Taha removes some material
Taha Fertiliser Industries removed some material from its Mataura site on Thursday but it was not Ouvea Premix.
A spokesman said a small amount of ammonia sulphate, used by Taha as part of its fertiliser trial, was removed from the old Mataura paper mill on Thursday and taken to Invercargill.
‘‘A quantity of fertiliser stored at Mataura was removed for operational purposes, and not as a result of the level of the river. However, as a prudent operator, Taha staff are closely monitoring river levels,’’ he said.
‘‘To be clear, it was not Premix that was removed but a small quantity of fertiliser called Sulphate of Ammonia, used by Taha as part of its fertiliser trial, which had also been stored at Mataura but which has been moved back to Invercargill.’’ In May, a resource consent hearing to consider whether Taha could store Ouvea Premix at the former Mataura Paper Mill was adjourned, with commissioners calling for more information and promising another round of submissions. Taha applied to the Gore District Council for a retrospective resource consent to store hazardous substances at the former mill for up to two years. Taha wants to store up to 9951 tonnes of Ouvea Premix at the site, 9950 tonnes more than what is permitted in the District Plan and also wants to store up to 8 tonnes of ammonia sulphate, 7 tonnes more than allowed in the plan.