Van in Kaeo River riles locals
A Kaeo woman says a van submerged in the Kaeo River should not have taken more than ten days to be removed.
Jemma Rendle says a van had been left in the river after it had crashed on February 2.
While she had not seen any herself, she says she was concerned that the vehicle might be oozing diesel and oil into the river which runs into the Whangaroa Harbour.
Northland Regional Council group manager regulatory services Colin Dall says the council was not notified of the van being in the river until February 7.
‘‘The investigating officer started to make arrangements on Wednesday [for it to be removed]. The quicker we are notified, the quicker something can be done.’’
He says the officer was not aware of any diesel or oil leaks.
Dall says NRC would pay for the van’s removal and attempt to seek costs from the vehicle’s owner.
While the van was originally reported to be removed on February 11, it was not out of the water until February 13.
Local oyster farmers from Moana NZ assisted in the removal of the van, by floating it down to the Kaeo Rugby Club before Total Recoveries took over.
Rendle says she would have liked to have seen the van out of the water on the day of the accident or the day after.