Protesters in Te Awamutu against the waste to energy plant.
Te Awamutu waste to energy board of inquiry member Nicholas Manukau is the Environmental Protection Authority’s “local expert”.
Nicholas Manukau
Waipa District Council councillor Lou Brown asked strategy group manager Kirsty Downey which of the three board members who will decide Global Contracting Solution’s resource consent application had local knowledge at December’s Strategic Policy and Planning Committee.
Kirsty Downey
“My understanding is that Nicholas Manukau fulfils that role,” Downey said. “He has been on the Watercare Board of Inquiry, nominated by the Waikato River Authority. He has local knowledge.”
The Hamilton based company was to build and run a giant incinerator and generator on Racecourse Road.
Accredited Resource Management Act hearings commissioner Manukau will sit alongside Environment Court judge Brian Dwyer and air quality specialist Myles McCauley, both from the South Island.
Manukau, (Tainui) has a background in resource and fisheries management as well as aquaculture.
He was the lead fisheries advisor and Waikato-Tainui strategy manager and established the Waikato River freshwater fisheries bylaws to conserve and enhance the tuna (eel) fishery of the Waikato River.
Waipā District Council is among more than 900 submitters mostly opposing the application.
Susan O’Regan
In reviewing the council’s draft submission, due with the EPA by December 18, mayor Susan O’Regan spoke against the potential impact a waste to energy plant could have on the area’s agricultural reputation in local, national and international arenas.
“I want to make sure that this is not just a town, it’s a home, and it’s a place where a lot of people live,” she said.
She was also keen to acknowledge Te Awamutu’s significance in the New Zealand Land Wars in the submission.
Pirongia ward member Clare St Pierre wanted to share more detail on the number of children and young people who would be impacted by the discharge of dioxins.
The committee voted to delegate authority to the mayor and chief executive Steph O’Sullivan to enhance and finalise the submission before circulating and submitting it.
