West Coast Regional Council busy with environmental complaints

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:

Everything from coal dust at Stillwater to rubbish being burned in 44-gallon drums has attracted complaints to the West Coast Regional Council over summer.

Compliance staff undertook 85 site visits in the two months to the end of January, staff reported to the Resource Management Committee today.

Seven related to public complaints, 16 were for mining compliance and bond release checks, five for resource consent monitoring, and 57 dairy farm checks.

Compliance staff found several drums with rubbish burning at a Franz Josef site and they offered some guidance to the offender.

A tyre fire on Caribou Rd at Ikamatua is also under the council's gaze following a request from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, which extinguished the blaze.

A complaint about excess coal dust entering houses near the coal transfer station adjoining the Stillwater railway yard was upheld.

Staff found a lot of dust had settled on the windowsills of the complainant, resulting in the site manager agreeing to move water sprinklers at the coal loadout site to dampen the dust.

An associated transport company was also directed to ensure all trailers are covered when transporting coal in the area.

An old house being demolished near Franz Josef and illegally buried is under investigation.

"It was found that the house was buried on farmland without the appropriate consent."

The contractor had been asked to remove it to a consented dump but they had since applied "for a retrospective consent" to keep the remains on site.

Meanwhile, the council is keeping watch on stock in waterways on farms.

A Rotomanu farm pinged during a routine visit by council for three unbridged stock crossings had previously been reported and the farmer had yet to comply.

No further action was being taken about cows allegedly being in the Haast River early this month but the leaseholder had agreed to fence an area where cows were alleged to have been.

A complaint "by another agency" about earthworks at the old Seaview Hospital site was not upheld.

An allegation a Kaniere landowner was taking scrap metal to a mine site and burying it was not upheld.

Staff found the land being cleared was contaminated with scrap metal, which had been separated and was being loaded on to a truck by a scrap metal dealer.

Another compliant of a bad smell from a Hokitika transport firm yard over the new year break was found to be from the stock truck discharge sump; action was taken to mitigate that in future.

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