Two local authorities in Southland are in dispute over a project to restore a former landfill site.
The Gore District Council and Environment Southland will meet next month to resolve a difference of opinion about the former Gore landfill site.
The matter has been referred to the Environment Court.
Background to the disagreement was tabled in a report from interim chief executive Stephen Parry at last week’s district council meeting.
In the report, Mr Parry said the council received a telephone call and then a follow-up email in July this year from an Environment Southland staff member, expressing concern about the council placing large volumes of clean fill material and green waste at the former landfill site.
The concerns related to whether it was appropriate to use the material as a cap for the landfill, the control of stormwater from the site, and the possible production of leachate.
"Given that the rehabilitation of the former Gore landfill has been in progress since its closure in 2005, the concerns of Environment Southland came as quite a surprise."
Despite attempts to convince Environment Southland the council was complying with its 2005 resource consent, an abatement notice was issued on August 14.
The notice required the council to cease discharge of clean fill and redirect it to an approved facility immediately.
The council filed a request under the Resource Management Act 1991 for Environment Southland to cancel the abatement notice.
However, this was not successful and the abatement notice was amended to include green waste also.
The council lodged an appeal to the Environment Court against the abatement notice and asked for a suspension of the notice.
The court approached Environment Southland to find out if it would oppose the application for a suspension of the notice but received no reply.
In her October 16 decision, Environment Court Judge Prue Stevens granted the suspension of the notice and directed mediation between the parties.
Speaking to his report, Mr Parry said he thought it was time the situation was made public.
Capping the landfill with clean fill and green waste and then planting native trees on top seemed like "the ultimate environmental outcome".
"We are disappointed that the abatement notice option has been used in the absence of any compelling evidence that environmental harm has been caused."
The council was applying for another resource consent and mediation would take place on December 12.
"It is hoped these two events may actually ultimately resolve the issue."
During the discussion Cr Stewart Macdonell asked the council’s critical services general manager Jason Domigan how the site would be capped if clean fill and green waste could not be used.
Mr Domigan said the original consent was 20 years old and did not have "great guidance in terms of that landfill remediation".
"It is standard practice to use a clean fill and then using green waste as a mulch to then cap that and that is quite consistent going across the country. We see it as an option to use those items to finish off that process."
