CHB District Council charged over wastewater treatment plants

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has today laid charges against the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council in relation to its wastewater treatment plants in Waipukurau and Waipawa.

CHB District Council faces three charges of breaching its consent conditions in relation to discharges of contaminants from its Waipukarau and Waipawa wastewater treatment plants.

The CHB District Council’s resource consents allow for a certain number of exceedances during a 12-month period. HBRC claims the district council has passed that limit at both plants. One charge relates to the discharge of E. coli at Waipawa in excess of the five allowed exceedances. The other two charges relate to discharge of E. coli and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) at Waipukurau, again in excess of the five allowed exceedances.

A court date is yet to be set.

CHB District Council upgraded its Waipawa and Waipukurau wastewater plants two years ago to meet new standards required under new resource consents, which came into effect in October 2014.

30 November 2016

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