The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) said the Environment Court proceedings were not related to the retrospective consent application it recently lodged to allow the emergency discharge of treated wastewater now being released directly into the Shotover River.
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) lodged an application with the Environment Court in January seeking an enforcement order against the QLDC over its operation of the plant.
The court proceedings came after a more than a year-long investigation by the ORC when it issued the QLDC two abatement notices and 10 infringement notices since the start of last year.
After the matter was taken to court, with the plant’s disposal field still failing, the QLDC invoked emergency powers under the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the plant started discharging treated wastewater directly into the Shotover River.
The direct discharge was an urgent bid to stop creating ponds in the plant’s disposal field, which were attracting birds and creating a bird strike risk for nearby Queenstown Airport.
ORC environmental delivery general manager Joanna Gilroy said she could not comment on the nature of the mediation agreement reached at this stage as the matter was still before the court, but said the ORC remained ‘‘fully committed to the process’’.
‘‘A mediation agreement has been lodged with the court and the enforcement order application is still progressing.
‘‘Council remains committed to this process.’’
The QLDC was also tight-lipped yesterday.
‘‘The matter is still before the court and the mediation agreement between QLDC, ORC and QAC [Queenstown Airport Corporation] remains confidential,’’ a spokesman said.
‘‘The emergency works undertaken by council in accordance with s330 of the RMA are not a matter for the enforcement order proceedings.’’
Ms Gilroy said the ORC continued to process the QLDC application for the emergency works and had yet to determine whether further information was needed.
At this stage of the process, she could not yet say when the consent application for the emergency discharge would be open for public submissions.
However, sampling of the discharge entering the river showed it remained ‘‘highly treated’’.
‘‘ORC continues to closely monitor the site and undertake its regulatory role.
‘‘Council takes its role as regulator seriously and expects compliance from its consent holders and is engaged in a process for this site to ensure compliance is achieved.’’
