Discharge of milk allowed for Westland Milk Products

Photo / File

Westland Milk Products has been granted a renewed consent by the West Coast Regional Council to discharge milk waste to land from its Hokitika factory.

Council consents and compliance manager Colin Helem said the application, to discharge milk and milk by-products to land where it may enter water, was to renew the previous consent which was due to expire.

The non-notified consent allows the company to discharge onto areas at Ngāi Tahu Forestry's Mahinapua, Kaniere, Waimea and Nemona forest blocks.

This was one of 15 non-notified consents issued by the regional council during March.

Another will allow Trustpower to carry out improvements to the nearly 90-year-old Arnold River power scheme.

Trustpower sought consents for earthworks to disturb the Arnold riverbed, temporarily divert water, discharge sediment to water and contaminants to land, and strengthen the dam, built in 1932.

Roa Mining was given consent to further develop its open-cast coalmine at Roa.

This includes earthworks including vegetation clearance and disposal of waste rock in and out of riparian margins on the company's Rajah Block.

It was also consented to disturb the bed and banks of Monarch and Otto creeks and their tributaries to construct diversion channels and deposit waste rock at Rajah; to divert the incidental take of surface/rainwater around the workings and pit at the same site;
discharge water with contaminants to water.

Helem said the Roa consent required settling ponds.

"There have been quite a few issues recently which we have dealt with."

A limited notified resource consent was granted to West Coast Bulk Logistics Ltd, associated with Westland Mineral Sands (WMS), which is awaiting resource consent for its proposal at Cape Foulwind to extract heavy mineral concentrate which it wants to ship from Westport using coastal barges.

The consent would allow West Coast Bulk Logistics to discharge contaminants to water associated with the ship to ship transfer of heavy metal concentrate and other bulk materials, from the Karamea Bight to Greymouth.