Council cleans up after spill
An investigation is under way after an estimated 100 litres of a diesel-type substance spilled from a stream into the sea at New Plymouth’s Nga¯ motu Beach.
Earlier yesterday, the Taranaki Regional Council warned the public to stay away from the swimming beach as a clean-up began. The flow of the unidentified hydrocarbon substance has been stopped.
Taranaki Regional Council compliance manager Bruce Pope said trained oil spill responders were at the site and deployed booms to contain and recover the material at the stream outlet.
Booms were also used in the Breakwater Bay marina area, near the lee breakwater, east of the beach.
The council were alerted to the spill by a member of the public around 11.30am yesterday, he said.
There was no visual evidence of a heavy slick on the water but the material had a strong diesellike smell, witnesses said.
The discharge was stopped late afternoon and the source was being investigated, Pope said.
The clean-up was to continue into the evening and the public were advised to steer clear of the beach in the meantime.
Pope said the response team was assessing the nature of the material and the potential for any wider impacts.
The investigation was ongoing and there was no clear evidence of what type of hydrocarbon material, although it was believed to be diesel, had been spilled, he said.
The spill came from a small stream which drains at the end of the beach next to Port Taranaki property.
A large sheen-like substance could be seen moving away from the harbour and lee breakwater entrance.
A Port Taranaki spokeswoman said staff were assisting the regional council response team to contain and recover the substance.
The source has not yet been identified but it is not believed to have come from Port Taranaki, she said.
The beach was deserted apart from a large group of young sailors on the water participating at a New Plymouth Yacht Club Optimist training camp.
NPYC coaching co-ordinator Wayne Holdt said the smell was evident in the morning but had blown away by mid afternoon.
There was no residue on the hulls of the small yachts, he said.
Twenty-six boys and girls aged between 8-14 years were involved in the two-day ‘‘learn to sail’’ training camp.
In 2007 a ‘‘massive’’ spill from the Tui oil field, 60km off the Taranaki coast, accidentally coated almost 14km of coastline in 33 tonnes of black crude.
More than 80 tonnes of oil tar balls, contaminated sand and cleaning materials were collected from beaches in an eight-month clean-up which cost $120,000.
Sydney-based Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), and Singapore-based storage company Prosafe Production were fined $105,000. At the time the spill was described as the largest ever crude oil spill, and the third largest oil spill of any type, in New Zealand.