drying plant near Luggate has gained approval from independent commissioners.
Fulton Hogan applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for land use consent to establish the glasshouse-style facility on a 46.5ha site on the Luggate-Tarras road.
The company also applied to the Otago Regional Council to discharge contaminants into the air from the facility, which will process secondary sewage sludge from Wanaka's Project Pure treatment plant at Wanaka Airport.
After a hearing last month, commissioners Kevin Rolfe, John Lumsden and David Whitney granted consent to both applications for the requested period of 35 years, subject to a series of conditions.
The commissioners considered any adverse effects of the proposal would be minor and could be satisfactorily mitigated through the consent conditions.
The proposed activity would be appropriately located in a visual amenity landscape and there would be significant positive effects on the environment, they said.
The process would convert secondary sewage sludge into a nutrient-rich fertiliser and would avoid the discharge into the air of greenhouse gases from sludge at the Victoria Flats landfill at Gibbston, to where the material is transported at present.
The proximity of the new facility to the Project Pure plant would also considerably reduce transport requirements for the sludge.
Up to four trucks a day would travel a round trip of 14km between Project Pure and the new facility, compared with the same number of trucks travelling a round trip of 140km to the Victoria Flats landfill.
The Luggate community had stated its preference to locate the new plant at the Project Pure site.
However, the commissioners noted Fulton Hogan did not own land near Project Pure and height restrictions within the Wanaka Airport zone would mean the facility would need to be dug into the ground, preventing sunlight from reaching the sludge.
Fulton Hogan had also noted the proposed facility would cause aviation safety hazards if located close to the airport.
Conditions of the consents include that sludge received at the site must not cause an objectionable odour beyond the property boundary; cannot be stored outside the solar drying facility; must be mechanically turned and ventilated to minimise odour; and must be received within 24 hours of its dewatering at Project Pure as its freshness will mean there is minimal odour.
