Weston Option cement plant resource consent

Weston Option cement plant resource consent applications lodged, notified

Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd has lodged the resource consent applications it needs to construct and operate the Weston Option cement plant and associated quarries and pits.

The consenting authorities, the Otago Regional Council and the Waitaki District Council, are notifying these applications in the Oamaru Mail (20 April 2007) and the Otago Daily Times (21 April 2007).

The Assessment of Environment Effects (AEE) for applications for resource consents for the Weston Option cement plant comprise four volumes totalling around 2000 pages.

A plant at Weston is one of several options being considered by Holcim to meet market demand for cement. A final decision regarding the various options being considered by Holcim will be made by its parent company, Holcim Ltd, and is not expected before 2008.

“This marks the beginning of the formal RMA process and will be managed by the Councils, as prescribed under the Resource Management Act,” says Paul Commons, General Manager, Strategy and Development, for Holcim New Zealand.

The lodging of the formal applications follows a period of community consultation and communication started by Holcim New Zealand in May 2006.

The next phase will be the public submission period, run by the Councils, the dates for which are included in the notification advertisements placed by the Councils.

Following the submission period a joint Hearing lead by a panel of commissioners, (appointed by the Councils), will consider the information in Holcim’s applications together with the public submissions. The commissioners will then either grant or decline the various consents, or grant them with conditions

Weston Option cement plant AEE availability

Both the Otago Regional Council and the Waitaki District Council will have printed copies of the full Assessment of Environmental Affects (AEE) and associated reports for people to view.

Holcim New Zealand has provided the following options for viewing the AEE:

The full printed AEE will be available for viewing at Holcim’s Oamaru Information Centre (126 - 132 Thames Street, corner of Eden and Thames Streets). Beginning Wednesday 2 May and for the remainder of the submission period the centre will open to the public each Wednesday between 11am and 6.30pm, and at other times as advertised.

On computer readable CD-Rom (you will need a computer with a CD-Rom drive) – phone 0800 43 20 20 or email info-nz@holcim.com to have a CD-ROM copy sent to you.

The documents will be available as downloadable PDFs on Holcim’s website at www.holcim.com/nz (note that the documents have been split into chapters but some are still quite large because of the number of illustrations and diagrams).

Holcim will provide a copy to the Oamaru Public Library.

Because of its commitment to sustainable development, Holcim wishes to limit unnecessary printing of the AEE because of its size. If people are interested in particular sections, they should phone 0800 43 20 20 to discuss how this information can be provided.

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