West Coast rubbish debacle a 'national emergency' that needs more funding to clean up

Tuesday, 28 May 2019

Rubbish has been strewn about 75km along the coastline after an old West Coast rubbish dump opened up during wild weather and record rainfall in March.

Rubbish will be left strewn across West Coast beaches unless the Government can stump up more money, the Westland District Council says.

The $300,000 already granted to help the clean-up of 75 kilometres of coast after torrential rainfall and flooding caused the historic Fox Glacier landfill to disintegrate late in March is just not enough, according to Westland mayor Bruce Smith.

Rubbish from a historic landfill on the West Coast has spread along pristine beaches after a flooded Fox River broke its banks and flooded the former dump site.

He said the council needed at least another $750,000 to continue with the clean-up.

In a briefing paper to Government ministers last week, the council said if it didn't get more money it might be 'forced to suspend all recovery operations from Friday'.

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There are also concerns from volunteers that this week's heavy rain could further damage the historic dump site.

Volunteer co-ordinator Mike Bilodeau said the Government should declare a national emergency.

'The response is an embarrassment to the Government. The way they have left it like this is completely irresponsible.'

Volunteers had cleaned up about 5 per cent of the rubbish in eight weeks.

Heavy rain on Tuesday made it more likely the rest of the dump could become exposed.

The council had put matting and rocks from the river on the dump to prevent further erosion but it was not enough, he said.

'They might as well have put a sheet and some ping pong balls on it. It's only a matter of time before it blows open again and we will be back to square one.'

Smith said

the storm, including the clean-up and rebuilding roads, would leave the council $1.1 million out of pocket.

'This area is part of a World Heritage site.

'With a very small ratepayer base of only 6500 households, we cannot financially sustain this clean-up operation, even with the assistance Government has already provided.'

The council wanted further financial assistance or for a Government agency to take the lead and the financial responsibility for the rest of the clean-up, which could last ar least another12 months.

The cost of the clean-up so far would require a potential rates increase of about 13 per cent if the council did not receive Government funding.

Council will earn $15.5 million this year from its 6585 households, that's $2360 each. A 13 per cent increase would equate to $306 each household. The average annual income in 2018 was $52,308 and the average house was worth $251,775.

'This crisis results from rubbish disposal practices and a lack of environmental awareness that applied more than 40 years ago,' Smith said.

Bilodeau said he and other volunteers had become independent contractors paid for by the council to clean-up the area, but the council could not afford to keep paying them.

'We started as volunteers and we will continue as volunteers. We are here to get the job done while everyone else argues about who is responsible and who's going to pay.'

West Coast Labour MP Damien O'Connor said the Government had asked the council for proof that it had a proper and transparent procurement process.

That followed an auditor-general report which found Smith and councillor Durham Havill had decided to build a stopbank at Franz Josef without the backing of the full council and without consulting experts or conducting a proper procurement process.

'I support the view taken that before any more money is given to the council we need to be confident it will be spent properly.

'It is clear the council has gotten itself under financial strain and is asking for a Government handout. That's not sustainable.'

Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage said landfills were the responsibility of councils.

She said she would be consulting her Cabinet colleagues about the council's request for more funding.

Councils were now doing their own assessments of infrastructure and risks at a local and regional level, including 'a closer look at closed landfills and other infrastructure'.

A community resilience group led by the Department of Internal Affairs was also looking at ways to assist local government to reduce the risks from climate change and to develop a joint work programme with local government .

'Closed landfills are within the scope of this work,' she said.

An MfE spokesman said the ministry had information on the number of consented, levied and non-levied landfills nationally but not on 'non-consented, closed landfills', which was held at a local level.