Coastal landfill protection work soon

Work may start next month on protecting the closed Hampden landfill from coastal erosion which has been causing rubbish to be exposed and washed into the sea.

The Waitaki District Council has received approval from the Otago Regional Council for the work, expected to cost about $200,000 and to be paid for by reserves carried over from last financial year and a loan.

The Waitaki council's assets group manager Neil Jorgensen yesterday said he would have meetings soon with the two contractors who had the job - Rooney Earthmoving and Whitestone Contracting - to discuss what was required and how the work would be done.

After that meeting, he would know exactly when work could start, but was hopeful it would be next month.

Hampden residents were upset by erosion of the landfill, which was washing out rubbish on to the beach and into the sea between the Moeraki Boulders and Hampden Beach.

The Waitaki council had been trying to obtain approval for more than a year from the regional council, but was delayed when the Department of Conservation found cone-in-cone concretions in the landfill which it wanted protected from damage during protection work.

The regional council has now issued two coastal permits for the Waitaki council to build, remove, alter and maintain the protection for the former landfill within a coastal marine area.

The second permit is to occupy the foreshore to build the protection.

They allow for the construction of a rock rip rap structure at the foot of the landfill to protect it from further coastal erosion.

It will be built in such a way that it can be shifted if erosion cuts away more of the landfill.

It has to consult with a qualified geologist about protection of the cone-in-cone formation prior to starting the work, and get advice of how to mitigate any effects, plus make every attempt to minimise any damage to the formation.

There are also conditions covering any accidental discovery of Maori or European historic artefacts or remains while work was undertaken.

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