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John Hawkins / Things
A warning from Ouvea Premix at Mataura Paper Mill along the Mataura River
The class six hazardous substance that is stored in a warehouse in Mataura will be disposed of abroad, but not before Christmas.
Alernate Environment Judge Laurie Newhook issued a minute on Friday, saying she was “ hopeful that the accelerated disposal of Mataura’s ouvea premix will soon begin, to be placed in suitable containers for the safe storage of the product in awaiting removal abroad.
“As will be evident, this obviously will not be completed by Christmas as expected.”
The minute comes after “a period of intense activity and an enormous amount of work by the parties, which is reviewed every few days by the Court.”
READ MORE:
* Judge: Mataura’s hazardous substance removal may begin next week
* Ouvea premix could be withdrawn from Mataura as soon as Christmas
* ‘Excellent progress’ on plan to phase out Mataura premix
* Judge: Mediation on the property of the Mataura premix advances
Newhook said the problems encountered in recent weeks were “complex but not, in my current assessment, intractable.”
In previous minutes posted by Newhook, I expected all of the ouvea premix to be removed by Christmas.
Court-assisted mediation took place in Invercargill between the Environmental Defense Society and New Zealand aluminum smelters in early September, and negotiations between the parties have been ongoing ever since.
The company filed a declaration procedure in the Christchurch Environmental Court in July on the storage of the premix, which is a class 6 hazardous substance that releases ammonia gas if it gets wet.
Procedures will determine if NZAS is responsible for disposing of the premix.
