An underground diesel tank in Cromwell will be removed after it leaked more than 1000 litres of fuel into ground near the shore of Lake Dunstan.
The Cromwell Community Board resolved yesterday to approve a $60,000 overspend for the project, which could involve a tank replacement.
At present, a tank above ground is being used instead, although it may not be certified.
Central Otago District Council property manager Mike Kerr prepared a report about the situation for the board, recommending the overspend.
At the meeting, Mr Kerr said the board should approve remedial action and replacement of the underground tank, providing the temporary tank used since May could not be certified.
His report detailed the certification process, and Mr Kerr said staff were working to determine whether the tank complied.
If not, the $60,000 should cover the cost of removing both the leaking and uncertified tanks, disposing of them correctly, removing any contaminated soil, purchasing and installing a new tank, and undertaking earthworks to restore the site, he said.
Exact costs would depend on the extent of ground contamination, and could not be known until the project was started, Mr Kerr said.
The diesel kept in the underground tank was used to heat the Cromwell Memorial Hall.
Mr Kerr said regardless of the leak, the board would have had to spend about $15,000 replacing the underground tank, which would have been done during a proposed hall upgrade.
Board chairman Neil Gillespie yesterday said he was disappointed the issue had taken so long to resolve, citing "bureaucracy gone mad".
In April, 500 litres of diesel disappeared shortly after being put into the tank, and the police were called as burglary was initially suspected.
A further 500 litres was put into the tank as a replacement, and when that too disappeared within days the board contracted engineers to undertake a pressure test, which confirmed the leak.
