Independent commissioners yesterday issued a 137-page decision in which they determined the public health risk at nearby Brighton was acceptable, concerns raised by Dunedin Airport about bird strike had been addressed and community concerns about a lack of consultation were met through the information presented at the hearing.
Commissioners Rob van Voorthuysen, Jan Caunter and Rosalind Day-Cleavin said the potential adverse effects of the proposed class 1 landfill were either minor, minimised to the extent practicable or were otherwise suitably avoided, remedied, mitigated or offset by the imposition of the conditions of the consent.
The proposal was generally consistent with the relevant planning rules and any inconsistencies were minor and did not weigh against granting consent, they said.
Dunedin City Council chief executive Sandy Graham welcomed the news in a statement yesterday afternoon.
"While we were always confident that we had a solid case, we are pleased with the decision," she said.
"It is a result of long-term planning for important infrastructure and the calibre of the work involved from the DCC team.
"It is acknowledged that community members and stakeholders have contributed a lot of time to making submissions to let us know what they think.
"In responding to a range of points raised during the public submission and hearing process, we have further refined our plans and conditions, which will mean a great result for the city as a whole.
"While we aim towards a zero-waste, circular economy, it is essential to have a consented option that enables the city to take responsibility for dealing with its waste for decades to come."
At present, city waste is disposed of at the Green Island Landfill, but that site’s capacity is nearing an end.
On the its website, the council said it expected the new Smooth Hill landfill near Brighton to start operating in 2026, and it had budgeted $56 million from 2024-25 to 2028-29 to make that happen.
The council lodged its resource consent application to operate a landfill with the Otago Regional Council in late August last year.
Proceedings at the hearing in May were largely focused on two groups: a group of submitters from Brighton who raised concerns about the city council’s process and the impact a landfill would have on the area, including Brighton Beach; and Dunedin Airport, 4.5km from the proposed site, which raised concerns about the effect birds attracted to the landfill could have on its operations.
Among the conditions imposed on the city council was the need to prepare a southern black backed gull management plan and reduce the existing level of bird strike risk to aviation before the closure of the Green Island landfill.
Monthly baseline bird monitoring must be done for at least a year before a full risk assessment is completed six months before construction can begin.
The council must create an independent peer review panel to ensure the adequacy of a range of matters during the construction and maintenance of the landfill.
It must also invite the community to establish a community liaison group to enable "two-way communication" between the council and the affected community, the commissioners said.
That group could include members of the Otokia Creek and Marsh Habitat Trust and the landfill’s closest neighbour, the self-described "ultimate Nimby" Sarah Ramsay, who mortgaged her house in order to fight the council and stop the Brighton landfill.
Yesterday, Mrs Ramsay said she was "deeply disappointed" in the decision.
However, she said the city council was "far from off the hook".
"Extensive conditions and an independent panel have been imposed to mitigate the many risks inherent in the site — bird strike, contamination of the Otokia and Brighton beach, fire and destruction of native wildlife.
"Our council haven’t demonstrated they’re capable of adequately managing Green Island, so based on their past performance we highly doubt they’re up to the task of operating a landfill under these conditions.
"This all translates to being very expensive for the DCC to comply with — is it really going to be a feasible development?"
Otokia Creek and Marsh Habitat Trust chairman Simon Laing also issued a statement expressing the trust’s disappointment in the consent decision.
"Common sense dictates that no modern landfill should be built on a wetland at the headwaters of a creek flowing on to Otepoti’s favourite swimming beach.
"Common sense also lays waste to the suggestion in the decision that the ecology of the Otokia could improve post construction, which is preposterous.
"As our concerns and expert testimony were dismissed in favour of lesser qualified consultants on behalf of the applicant, we are now looking to implement the next steps in our plan to block this proposal, and we feel sympathy for the city’s ratepayers, that they will bear the costs involved should the DCC pursue this flawed proposal further."
The commissioners’ decision is subject to a statutory right of appeal to the Environment Court within 15 working days.
