[ad_1]
Controversial plans to build a giant waste dump in Auckland’s Dome Valley must be rejected due to cultural and environmental concerns, the council says.
It is the first time that Auckland City Council has publicly opposed plans by Chinese-owned private waste company Waste Management for a landfill, on land between Warkworth and Wellsford in North Auckland.
If approved, it would replace the Redvale landfill and power park at Dairy Flat, which is expected to reach capacity between 2026 and 2028.
The company promised that its new landfill would be green and said it was necessary for a growing Auckland.
READ MORE:
* Hundreds of people march in Auckland CBD for hīkoi protesting the Dome Valley landfill proposal
* Dome Valley Landfill: Rāhui placed despite lack of iwi support
* Living near a landfill is ‘horrible’ and bad for your health, says a North Auckland woman
* Wrath over proposed new landfill for Auckland’s deadly North Highway
But the valley’s iwi and landowners worry that any breach in the landfill lining could spill poison into the Hōteo River. The Hōteo flows into the already besieged port of Kaipara, where sedimentation is already wreaking havoc on marine life.
David White / Stuff
A hīkoi against the proposed Dome Valley landfill in July drew hundreds, paralyzing the streets of the CBD.
In July, hundreds of people marched through Auckland CBD to protest the plans, during a hīkoi organized by Te Runanga or Ngāti Whātua, hapū and community leaders from Fight the Tip, Save the Dome.
Now the Auckland Council has said it opposes the landfill, in a report prepared by independent planning consultant Mark Ross ahead of a resource consent hearing in November.
A two-month submission period drew 958 opposition from the public, while only 10 supported the plans.
“The reporting officer recommends, subject to the contrary or additional information being received at the hearing, that the request be rejected,” says the recently published report.
David White / Stuff
Protesters have fought the landfill since it was proposed in 2018, citing fears of adverse environmental effects.
Key issues analyzed in the report included cultural values, impact on freshwater and the surrounding ecosystem, sedimentation and air pollution, human health and environmental risks, traffic safety, and the rural character of the city. zone.
After reviewing expert assessments from Auckland Council specialists, Ross recognized that the site was suitable for a landfill because it was close to SH1, with plans for a roundabout to address traffic safety concerns.
The valley location was also good at mitigating noise and air pollution.
Ross also believed that the effects of sedimentation, stormwater runoff, and industrial and commercial activity were adequately addressed in the plans, which, in combination with the proposed measures to manage water and air pollution, would limit any risk. for human health.
David White / Stuff
Signage protesting the Dome Valley landfill is a common sight on StH1 between Warkworth and Wellsford.
However, Ross believed that the proposal did not have enough measures to prevent damage to the habitats of declining species such as Hochstetter’s frogs, fern, pristine crake, and the nationally important Australasian bittern (less than 250).
He believed that the true magnitude of the effects on wildlife would probably not be taken into account, which was “unacceptable.”
Cultural values were also important, however these could only be evaluated and discussed once presented to the commissioners by mana whenua at the hearing.
“The adequacy of the landfill in all other respects does not reduce the scale of the effects to a lesser level or allow them to be considered acceptable, nor does the likely positive effects.”
David White stuff.co.nz
Activists from the Anti-Dome Valley landfill lead hīkoi to Auckland’s Queen St.
An Auckland Council spokeswoman said Ross’s report was a recommendation and that the final decision on whether the landfill could be built will be made by independent commissioners following a resource consent hearing that will begin on November 9 at the City Hall of Warkworth.
