MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Abatement notice issued as odour continues
Wanganui District Council has been issued with an abatement notice by Horizons Regional Council following on-going
objectionable odour from its wastewater treatment plant.
The notice is a legal directive requiring Wanganui District Council to cease causing an objectionable odour beyond the
boundary of its wastewater treatment plant within the next four weeks. It follows a formal warning issued by Horizons in
December 2012.
Horizons group manager strategy and regulation Dr Nic Peet says while Horizons recognises that mitigating or solving
issues at the plant may be difficult, the odour is objectionable and its on-going impact on the people of Wanganui means
it must be resolved.
“Industrial processes like those occurring at the wastewater treatment plant will always produce an odour. It becomes an
issue when an objectionable odour extends beyond the property boundary affecting other residents and businesses as is
clearly the case in Wanganui,” Dr Peet says.
“We know the district council is taking steps to address the issue and is keeping Horizons staff appraised of progress.
It is a complex problem but the district council is in breach of regional rules around air quality and as the regulator
we need to act accordingly.”
Dr Peet says Horizons will continue to support the district council as they take steps to mitigate and solve problems at
the plant and understands that Wanganui District Council will be looking at the design and functioning of the plant as
soon as possible.
“The district council has identified that unusually large amounts of trade waste entering its plant have resulted in the
recent widespread objectionable odour problems. Horizons understands that Wanganui District Council will be ensuring
that the industries discharging industrial waste to the plant do not exceed the conditions set in their consents with
the district council.
“However, the plant has had a number of problems since it opened which mean that it has not being functioning as it
should. This raises the fundamental question of whether the plant, as it is currently designed, can cope with even
normal consented amounts of industrial and domestic waste water and, if not, what needs to be done to fix it. ” he says.
ENDS