SIRRL Lodges Application For Resource Consent

South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL), the joint venture company proposing to build an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant near Waimate in South Canterbury, known as Project Kea, has lodged its consent application with Environment Canterbury (ECan) and Waimate District Council (WDC).

In their application, SIRRL formally asked ECan and WDC to publicly notify the consent application.

Following ECan’s initial assessment processes, the consent application will be made available to the public by ECan on their website at www.ecan.govt.nz

SIRRL Director Paul Taylor said that the starting point for Project Kea was researching Energy-from-Waste plants around the world to understand what would best meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique environmental conditions.

“During that research SIRRL identified what was the best operating practice and the best technology available. We then sought advice from leading experts in their respective fields to undertake extensive reports on the impact of such a project on local communities, its benefit to Aotearoa New Zealand, and as a producer of alternative power sources for local industries,” says Paul.

“Had those reports clearly demonstrated that such a plant would have a negative effect on the health of people, the environment or the waste minimisation strategy of local and regional community groups, SIRRL would not have gone ahead and lodged its resource consent application”.

“In total, SIRRL has had prepared 18 reports assessing different aspects of the proposed plant and this demonstrates the extent SIRRL undertook to ensure only independently proven fact and science-based information is included in the application, and to make that information available to the public for their considered review.”

Of those 18 reports, nine directly address key specific issues and concerns that have been raised by members of the community thus far. These are human health, air quality, flood risk, visual impact, traffic effects, waste type, noise levels, economic impact, and an analysis of the facilities’ climate change impact when compared to landfills.

These nine key reports can be summarised at a high level as follows:

- Human Health – Consultant https://www.enrisks.com.au/ Objective – to assess any potential human health effects through inhalation or ingestion of emissions from the plant. Outcome –Confirmed no identifiable risk to human health through inhalation or ingestion through consumption of rainwater or locally grown produce.

- Air Quality --- Consultant (https://www.pdp.co.nz/ Objective – to assess levels of contaminants released to air and the resulting air quality. Outcome – Confirmed that air quality will be compliant with the National Environmental Standard (Air Quality) and the Canterbury Air Regional Plan.

- Waste Acceptance Criteria – Consultant, Renew Energy Limited (REL) * Objective – to specify what waste would be accepted by the plant. Outcome – Reiterates the plants intention to divert non-recyclable waste from landfill maximising the component of “renewable” electricity produced.

- Flood Risk— Consultant (https://www.babbage.co.nz) Objective – to assess the risk and impact of the site under a 1 in 500 year flood event. Outcome – Plant to be constructed above the 1 in 500 year flood plain with minimal displacement of flood water to neighbouring properties.

- Visual Design – Consultant (https://www.brownltd.co.nz ) Objective - to assess landscape and visual amenity effects on community and local residents. Outcome – Determined that the effects to local residents would be typically low and that the plant is consistent with the relevant objective, policy, and rules framework of the Waimate District Plan.

- Transport movements – Consultants (http://www.commute.kiwi/) Objective – assess the likely impact and effects of increased traffic on the local roading network including safety considerations. Outcome Confirmed primary traffic path via SH1 and Carrolls Rd and the project will undertake significant upgrades to both Carrolls Rd, SH1 intersection and level rail crossing.

- Noise levels - Consultants (https://www.slrconsulting.com/) Objective – assess noise levels and compliance with noise limits in the Waimate District Plan. Outcome – Plant achieves daytime and night-time compliance with noise limits.

- Life cycle – Consultants (https://www.slrconsulting.com/en) Objective assess the global warming potential (GWP) of the plant when compared to alternative landfill. Outcome – Concludes that the proposed Energy-from-Waste plant has a lower GWP than a modern designed landfill containing the equivalent quantity of waste.

- Economic benefits - Consultants https://www.infometrics.co.nz/ Objective to ascertain the economic effects of the proposed plant on the Waimate and wider region’s economy. Outcome - Concluded the plant would meet the Waimate District Council’s diversification plan and create real jobs and economic benefits to the community.

“From local feedback we have received, SIRRL believes that these reports will provide the necessary facts and science to questions raised and validate our belief that an Energy-from-Waste plant is a socially and environmentally responsible component of Aotearoa New Zealand’s overall waste management strategy,” says Paul.

“The plant will have the capability to operate in two modes - 30MW of electricity or 20MW of electricity, and 40TPH of steam. Both modes will be able to supply energy to local residential and commercial users.

“An important feature of this proposed Energy-from-Waste plant is how it will recycle the process wastewater stream. There is no wastewater discharge to land or any surface water body.

“Wastewater from such facilities can contain significant and very damaging contaminants, and for this reason the technology used in our proposed plant will treat all process wastewater, with the contaminants being sent back to the furnace and the water being 100% recycled.

“This arrangement means that there is no process wastewater discharge to the environment.

“The capture and treatment of fly-ash with the plant’s Plasma technology will convert the hazardous fly-ash into a high-grade industrial aggregate suitable for concrete manufacturing. After the recycling of metal products, the grate ash will also be available to be used in both roading aggregate or concrete products.

“SIRRL has consistently said that as soon as the consent application was lodged, we would ask ECan to release these expert reports. There is understandably high community interest in these, particularly as the plant will be using technology new to Aotearoa New Zealand.

“As well as addressing the South Island’s current landfill crisis and considerably assisting in lessening Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate change-causing methane emissions from future landfills, there is also significant interest in the economic impact of the $350 million plant.

“With the resource consent application now lodged, SIRRL is planning a public information day in Waimate to discuss the plant and to answer further questions on the technology and how it will operate. SIRRL will advise of these dates once they have been confirmed.

“Should the resource consent be approved, SIRRL would also invite the local community to have a ‘watching brief’ over the operation of the plant and, along with plant management, continue to watch over its performance going forward,” says Paul

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