Work on clean-up of hazardous materials starts

A resource consent is given for large stacks of hazardous materials to be removed after the site's owners ignored a court order to clean up the place. Photo / Supplied

Initial work has begun to remove up to a million litres of hazardous materials from a Northland site after its owners and operators failed to take action despite court orders.

Solvents and industrial chemical waste are stored in old, damaged, rusty and leaking drums and containers on the property, posing significant risks to the environment.

The Whangārei District Council has awarded a tender to InterGroup Limited to safely take the solvents to a disposal or recycling facility, and the Northern Regional Council has issued resource consent.

The councils, the Ministry of Environment, Environmental Protection Authority and WorkSafe are sharing the cost of the clean-up, which is expected to be substantial.

Efforts would be made to recoup costs from the site operators and owners.

Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) got resource consent in June 2008 to store up to 50,000 litres of solvents and chemicals and to operate a recycling plant.

The land was subdivided and the area the resource consent applied to was transferred to Sustainable Solvents.

Separate regional council consents allowing SWM for discharge to air were later transferred to Sustainable Solvents. No consents have been granted to discharge on to land or into water.

The Environment Court issued interim and later final enforcement orders against Sustainable Solvents Group, Sustainable Solvents and its owner, Brian Smith, Solvent Services New Zealand and its directors, John Manus Pretorius and Aaron Baldwin.

They ignored the orders and the court then granted consent to WDC to remove the waste and bill the owners.

WDC initially applied for a 35-year term of the resource consent but later reduced that to 30 months because it did not want to be liable for the site once the clean-up was done, said regional council consents manager Stuart Savill.

"Given the circumstances surrounding the requirement for these consents, this is a reasonable request. Once the consents expire, it will be the responsibility of the site owner to gain consent for the discharge from the impervious area, and to gain any other consents that may be necessary for the future use of the site."

Smith has yet to return messages left on his mobile and at his home for comment as to why the court orders had not been complied with, and whether he was in a position to refund the cost of the clean-up.