'Dirty dirt' issue hits the North Shore

The soil contamination issue is about to hit North Shore property owners.

City councillors will today be given a report which identifies about 2000 North Shore sites which could potentially be contaminated.

Although the report does not give the exact locations, it does identify old horticultural sites in the Albany Basin, Wairau Valley, Northcote, Beachhaven, Glenfield and Birkdale which could be affected by pesticides from the mid 1900s.

A final report is expected in a couple of weeks, but councillors are being asked this week to decide if information should be recorded on the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) reports of the potentially affected sites.

Senior environmental policy adviser Phill Reid has recommended the council await a pending Crown Law opinion on the LIM matter before making any decision.

The council is expected to accept his recommendation, rather than follow in the Auckland City Council's footsteps.

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs called for the legal opinion last month after Auckland started recording information about the potential contamination on the reports of nearly 5000 properties without proof.

That decision prompted widespread anger and the council was eventually forced to stop tagging the property reports after the effects of the "dirty dirt" scare started having an impact on the property market.

Last night North Shore Mayor George Wood his council would not be making the same mistake on the soil contamination matter.

"I have looked very closely at the work these planners have been doing in relation to the identification of these particular sites. I think it's very tenuous, the degree of certainty from site to site, so I'm not going to be seeing our council dive into it like other councils have done."

Mr Wood said information should not be recorded on property reports without proof of actual contamination. That proof needed to come from soil testing.

"I just think that we have to tread warily in relation to slapping any notifications on a LIM."

What is not yet clear is what kind of soil testing programme will be conducted or when. Mr Wood has, however, indicated it will not be at the expense of the council.

The Government has offered to step in and help pay for testing, which can cost between $2000 and $3000 a property, in Auckland City. The offer is expected to be extended to the North Shore.

SOIL CONTAMINATION

About 2000 sites identified on the North Shore - Albany Basin, Wairau Valley, Northcote, Beachhaven, Glenfield and Birkdale.

The North Shore Council will vote today on whether to tag potential contamination on property reports.

Nearly 5000 properties already identified in Auckland City and 3000 in Waitakere City.

Manukau City hasn't investigated contamination yet.