Posted: 06 December 2005
Consents granted for Hihi sewage treatment plant
The Far North District Council (FNDC) has been granted resource consent to upgrade its Hihi Beach sewage treatment system.
A two-member Northland Regional Council Hearings Committee, chaired by Cr Lorraine Hill, heard the FNDC’s application for the consents required to upgrade the system at a hearing in Mangonui last month.
In a decision released recently, the Committee grants the FNDC three resource consents; to discharge treated wastewater to an unnamed tributary of Hihi beach, to discharge contaminants (mainly odours) to air and to discharge contaminants to ground via seepage.
The Committee says the FNDC has agreed to undertake several mitigation measures to reduce potential adverse effects from the system.
“It is considered that, provided the mitigation measures required by the conditions of the consent are implemented, the discharges will not compromise, or result in a degradation of water quality (both surface and groundwater) or air quality.”
Given the mitigation measures, consent conditions and a comprehensive monitoring programme, the discharges will result in “no more than minor adverse environmental effects”.
The consents expire in 17 years at the end of November 2022.