Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Timeframe for clean-up to be assessed tomorrow

Clean-up crews carried out a complete sweep of the oil affected area between Foxton Beach and just north of the Himatangi Stream today and will return to the site in the morning.

Horizons Regional Council on-site commander Ian Lowe says he and his team will assess the situation post efforts tomorrow to determine a clean-up timeframe. However, monitoring will be ongoing.

“We have really appreciated the assistance of all involved to-date,” Mr Lowe says.

“A minimal amount of new oil spots were found on the beach this morning. Most of this was down the Himatangi end, spots were small and in some instances oil had remobilised due to sand movement overnight,” Mr Lowe says.

“We are not anticipating any significant increase in oil volumes. The focus is very much on cleaning up the oil that is currently there and returning the beach to the community as soon as possible.”

Foxton and Himatangi Beaches remain closed to vehicle access and people are being asked to stay off the beach while the clean-up is being carried out.

ENDS

© Scoop Media