Enforcement as well as monitoring

So Horizons finally acknowledges that it isn’t performing as it should in keeping an eye on potential polluters and consent breakers (Manawatu¯ Standard, August 20).

However, its job isn’t just to keep an eye on these environmental vandals, but to actually make sure that consent holders comply with their consent conditions.

It seems to lack the will to do this.

Over the last five years, the Water Protection Society and others have tried to get stronger consent conditions to decrease the pollution of rivers by council and industrial wastewater treatment plants, and stronger enforcement of those conditions.

Although we have had some success on the former, we have been disappointed on the latter.

Again and again, we’ve seen Horizons take a ‘‘relaxed’’ approach to enforcement.

And so polluters keep on polluting.

For example, in the past year the Feilding Wastewater Treatment Plant has caused the amount of ammonia in the O¯ roua River to increase to high levels on five occasions – every time it has been discharging to the river.

On two of these occasions it was at acutely toxic levels. Things need to change.

The compliance team at Horizon needs to be bolstered and it should be backed by Horizons executives and councillors to take whatever action is necessary to get consent breakers such as the Manawatu¯ District Council to actually comply with their consents. Chris Teo-sherrell is a candidate in the upcoming local body elections. Chris Teo-sherrell, chairman, Water Protection Society, Palmerston North