Oceania Q&A on pipeline proposal

‘‘The option of being able to supplement Oceania’s on-land wastewater disposal with an ocean outfall is much more sustainable than disposing wastewater only onto the land or into the ocean.’’ Shane Lodge

The dairy company behind a controversial proposal to build a treated wastewater pipeline to the Pacific Ocean will host a public meeting in Waimate on Thursday.

Oceania Dairy’s proposal, which has already attracted 60 submissions to Environment Canterbury, wants permission to construct a 7.5-kilometre long pipeline from its factory near Glenavy to the coastline, with a 350-metre long submerged outfall. The pipeline could discharge up to 10 million litres of treated wastewater per day.

The open day, at the Waimate Events Centre from 4pm to 7pm, will follow a question and answer format with representatives from the project’s management consultants Babbage Consulting and Oceania Dairy attending.

Oceania Dairy supply and environment manager Shane Lodge has previously said the pipeline proposal was more environmentally sustainable than its current method of disposing treated wastewater onto land, while the effects on the coastal marine environment would be ‘‘minimal’’.

The company, which is owned by the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd (Yili), is seeking a 35-year consent for the discharge operations and the same length of time to ‘‘occupy the coastal marine area’’.

Lodge has said $650 million has been invested over the past six years at Oceania Dairy Limited. Should the pipeline be approved, it would cost about $20m and take about a year to 14

Oceania spokesman

months to complete.

Lodge said the company was looking for more sustainable options for wastewater disposal that would better suit the conditions of the local area.

‘‘The proposed pipeline would be used when our current method of disposing wastewater to land, which is currently used to supplement irrigation and nutrient levels of surrounding farmland, is not advisable due to heavy rain or during the wettest parts of the year,’’ Lodge said.

‘‘The option of being able to supplement Oceania’s on-land wastewater disposal with an ocean outfall is much more sustainable than disposing wastewater only onto the land or into the ocean.’’

The factory employs about 330 people, with numbers expected to increase over the next year.

Submissions on the pipeline proposal close on December 13.