Open Minutes
Commencing: Tuesday 7 December 2021, 9.30 am
Venue: Via Zoom (Audio Visual Meeting)
Chairperson: Cr Kevin Winters
Deputy Chairperson: Cr Norm Bruning
Members: Cr David Love
Cr Bill Clark
Cr Stuart Crosby
Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti
Chairman Doug Leeder
Cr Matemoana McDonald
Cr Jane Nees
Cr Paula Thompson
Cr Andrew von Dadelszen
Cr Te Taru White
In Attendance: Sarah Omundsen – General Manager Regulatory Services, Chris Ingle – General Manager Integrated Catchments; Namouta Poutasi - General Manager Strategy & Science; Reuben Fraser – Consents Manager; Greg Corbett - Biosecurity Manager; Marlene Bosch - Principal Advisor, Consents; Shane Iremonger – Team Leader Science; Alex Miller - Compliance Manager – Land & Water; Stephen Mellor - Compliance Manager – Air, Industry & Response; Reece Irving - Senior Regulatory Project Officer; Sam Weiss – Senior Regulatory Project Officer; Jackson Efford - Principal Advisor, Land & Water; Pim de Monchy - Coastal Catchments Manager; Helen Creagh – Rotorua Catchments Manager; Tone Nerdrum Smith – Committee Advisor
Graeme Marshall – Chair, Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party
Apologies: Cr Lyall Thurston, Cr Stacey Rose, Cr Paula Thompson (late arrival)
Chairperson’s Opening Statement
Cr Winters welcomed those present and advised that the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded, and that the recording would be made available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website following the meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wG8pqmCG28
1. Apologies
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Accepts the apologies from Cr Lyall Thurston and Cr Stacey Rose (both absence) and Cr Paula Thompson (late arrival) tendered at the meeting. CARRIED |
2. Public Forum
2.1 Mr Graeme Marshall – Update on Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party
Key Points:
· It had been 12 month since the Working Party had been established
· Recognised the challenges, however engagement with the community was positive and active
· A key challenge was the tension between groups seeking elimination vs mitigation
· Recognised the increase in air pollution complaints
· Opportunities for parties to meet and the creation of open dialogue was a positive outcome of the establishment of the working party
· Noted the beautification schemes that had commenced in the Mount Industrial area, driven by community groups
· The possible retreat of Whareroa Marae due to natural hazard risks was a particular and separate issue and had not formed part of the Working Party’s discussions
· Odour was an ongoing issue that was discussed at each meeting of the Working Party. Due to its nature, addressing the odour issue was challenging.
Key Points - Staff:
· Are working through what additional monitoring could be introduced in the adjacent residential areas, i.e. beyond the current industrial area monitoring
· Would bring back options regarding such monitoring at Committee meetings in 2022.
Key Points - Members:
· Recognised the positive mahi undertaken by the Working Party, and acknowledged the significant commitment made by Graeme as Chair.
3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
Item 5.8 - Land Management / Focus Catchments Highlights: Cr von Dadelszen – Chair, Kopurererua Valley Volunteer Group (Rotary).
4. Minutes
Minutes to be Confirmed
|
Monitoring and Operations Committee Minutes - 7 September 2021 |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: Confirms the Monitoring and Operations Committee Minutes - 7 September 2021 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
5. Reports
|
Chairperson's Report Presented by Councillor Winters, Sarah Omundsen – General Manager Regulatory Services, Chris Ingle – General Manager Integrated Catchments. Key Points: · Council was working closely with mana whenua of Motiti Island with regards to the implementation of the new Motiti Protection Area · Including mana whenua in the monitoring function was important to provide engagement and connection · Council had approached the Ministry for the Environment regarding impact of recent high court decision on mangrove management rules · Water testing was paid for by suppliers and any positive results were reported to the regulators (e.g. Regional Council) · Worked closely with territorial authorities regarding water supply/quality · Liquefaction risk analysis was being undertaken by Civil Defence Emergency Management and would be reported back to a future meeting of the Committee. Key Points - Members: · Recognised the challenges that the Three Waters Entities would face in the ongoing monitoring of water supply · Considered an assessment of sustainability of water supply in the Bay of Plenty should commence · Recognised the highly technical nature of researching surface flow vs ground water flows. |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report. CARRIED |
Decisions Required
|
Revised Regional Pest Management Plan Operational Plan for 2021 - 2022 Presented by Greg Corbett - Biosecurity Manager. Key Points: · Noted the procedural nature of adopting the Operational Plan following on from the adoption of the Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP) at the Council meeting in November 2021 · Budget allocations within the Operational Plan included external funding support, mainly from Jobs for Nature · Council had ownership of approximately 100ha of land with kauri trees, and was partnering with other organisations in the control of kauri dieback · Central Government was not bound by the RPMP as there was no ‘Good Neighbour’ provisions in place. However, Council was actively working with Crown agencies with regards to cross-boundary pest management. |
|
|
|
· Provide information regarding funding trends for pest management over the previous five years to the next meeting of the Committee. |
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Revised Regional Pest Management Plan Operational Plan for 2021 - 2022. 2 Approves the Revised 2021-22 Operational Plan for the Bay of Plenty Regional Pest Management Plan 2020 – 2030. CARRIED |
Information Only
|
Ballance Agri-Nutrients Limited Air Discharge Review Presented by Reuben Fraser – Consents Manager, Marlene Bosch - Principal Advisor, Consents; Shane Iremonger – Team Leader Science.Key Points: · Modelling exercises had identified three possible sites where air discharge could exceed the new lower levels, however the risk of such occurrence was considered low. |
|
|
|
· Air discharge trends for the period 2010 – current to be provided to elected members. |
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Limited Air Discharge Review. CARRIED |
10.37am – the meeting adjourned.
10.55am – the meeting reconvened.
|
Mount Maunganui Industrial Airshed Update Presented by Stephen Mellor - Compliance Manager – Air, Industry & Response; Reece Irving - Senior Regulatory Project Officer; Sam Weiss – Senior Regulatory Project Officer; Sarah Omundsen – General Manager Regulatory Services. 10.57am - Cr Thompson entered the meeting. Key Points: · Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) were no longer included as a firefighting substance, however it was not clear if its use had been formally prohibited · Timberlands Ltd debarked timber logs in Murupara, however large scale debarking was not always an option for smaller timber suppliers · Clarified the graphs pertaining to levels and distribution of pollutant particles/dust Key Points - Members: · Currently any logs exported to India required fumigation, which (to a lesser extent) was also a condition for timber export to China. This meant non-chemical debarking was not an option for these export markets. |
|
|
|
· Clarify the legality of the use of PFAS and advise elected members accordingly. |
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Mount Maunganui Industrial Airshed Update. CARRIED |
|
Rotorua Air Quality Implementation Programme Summary Presented by Marion Henton - Senior Regulatory Project Officer, supported by Shane Iremonger – Team Leader Science and Stephen Mellor- Compliance Manager. Key Points: · National environmental standards for air monitoring in the Rotorua Airshed had been met for the second year in a row · There was no national register for non-complaint woodburners and heat pumps, nor was there a requirement for owners to advise Council if the burners/heaters were removed · Regulations were in place preventing the installation of new (rather than replacements) woodburners in the Rotorua Airshed, and any new installations required a resource consent. |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Rotorua Air Quality Implementation Programme Summary. CARRIED |
|
An Overview of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines and Our Air 2021 Preliminary Data Release Presented by Stephen Mellor - Compliance Manager – Air, Industry & Response |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, An overview of the World Health Organisation (WHO) global air quality guidelines and Our air 2021 preliminary data release. CARRIED |
|
2020/2021 Regulatory Compliance Activity Report Presented by Alex Miller - Compliance Manager – Land & Water; Stephen Mellor - Compliance Manager – Air, Industry & Response Key Points: · On-site compliance monitoring visits were increasing, which was a reflection of previous years’ trend · Monitoring identified that compliance levels remained unchanged, i.e. above 80% · The number of hotline complaint calls had reduced and was being monitored to identify if this was the start of a trend · Staff were working through the implications of current statutory reforms and their impact on Council’s monitoring responsibilities · The timeframe in Courts from when charges were laid against non-compliance to an outcome being reached was currently 18-24 months · Notification to tāngata whenua regarding environmental incidents was becoming more proactive through increased levels of engagement, rather than being purely reactive. |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, 2020/2021 Regulatory Compliance Activity Report. CARRIED |
|
Land Management / Focus Catchments Highlights Cr von Dadelszen declared a conflict of interest as the Chair of the Kopurererua Valley Volunteer Group (Rotary) and abstained from discussion and voting, beyond asking questions of clarification. Presented by Jackson Efford - Principal Advisor, Land & Water; Pim de Monchy - Coastal Catchments Manager. Key Points: · Council was meeting its Deed of Funding milestones and obligations to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), with a recent audit confirming full compliance with deed conditions · Council would be trialling alternative and less expensive planting programmes in 2022 · Staff were working on linking the monitoring of the planting programme’s success with Council’s freshwater interactive engagement tool. |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Land Management / Focus Catchments Highlights. CARRIED |
|
Te Arawa Lakes Programme - Pūrongo ā-tau 2020-2021 Presented by Helen Creagh – Rotorua Catchments Manager Key Points: · Applications were still being received for the Incentives Scheme · Noted the finalisation and progress on implementation of the Lake Rotorua Nutrient Rules. Key Points - Members: · Suggested the creation of a simple and clear information sheet regarding the Rotoiti/Tarawera reticulation schemes that could be presented to the various ratepayer and interest groups' AGMs. |
|
|
|
That the Monitoring and Operations Committee: 1 Receives the report, Te Arawa Lakes Programme - Pūrongo ā-tau 2020-2021. CARRIED |
|
Resolution to exclude the public 1 Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting as set out below: The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
CARRIED |
7. Chairperson’s Announcement
The Chairperson drew elected members’ attention to Cr Lyall Thurston being shortlisted for the New Zealander of the Year award for his ongoing and successful efforts to get folic acid added to wheat flour.
12.00pm – the meeting closed.
|
|
Chairperson, Monitoring and Operations Committee