Burning landfill owner in Waikato has deadline to take action

By Phil Pennington of RNZ

The owner of a Waikato garbage dump that has been on fire for months was ordered to put a plug of soil in it.

A fire that has burned underground since August at the Puke coal dump, west of Huntly, is defying attempts by a powerful local and central government team to put it out.

The Waikato Regional Council wants a half-meter-deep layer of soil or clay to be put on the fire within fifteen days.

He has also directed the landfill owner to dispose of any bulk plastic.

Another abatement notice has been issued to a trucking company to stop dumping prohibited waste on the site.

The landfill owner, John Campbell, has failed to comply with some reduction notices, the regional council said.

It has not responded to RNZ requests for comment.

Two abatement notices issued Nov. 4 “direct the landlord to remove all bulk plastic and other prohibited waste from the property within the next two weeks,” the council said.

“Once this is done, the owner is required to cover the fire with 500mm of clean earth or clay.”

Fire and Emergency NZ said in a meeting with the multi-agency team this week that it was unsure how to put out the fire, according to locals in attendance.

Fenz has referred RNZ inquiries to the regional council that leads the multi-agency team.

The team is informing the offices of the Ministers of the Environment and Local Government about the fire.

The council promises follow-up

The council has also told Campbell to “immediately reject any cargo that does not meet the landfill consent conditions.”

This would be monitored and the breach would be part of an ongoing investigation, he said.

“Failure to comply with a reduction notice creates a violation under the RMA that can potentially provide penalties under the law.”

In mid-October, the trucking company was told to stop removing any waste prohibited by resource consent, which is held by Puke Coal.

The regional council declined to identify the company.

Water tests have found no anomalies that could be related to fire.

The Waikato District Council aims to do more testing over the next week.

The regional council is doing air tests.

“There were no exceedances of the World Health Organization guidelines during the month that the tests for fine particles were performed,” he said.

More air tests would expand the pollutant it seeks, he added.