Wastewater plant too close for comfort
Fonterra’s ongoing quest to nail down a location for a new wastewater treatment plant in the Waikato continues to face roadblocks.
The dairy company spent most of 2020 trying to reach an agreement with residents who lived at Fencourt, near Cambridge, to build a $40 million plant at its Buxton Farm property, to service its nearby Hautapu processing factory.
That plan was put on hold in October 2020, after resistance from the community. The company then decided to look at building a treatment plant on its
Hautapu factory site.
It held meetings with those living near the factory and also met strong opposition.
Residents, in a statement, said there were many people who lived just a few hundred metres from the factory. More than 50 families and businesses would be affected whereas at the previous Fencourt, Buxton Farm site, the closest neighbour was 750 metres.
Hautapu community spokesperson Grant Enyon said the Fonterra factory had been a good neighbour over the years.
‘‘We have lived in harmony and the factory is one of the oldest, it’s been here a long time. But the community has grown now, there are more people living here and I think if Fonterra tries to expand from that site, that’s where we’re going to come into conflict.
‘‘Maybe they need to think about where they should expand, and the right place for it.’’
Enyon said there had been two meetings with Fonterra. The community was due to meet soon, to firm up its plan to oppose building the wastewater plant at Hautapu.
In December, after the meetings with Fonterra, Enyon and the Hautapu community group said they believed the dairy company was defying its own expert reports, by putting the plant in a highly populated area.
Enyon said Fonterra would try, but could never guarantee, to completely remove any objectionable odours which might emanate from the wastewater plant. He said at least at Fencourt, there was a large farm as a buffer zone.
The community felt Fonterra was trying to bulldoze the project through, instead of continuing work on a long-term solution.
Fonterra said it had not lodged a resource consent application to build at the Hautapu factory and it would work to find a solution for the community and the environment.
In a statement, Hautpu Site Operations Manager Jonathan Bouda said the company is taking feedback from the community seriously and acting on it.
‘‘Part of our response to the feedback on our Buxton Road proposal has been to review the location of our new wastewater treatment facility.’’
He said the company looked at several options but now believed the Hautapu manufacturing site was the best choice.
‘‘This is because the site is zoned by the Waikato Regional Council as Specialised Dairy Industry, whereas the Buxton Road site is zoned rural.’’
It also met the rules of the Waipa¯ District Council’s district plan for noise, odours and visual impact, as well as being feasible to construct.
He said Fonterra wanted the new facility where there would be minimal impact to the community while maximising the environmental outcomes.
‘‘This includes not causing any objectionable odours beyond our boundary, which will be a condition of our consent.’’