Contaminated Sites

The Council manages a list of sites in the region that are, or could be, contaminated, called the Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL). Each year, Regional Council staff visit and inspect a selection of these sites to check the information that is held for them and to verify whether or not they pose any significant threat to the environment and/or people.

In 2009, the Council set about making this information available to the public and has now released the HAIL data for Northland, covering land that has been used for activities that involved the use of hazardous substances. This list is available on the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.govt.nz/hail  The Council will continue to update and develop this database, including new sites as they are found.

Sheep in old trench style sheep dip.

Photo: Potentially contaminated sites, like the old sheep dip shown above, are listed on the Council's website.

Regional Council staff also monitor Northland's two operational landfills every three to six months, and all closed landfills annually. Surface water, groundwater and sediment samples are collected from sites adjacent to operational landfills. These samples are analysed for contaminants, such as heavy metals. All landfills monitored in 2008-09 complied with their consent limits and there was no evidence of any significant contamination to nearby land or waterways.