Locals raise environmental risks from ‘Coromandel Gateway’ proposal
Forest & Bird is urging the government to consider the toxic heavy metals that would be released from seabed dredging for the
Coromandel Gateway Proposal.
The controversial project would involve the removal of 100,000 cubic metres of sediment from Coromandel Harbour to
create a marina basin for twelve permanent berths, a terminal for a daily ferry from Auckland as well as apartments, car
parks, and a boat stacker. Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced this week that a feasibility study is
being funded by the Provincial Growth Fund.
“Because of past mining activity, the seabed of Coromandel Harbour is one of the most contaminated of all the rural
harbours in New Zealand”, says Forest & Bird branch member Mike Donoghue.
“Fortunately, most of the mercury and arsenic is currently safely bound up in deep sediments, and it seems to be the
height of folly to risk its release, especially given the importance of mussel and oyster farming to the local economy.”
"Forest & Bird insisted six months ago on a sampling programme to ascertain the level of heavy metal in the proposed marina basin
and the 1.8 km dredged channel into the Harbour. We are still awaiting the results of that programme from developers."
The Thames-Coromandel District Council has commissioned studies of the heavy metal content in the seabed of Coromandel
Harbour, all of which have concluded that the contamination levels for mercury and arsenic are high, in some cases
exceeding international standards.
“The Coromandel Gateway proposal is similar to a marina proposal by the same developer that was rejected at the consent
stage in 2001 because of its impacts on the Harbour margins, especially a nearby Area of Special Conservation Value,”
says Mr Donoghue.
Mr Donoghue points out the ferry is currently operating from a perfectly adequate jetty a ten-minute bus ride from
Coromandel Town.
“Given what we now know about the likely consequences and impacts of sea level rise and climate change, and the
potential release of contaminants into the marine environment, this proposal is a totally inappropriate candidate for
support from the Provincial Growth Fund.”
Notes to journalists:
A proposal to dredge a marina in Coromandel Harbour was declined 18 years ago when it failed numerous environmental
tests in national legislation, including the Resource Management Act and the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.
Since the marina proposal was rejected in February 2000, the TCDC has commissioned two scientific reports (by
consultants Aurecon and Pattle Delamore Partners), which both found significant levels of toxic heavy metals in the
seabed of Coromandel Harbour.
ends