Govt help sought with Tiwai waste

Tracy Hicks
Tracy Hicks
Thousands of tonnes of stockpiled waste from the Tiwai aluminium smelter are  being described as a "hot potato no-one wants to hold".

Southland’s mayors have written to the Government asking it to step in and find an urgent solution, but the Government does not seem keen to pay for the disposal.

In total there are at least 22,000 tonnes of Ouvea premix in piles in Mataura and Invercargill, and there  could be more around Southland.

The problem was created by Tiwai processor Taha International, which went bust 18 months ago and was then left by its liquidators, who walked away just before Christmas.

A Gore District Council consent to keep 10,000 tonnes of the partially-treated smelter dross in the former Mataura paper mill expired yesterday.

Gore council regulatory manager Ian Davidson-Watts said the district had been left with a major problem.

"This is like a hot potato. No-one wants to hold it too long."

Many people opposed the granting of the consent two years ago because in an extreme flood on the Mataura River, the waste could mix with water and give off toxic ammonia fumes.

Extra flood protections and safety requirements were put in place.

The expiring consent could not be extended, so the waste’s owner  would have to apply for a new one if it stayed there, but the council  was not sure who the owner actually was, Dr Davidson-Watts said.

"Most assets would fall to the Crown.

"This [is] perhaps being seen as a liability, [so] we will need to talk to the Crown about their position."

The region’s mayors have written to the Ministers of Finance and Environment asking for urgent talks to find the $4 million needed to get the waste processed overseas.

Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks said the council would be doing everything in its power to get rid of the substance.

"Our focus has been and will continue to be the protection of the community and environment.

"Ultimately, we want to see the premix gone from Mataura. However, it will take time."

At an urgent meeting on Wednesday senior councillors resolved that, subject to confirmation from its legal advisers, the council would seek a declaration from the Environment Court as to who was responsible for the storage of the premix.

The council was also in discussions with a company that proposed to remove and dispose of the premix offshore.

Council chief executive Steve Parry said there was a definitive offer on the table.

There was a cost involved and the council would work with other interested parties to secure a funding package.

"We have to remember this is not just a Mataura or Gore District Council problem, it’s a Southland problem."

The council will continue to monitor ammonia levels and flood protection measures will remain in place.

Southern Storage Ltd, the owner of the mill where much of the waste is stockpiled, said it was the Crown’s problem, because under law it now owned the material.

"The only way this can be solved is if the Government comes to the party," company spokesman Michael Laws said.

But the Government is so far denying this.

"The Government is hoping for a local solution and it has no current plans to pay for the disposal," a spokesperson told RNZ.

New Zealand First MP Mark Patterson said locals were trying their best, but the Government would have to help."

There’s a lot of everyone wanting someone else to take responsibility, and that’s clearly not good enough for the people of Mataura who are sitting on a toxic dump right by their river, so we have to sort this out."

The Government probably had the legal responsibility, but the Tiwai smelter had the moral responsibility and would have to help too, Mr Patterson said.

— RNZ, additional reporting Debbie Porteous

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