Hawke's Bay company charged over acid spill that council says killed small fish, peeled eels

A Napier company has been charged under the Resource Management Act after a hydrochloric acid spill earlier this year. Photo / Paul Taylor

A Napier company has been charged with breaches after an acid leak that authorities say killed hundreds of small fish.

The hydrochloric acid leak was also alleged to have caused some eels' skin to peel.

Galvanising Hawke's Bay has been charged under the Resource Management Act with discharging a contaminant onto or into land in circumstances which may result in that contaminant (or any other contaminant emanating as a result of natural processes from that contaminant) entering water.

A Galvanising Hawke's Bay spokesperson says they will make a public statement after court proceedings have commenced.

It followed an investigation into pollution of a Thames St stream leading into the Ahuriri Estuary on February 5 this year.

A council statement says that prior to filing the charges, the council and the Napier City Council discussed the severity of the incident and its impact on the tributary leading to the inland waterways, known historically as Te Whanganui-a-Orotu.

Napier City Council was giving full support to the HBRC in laying the charge, the statement said.

The charges have a maximum applicable fine of $600,000.

The spill sparked a significant emergency response. Photo / Paul Taylor

Regional Council group manager of policy and regulation Katrina Brunton said: "Both councils are united in the position that any operator who causes damage to the estuary and environment at Ahuriri needs to be met with the highest possible enforcement response."

"While led by the Regional Council, this is a joint effort by Napier City and the Regional Council, where the two councils have committed to establish a Regional Park at Ahuriri, to improve the estuary," she said.

Hawke's Bay Today reported in March that hundreds of small fish and some eels had skin peeling from their bodies after an acid spill.

Officials at the time pinpointed an alleged hydrochloric acid at the Galvanising Hawke's Bay industrial site, calculating a spill of 1000 litres.

A six-month investigation followed and the charge was laid last month and is currently set to be called in Napier District Court in October.