4 November 2024
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Tarawera sewerage scheme
Enquiry
*NOTE: This is a follow-up to previous enquiries relating to the same topic:
Have some comment from the regional council for response, if desired. Will need it by 1pm if so thank you!
Regional council land and water compliance manager Matthew Harrex told Local Democracy Reporting its view was that the district council oversimplified its rules and should have included that a resource consent was unlikely to be granted where reticulation was available as that was against plan provisions and was not best practice to protect water quality.
Response
From Group Manager Infrastructure and Environment Stavros Michael:
Septic tanks alone became non-compliant within the Tarawera Maintenance Zone in December 2017 under OSET rules Plan Change 2 which required that by then property owners had to either connect to a reticulation system or upgrade to an OSET-compliant system – an Aerated Wastewater Treatment System with Nitrogen Reduction (AWTS +NR).
Most properties at Tarawera do not meet current standards for on-site wastewater treatment and Bay of Plenty Regional Council has confirmed it is unlikely to issue consent for AWTS +NR systems within proximity of a reticulation system and that its current polices or rules do not enable ongoing use of septic tanks.
The regional council has assessed that nearly 40 per cent of all properties in Tarawera would not be able to comply with the OSET rule due to the nature of their properties (eg steep slopes, poorly draining soils, high ground water).
The community was aware of these facts, and it was the community that asked the council to initiate a reticulation system.
