The report to today’s regional leadership committee meeting confirmed the beleaguered Shotover plant "was and is" the Otago Regional Council’s highest priority investigation.
However, report author environmental delivery general manager Joanna Gilroy said there was an increase in significant non-compliance at plants across the region last year.
The council monitored compliance for 31 reticulated plants in Otago operating under 55 main discharge consents.
Her high-level summary of the most recent consent audit gradings for all of Otago’s five territorial authorities revealed 21 significant non-compliance grades were handed out over the past year. There were a further 11 moderate non-compliance grades and 9 low risk non-compliance.
In total, only 9 full compliance grades were given as a result of the consent audits — the Central Otago District Council was the only council to receive none.
As trouble with the disposal field at the Shotover site came to a head, protests erupted as the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) announced at a press conference on March 26 it would use emergency powers to discharge 12,000cu m of treated wastewater directly into the Shotover River each day.
However, despite the publicity around that plant’s failings, the QLDC only received two significant non-compliance grades during last year’s audits.
The Clutha district received the most with 10. The Waitaki district was next with five significant non-compliance grades. The Central Otago district had three, and Dunedin also had one.
"Overall improvements in grades and compliance [across the region] were seen in 2021 and 2023, but there has been an increase in significant non-compliances in 2024," Ms Gilroy said in her report.
Two abatement notices had been issued for the Balclutha and Heriot plants due to "long-standing discharge quality issues", specifically concerning ammoniacal nitrogen.
As of December 31, there were three active abatement notices for Central Otago managed wastewater plants due to non-compliances at Ranfurly, Roxburgh and Naseby.
There was only one active abatement notice for a Dunedin plant relating to the air discharge consent for the Tahuna plant.
At Queenstown Lake’s Shotover site there were two active abatement notices, the only abatement notices in place for plants in the district.
Sampling indicated the treated discharge from the disposal field posed no significant environmental risk to the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers, the Shotover Delta, or its users, she said.
Nevertheless, the investigation and monitoring of Shotover "was and is the compliance team’s highest priority site and investigation".
Ms Gilroy noted compliance efforts at the site had led to an application for an enforcement order from the Environment Court, which was now before the courts.
As of December 31, there were four active abatement notices for Waitaki District Council-managed sites due to non-compliance grading at the Palmerston and Oamaru plants.
One abatement notice and five infringement notices had been issued within the report’s timeframe.
