Hamilton plans to roll over waste bylaw with only minor changes as Three Waters reforms loom

Hamilton’s Pukete Wastewater Treatment Plant Stage 3 upgrade began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2024.

The Hamilton City Council is asking for feedback on proposed changes to its Trade Waste and Wastewater Bylaw.

The bylaw, developed in 2016, aims to better protect the city’s wastewater network, prevent overflows and protect the city’s important wastewater treatment processes.

The bylaw sets out what is and is not allowed into the city’s wastewater network. It gives clarity on everyone’s responsibilities in using the wastewater system. It provides clear direction to trade waste consent holders and tanker waste operators regarding their responsibilities over how trade waste is disposed of into the wastewater system.

The council is required to regularly review all its bylaws to ensure they are fit for purpose.

“The current bylaw provides council with a framework to manage discharges to the network,” says the council’s Three Waters Unit director Maire Porter.

“This review provides an opportunity for the council to check in on how it’s working.”

As part of the review, the city council asked for feedback from trade waste consent holders and tanker waste operators as well as the regional council and local iwi, to ensure the bylaw was fit for purpose and protected and respected the waterways.

The feedback identified a few minor issues which the council says can be managed within the bylaw as it is, or through other council processes. As a result of the review, the council proposed to only make minor changes to ensure the bylaw met legislative changes that have occurred since 2016.

The Government’s Three Waters Reform will shift responsibility for Three Waters services from councils to new entities from July 1, 2024. Legislation to enable the entities came into force in December, with further legislation now going through Parliamentary processes.

Council bylaws relating to the management and provision of water services could be managed differently under the new entity structure.

More significant changes to the bylaw would incur additional cost and time and result in a bylaw that may be managed differently under the new structures.

Making only minor changes to the existing bylaw would maintain the council’s ability to manage trade waste until legislative powers are transferred to the new entity. Should there be any change to Government’s timelines or direction for the Three Waters reforms, the council has the option to revisit the bylaw at any time.

The scope of the bylaw includes mortuary waste, which is discharged into the wastewater system. As part of the review, the council has not made any changes to how mortuary waste is currently managed. The council says it will be working with industry and iwi partners to investigate if there are other ways to manage this kind of waste, and wants to know what the public thinks about the proposal to roll the bylaw over with only minor changes.

People can provide feedback from now until March 17. See the full bylaw online or read a hard copy at the Hamilton City Council offices at 260 Anglesea Street or any Hamilton City Libraries branch.

Find out more and have your say here.