Taylorville Dump Applies For Temporary Consent

Tuesday, 13 May 2025, 6:45 pm
Article: Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter

Neighbours of a privately-owned dump near Greymouth will be given a chance to have their say on a temporary resource consent, which would allow the site to release contaminated water to land.

Taylorville Resource Park applied to the West Coast Regional Council for the consent last spring to cover emergency events in heavy rain.

It was to be a temporary six month consent to release excess treated water from its retention pond to its own land, in September last year, the company said.

“Eight months later the WCRC has provided a notification decision and engaged with parties it has deemed to be affected.

“While TRP welcomes the notification decision and is happy to engage with affected parties we are disappointed with the time it has taken to get to this point,” the company spokesperson said.

A Regional Council statement said TRP company applied to discharge water contaminated by mixed landfill leachate and stormwater from a retention pond.

It also sought a change to its existing consents, allowing “authorised discharges” to contaminate groundwater or surface water outside the landfill site.

The Council will process the consent on a limited notification basis, giving people the right to submit if they are considered to be directly affected, it says.

“The decision follows a comprehensive assessment by Council officers, which determined adverse effects are likely to be minor and limited to specific individuals and properties,” acting regulatory manager Jo Field said.

Grey District mayor Tania Gibson says her council still considers the dump a potential risk to the town’s water supply.

“We have at least been recognised as an affected party this time, and we're going to have a meeting with the landfill neighbours soon to discuss our submissions on this,“ she said.

The landfill was originally granted resource consent without notification.

TRP recently applied for a Class 2 landfill consent that would allow it to expand and take a broader variety of waste, and has asked for that application to be publicly notified.

Those consents would provide a long-term solution to the rainfall issue and safeguard the site and surrounding environment with the use of testing and monitoring practices, the TRP spokesperson said.

“We acknowledge there is heightened sensitivity about TRP and want to assure the community we are operating the facility responsibly and investing significantly in best practice environmental solutions.”

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