Challenge looms over wastewater plan

A Waikato community group is prepared to fund an Environment Court appeal to stop a wastewater plant being constructed on its doorstep on the outskirts of Cambridge.

Fonterra wants to build the plant at the Hautapu factory site – in use for 135 years – but a group of Hautapu and Bruntwood property owners say they have specialists compiling a presentation opposing it.

Getting permission for the build is a two-step process as the dairy company has a land use consent from the Waipā District Council, but still needs consent from the Waikato Regional Council for the new plant to discharge contaminants to land, water and air.

While the Waipā consent wasn’t open to public comment, people can have their say on the regional council consent at a public hearing set for November 22.

Nearby residents are worried about the noise and traffic generated by the construction of the new plant, community group spokesman Grant Eynon said.

They were also worried about the odour the plant would produce and the environmental impact of discharging wastewater to land and waterways.

The group didn’t have a chance to put the traffic concerns to the Waipā District Council but was now building a case to highlight the environmental impact of the plant.

It was an area expected to be tested by the regional council at the November hearing.

‘‘We know the factory has been there for more than 100 years and it’s in a long-time industrial zone,’’ Eynon said.

‘‘But there are now more than 50 homes as its neighbours and some are just a few hundred metres away from the site.

‘‘Maybe this is not the right place for the factory any more.’’

Eynon said the group would take the matter to the Environment Court if it didn’t get a reasonable result from the regional council hearing.

Waipā District Council said Fonterra’s application for a land use consent was not open to public comment because a wastewater plant was a permitted activity in the ‘‘specalised dairy industrial zone’’ where the factory was built.

But Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk said she understood the community group’s concerns and acknowledged residential development had crept closer to the industrial side of town.

‘‘This is the case in many towns and it’s a matter of balancing the needs of businesses as those living nearby.

‘‘We do have some greenfield space near those areas but we’re looking at using that for industrial purposes.

‘‘Should council receive any residential development applications in that area, it would be something council would have to very closely look at.’’

Fonterra’s Hautapu operations manager Jonathon Bouda said a traffic management plan was a requirement of the consent and would address noise and traffic volume concerns.

He said the company wanted the community to be part of the development and it had tried to keep people up to date with meetings, email and website updates.

‘‘We’ve learnt a lot through this process and know our communication at times could have been better.

‘‘Community involvement is key to the success of this project.

‘‘We have been working with a lot of our neighbours on the proposed wastewater facility, listening to their concerns and offering solutions including planting and additional noise attenuation.’’