Aug 5 2005

Working towards a cleaner future

A stream flowing into a wetland of national importance, and a marae site containing sawmill waste will both be cleaned with the help of grants from the Environment Ministry’s Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund.

Announcing the latest funding, Environment Minister Marian Hobbs Marian Hobbs said investigations would also take place on cleaning up the effects of past ship cleaning practices at Lyttleton Harbour.

"These are excellent examples of the Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund making a real difference to the environment, and to local communities," Marian Hobbs said.

Nelson City Council will receive $60,622 from the fund to remove contamination from the upper Arapiki Stream in Stoke, Nelson. The lower reaches of the stream have already been cleaned up with an earlier grant from the fund.

"The stream flows through urban land into the Waimea Inlet, a wetland of national importance for migratory birds and native fish species. The inlet is also significant for traditional food gatheringby local Mâori. It will be fantastic to see this stream cleaned up," Marian Hobbs said.

Stream sediment contaminated with heavy metals will be excavated, disposed of safely and replaced with clean quarry rock. The stream margins will then be landscaped. The grant covers 49 per cent of the project, with the remainder funded by Nelson City Council and the landowner South Pine (Nelson) Ltd.

Environment Bay of Plenty receives $24,270 from the fund to cap wood waste ash from a former sawmill, deposited at Toroa Marae near Whakatane.

The waste will be capped with a layer of clean soil, providing a buffer between the wood waste and people using the marae. Special arrangements will be made to ensure that hangi and kohanga reo activities are not carried out near the capped part of the site.

The grant covers 60 per cent of the cost of the project, with the remainder coming from Environment Bay of Plenty and the landowner Toroa Marae-Papakainga.

Environment Canterbury will receive $14,964 to investigate contaminants in the Lyttelton Harbour seabed on Banks Peninsula.

The sediment in the vicinity of the graving dock of the Lyttelton Port has been contaminated by a number of chemicals associated with historical ship hull-cleaning and anti-fouling work. Management practices changed in 1996, so that untreated waste is no longer allowed to discharge into the inner harbour.

The project will include a marine survey of the biological impacts of the contaminated sediment and a cultural impact assessment by Te Hapû o Ngâti Wheke Râpaki. The project will also review the Lyttelton Seabed Interim Management Plan.

This funding represents 40 per cent of the cost of the project, with the remainder coming from Environment Canterbury and the Lyttelton Port Company.

ENDS

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