Mayor Tania Gibson has criticised the proximity of the dump to the town water supply.
Mrs Gibson has confirmed she has filed pre-hearing evidence with the court and said the Grey District Council was mounting a defence.
Timaru-based Taylorville Resource Park Ltd (TRP) filed the lawsuit about the middle of last year, and Mrs Gibson said the matter was now moving to court.
She said she stood by her right as the district’s elected civic leader to express concerns on behalf of the community.
The council had public liability insurance to cover the legal costs of defending the proceedings.
TRP was approached for comment and asked if it had participated in any mediation process with the council to resolve the matter before getting to court.
In a one-line statement, the company declined to say anything.
Last September, TRP presented arguments from experts suggesting the Coal Creek site in Taylorville Rd — on a terrace directly opposite the Greymouth water treatment plant — was no threat to the town water supply.
The hearing followed an application by TRP to resolve water run-off from the site.
The Grey District Council fought the application on the basis the private landfill sits directly above the water treatment plant.
It contended the site posed a risk to the water supply, especially in the case of a landslip or earthquake.
‘‘I’m not going to shut up — the community is behind me on this.
‘‘We don’t want the dump there and our submissions will be backed up by quality science and technical opinion.’’
Following the relevant consent hearing and having its application declined, TRP defended its position as ‘‘a good neighbour’’.
West Coast Regional Council commissioners David Caldwell and Anthony Cussins declined TRP’s application to discharge contaminated leachates from the landfill.
The commissioners largely agreed with the district council argument that granting the short-term consent sought could lead to ‘‘potentially very significant’’ effects on the nearby water supply.
The commissioners said they were not satisfied adverse effects on drinking water and cultural values would be ‘‘appropriately avoided or mitigated’’.
Afterwards, TRP spokeswoman Ellen Taylor said the decision was a setback but the company maintained it operated as a good neighbour.
It later confirmed it was not appealing the commissioners’ decision.
Mrs Gibson said the timing of the process to resolve the case was uncertain at this stage — ‘‘how long is a piece of string?’’ .
