Maraekākaho residents still fighting gravel quarry expansion bypassing consultation

Russell Aggregates, under Russell Roads, wants a significant expansion to quarry operations at Maraekākaho, but residents opposed to the quarry are concerned they will not be consulted. Photo / Warren Buckland

The company aiming to significantly expand its quarry operations in Maraekākaho says it will bring economic benefits to the region and meet demand.

However, the community living around it claims that the quarry is already failing to meet its consent obligations, creating safety issues and environmental concerns they say will only increase with a larger quarry.

They have fought, and lost, against the operation already, but this time they are worried they will not even be given the chance to speak. James Pocock reports.

Elected community group Focus Maraekākaho has put the call out for concerned community members to contact them about the consent application to expand Russell Roads’ Maraekākaho quarry.

It may be the only chance for some residents to have their voices heard on the matter if they hadn’t made a submission in 2019, when Russell Roads applied to place its river gravel processing plant alongside the Ngāruroro River.

The application to expand the quarry into a 29ha site that will haul 6.42 million cubic metres over the next 20 years was referred to the fast-tracking consenting process put in place during the Covid-19 response.

This means the application will be referred to an expert panel with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), without going through the usual council notification and consultation process.

Environment Minister David Parker approved referring the application, citing that the project would generate employment and facilitate the construction of roads and infrastructure in the region.

An Order in Council was gazetted June 12, but the EPA is now awaiting the application from Russell Aggregates owners RW and MC Gale Family Trust.

Mairi Fitzsimons, chairwoman of the elected community group Focus Maraekakaho, said she found out about the application in late July only by chance.

She said without public notification the process was lopsided in favour of the owners of Russell Roads, because they had many more months to prepare than residents and submitters against the proposal.

“It really concerns me that a lot of the community don’t even really know what is happening,” Fitzsimons said.

Sign protesting the quarry at Maraekākaho. Photo / Warren Buckland

Maraekākaho resident Megan Linnell said the quarry was not keeping to its obligations under the original consent it was granted in regard to noise, dust and landscaping.

“The noise, the dust, the hours, the vehicle movements. It is a huge concern to this district,” Linnell said.

“There is too much at stake, this must be public.”

Jenny Foote said her windscreen had been damaged by gravel coming off a truck last year.

“We were driving toward Maraekākaho from Valley Rd and got hit with what I can only describe as an onslaught of gravel onto my windscreen,” Foote said.

“The more we looked into it, the more we realised my story was not an isolated event.”

Novus Hastings employee Adam Gregory said of all places he had people with damaged windscreens come in from, the area around the Maraekakaho quarry was the most common.

“I wouldn’t say every week, but every couple of weeks we see someone with a damaged windscreen from near the quarry,” Gregory said.

Russell Roads CEO Gavin O’Connor said they have had two formal complaints about damaged windscreens in the vicinity of Maraekakaho.

“For our own quarry and vehicles, we have a mandatory check system where our drivers get out of the vehicle after being loaded, check tailgates and sweep away any debris — this removes the risk of stones falling from our vehicles,” O’Connor said.

“If anyone believes they have incurred damage as a result of deficiencies from our vehicles or drivers, we encourage them to contact us so we can resolve the issue with them. If we’re at fault — we will fix the issue.”

The EPA panel is required to consult only those who made a submission in 2019, adjacent landowners and a selection of organisations and people named in the Order in Council.

The act that allowed fast-track consenting was repealed on July 8, but projects that received an Order in Council before the date it was repealed still have six months to lodge their application with the EPA if they have not yet done so, according to a spokeswoman for the EPA.

O’Connor said in a statement on behalf of the family trust that owns the company that the application had not yet been lodged with the EPA.

“The trust intends to lodge an application for resource consent for the project with the Environmental Protection Authority later this year for consideration by a panel,” the statement said.

The statement said the expansion was in response to demand for aggregate supply across Hawke’s Bay and a decreasing availability from local rivers.

The expansion would be a land-based source of aggregate to help Russell Aggregates shift away from a river-based source

The statement said the trust was aware of community concerns but noted “many positive opinions associated with the proposal”.

“The trust values the community’s feedback on the project. The Ministry for the Environment has provided direction as to the parties to be consulted and the trust is actively reaching out to them,” the statement said.

“The trust is also working with a team of expert consultants to ensure that any potential environmental effects of the project are robustly assessed and managed, and is focused on effective end-of-life remediation.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz