Horowhenua District Council’s Pollution Whistleblower has been served a trespass warrant – so what’s to hide?

Further to our recent article on the Horowhenua District Councillor who alerted the public to the pollution of Shannon’s waterways by allegedly raw sewage, the Horowhenua District Council has served a trespass warrant on their own Cr Ross Campbell. This is the man who filmed the raw evidence (see footage below) of what appears to be equally raw sewage and toilet paper spewing into the Stansell Street creek at Shannon. (I can find no news links to the serving of a warrant – I saw it on Facebook and it has since been removed). Although the District Council is saying the video is a distortion of the facts Cr Campbell says the video speaks for itself and “he’s not changing his stance on the issue”. He had received a number of calls on the day from concerned locals who had seen the sewage discharging into water where children were swimming. A call to Horizons resulted in a post inspection comment that the HDC was abiding by their consent.

“It’s a joke really. This is absolutely shocking … the stench was horrible. This was straight sewage, no treatment, no nothing. It’s putting everyone at risk who uses the stream.”
Cr Ross Campbell

See the toilet paper for yourself. The HDC have claimed it has been put there deliberately by somebody. But what would that somebody have to gain from such actions? Definitely a lot of stress given this outcome, and who ever would pay them for exposing pollution? The claim doesn’t really hold water.

 

The trespass notice Horowhenua District Council has served on their own Councillor Ross Campbell

 

Above is a copy of the trespass warrant that was removed from Facebook. (I note other news links from the event are now no longer operative).

So why has the Horowhenua District Council served a trespass warrant on the Councillor who filmed the sewage? If they are so above board then what have they got to hide? Why are they not inviting the public to inspect for themselves and see that everything is good.

And why, as citizens of our ‘clean and green’ paradise, we need to ask, are Councils polluting and not protecting our environments …. according to their stated mantra of ‘sustainable development’?  Consider, your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:

“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE

We need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’? 

This kind of carry on is NOT sustainable!

On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews,  who have also stood up and been counted.

 

EnvirowatchRangitikei

 

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RELATED:
Exposing the pollution of your waterways may well incur a violent backlash as two Horowhenua residents found out – the ongoing lip service councils pay to Iwi, the RMA & ‘sustainable development’

“HDC is a top drawer polluter” says another Horowhenua District Councillor who filmed similar pollution to Shannon’s 14 months ago – he says HDC’s recent take was “misleading & full of half-truths”

“On two occasions Horowhenua District Councillors given a clear message by Mayor Brendan Duffy ‘to toe the line’ and deny any pollution by the HDC” – a former HD Councillor speaks out

“The whole thrust of one workshop was aimed at undermining the credibility of WECA members” … More revelations from a former Councillor on Horowhenua DC’s “long-standing & insidious” tactics

 

 

 

 

Marton’s Waste Water plant to get an upgrade

An article by Zaryd Wilson from the Wanganui Chronicle on the waste water treatment plant that has featured greatly throughout the whole recent process of the consent hearings. The matter being the company Midwest Disposal’s disposal of leachate from its Bonny Glen landfill into the plant. Amounts dumped have exceeded consents and been the subject of a long standing status of non-compliance. You can read about that process on the Bonny Glen page.

(The Bonny Glen landfill was sold to Midwest by the Rangitikei District Council around a decade ago and a leachate-dumping agreement was informally put in place – a gentleman’s agreement – that has been far from satisfactory going by the non-compliance history).

A local has contacted the site recently reporting that there are 7-12 round trips on average per day by the leachate tanker. Sometimes two are operating.

“A multi-million dollar upgrade to Marton’s wastewater treatment plant has been endorsed by councillors.

The plan, which includes a second anaerobic pond, new storage tanks and community involvement in the process, was discussed by Rangitikei District Council’s assets and infrastructure committee last week.

A contributor to the current plant’s failure was leachate (landfill run-off), which was trucked to the treatment plant from Bonny Glen landfill… 

Councillor Nigel Belsham said if it was trade waste causing problems to the plant and not domestic waste, the bill should be picked up by industry.

“I don’t believe that ratepayers in this area should be paying to allow trade waste to be dumped into this plant,” he said. “Opus [consultants] have said that we’ve got a plant that can handle what it was designed to handle.”

Read the article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11498302

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Further Links:

For info on Bonny Glen: https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/bonny-glen/

Leachate history & non compliance reports: https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/bonny-glen-submissions-hearings/

Local Feedback: https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/bonny-glen/local-feedback/

Damning feedback on Bonny Glen landfill; traffic, noise, smell, and the leachate is far in excess of company claims

I was contacted today with further feedback on the trucking situation in Marton and the Bonny Glen Landfill owned and operated by Midwest Disposals, sold to them a decade or so back by the Rangitikei District Council. There have been ongoing local concerns with their gentleman’s agreement to dump their leachate into Marton’s Waste Water Treatment Plant (read a submission made by then local man Hamish Allan), with a trail of non-consents that Horizons have failed to enforce adequately, if at all. With the landfill now set to quintuple in size following the granting of consents to extend, trucks will almost double in number in spite of claims last year that they would not increase at all. A member of the public has expressed an extensive list of concerns regarding noise, smell, volume of traffic and the leachate problem. I have quoted and slightly condensed these:

• “I am appalled at the number of rubbish trucks passing our house 6 days per week, and the noise and vibration they make
• In addition,  the number of tankers taking leachate to the Marton Wastewater Treatment Plant is far in excess of claims made by Mid-west Disposals. The number of trips per day is 7 at least, and some days when 2  tankers are used, a total of at least 12 loads are dumped in the Marton treatment plant
• I fear that this amount of leachate will cause major problems and poisoning of the rivers that receive outflow
• I fear it  will become a cost to the ratepayers of Marton while the company responsible gets away with not paying for the damage
• I believe Horizons should be checking and stopping this pollution
• This landfill must be opposed and shut down as it is a major pollutant of our region
• we can smell the tip at times when the wind blows from that direction,  6-7 kms away.

No clean and green Rangitikei, just dirty smelly and polluted. It is a  disgrace.”

Please contact the site if you have any similar concerns regarding this landfill and how it is affecting you. And or contact the RDC and let them know. 

~ Envirowatchrangitikei ~