Environmental group seeks ruling on Mataura's hazardous substance

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Ouvea premix is being removed from the paper mill building at Mataura, but an Environment Court case will determine whose responsibility that is.

An environmental group is planning to take legal action to determine whether Rio Tinto is responsible for a hazardous substance that has been dumped in a Mataura building.

The Environmental Defence Society intends to file papers in the Environment Court this week, seeking clarification of whether aluminium producer New Zealand Aluminium Smelter is responsible for the ouvea premix being stored in the former paper mill building at Mataura.

Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor said ''the basic premise was that NZAS retains Resource Management Act responsibilities for removing the premix from a site at Mataura and for the risks of harm to aquatic or human health'.

The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) is an independent, not-for-profit environmental group that was established in 1971 and is committed to improving environmental outcomes for all New Zealanders.

The proceedings were 'essentially asking the Environment Court whether NZAS retains liability for the safe disposal of the dross, notwithstanding that it contracted that task out to a company that went bust,' Taylor said.

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The court is being asked to rule only on the ouvea premix being stored at Mataura, and not at other sites in Southland, he said.

Barrister Rob Enright is acting for EDS, and it is understood papers will be filed with the court this week.

New Zealand First List MP Mark Patterson, left, received a 3000 signature petition from Laurel Turnbull, of Sort Out the Dross action group, outside the closed Mataura paper mill, where the Ouvea premix is being stored. He has since presented it to Government.

NZAS and Rio Tinto have declined to comment on the proceedings.

Rio Tinto and the NZAS have long argued that they do not own the ouvea premix, but EDS disagrees and will argue that the smelter retains responsibility for the safe removal and disposal of the substance.

The smelter had a contract with Taha Asia Pacific, that processed aluminium dross from the smelter into ouvea premix, which could then be processed into fertilizer.

Taha went into liquidation in 2016, leaving an estimated 20,000 tonnes of premix in a warehouse in Mataura, and in several at Awarua, near Bluff.

After trying to find a buyer for the substance, the receiver formally disclaimed ownership of it in December 2017, meaning disposing of the ouvea became the responsibility of a group of interested parties, including central and local government and the landlords of the storage sites.

In September 2018, Gore District Council chief executive Steve Parry announced he had brokered a $4m deal amongst interested parties, including the Government and Southland councils, to remove the premix over six years.

The premix being stored at Mataura would be removed first because of the potential environmental impacts. The premix creates ammonia gas if it gets wet.

The fate of the premix hit international headlines in February this year when floodwaters threatened the former papermill building in Mataura where about 9000 tonnes was being stored. The town's residents were evacuated in case the floodwaters reached the premix inside the building.

At that time, a further deal was brokered to fast-track the removal of premix from Mataura, but Rio Tinto pulled out of that deal. It remains committed to the original deal, which will see premix moved from Southland sites over six years.

At that time Environment Minister David Parker said he was considering taking legal action against Rio Tinto.

Environment Southland is also considering taking legal action against Rio Tinto over its responsibility to remove the substance.