Bitterness among Maori tribes over Tauranga City Council's failure to decommission a sewage sludge pond has led to a plan to develop a cultural and environmental monitoring plan for Te Maunga's wastewater treatment works.
The proposed plan found favour at this week's wastewater management committee meeting of council and tangata whenua representatives.
It followed a formal apology last month by council chief executive Garry Poole at the council's failure to meet the target to decommission the sludge pond by September 2012. He said he understood the frustration among tangata whenua and gave an undertaking the council ''would not drop the ball in the future''.
Cultural concerns included sludge seeping into Rangataua Bay which had spiked to levels close to the maximum allowable after dredging the pond had pierced the natural crust that normally held back much of the pollutants.
Engineers outlined the steps already underway to decommission the pond, with the preferred option to be recommended to the council next month. The joint wastewater management review committee did not have decision-making powers.