Mataura residents can finally rest easy stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“The safe removal means Mataura residents no longer need to worry about the risk from the material, which gives off ammonia gas if it gets wet. “I am glad that the dross has now gone from Mataura and local residents do not need to worry any longer. The safe removal will protect the wellbeing of Southland s people and its waterways. “Now that the Mataura site has been cleaned up, the focus will move to the removal of material from other known sites in Southland,” Parker said.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Sort Out the Dross spokeswoman and Mataura resident Laurel Turnbull is delighted to hear an agreement has been reached to remove the ouvea premix being stored in the town s former paper mill building. (File video)
Hon David Parker
All of the 10,000 tonnes of aluminium dross by-product stored in Mataura’s old paper mill site next to the Mataura River has been removed.
Environment Minister David Parker welcomed the news that the last bags of dross were moved from Mataura last Wednesday to be stored in watertight shipping containers at New Zealand Aluminium Smelters’ Tiwai Point.
“The safe removal means Mataura residents no longer need to worry about the risk from the material, which gives off ammonia gas if it gets wet.
“I’m glad that the dross has now gone from Mataura and local residents don’t need to worry any longer. The safe removal will protect the wellbeing of Southland’s people and its waterways.
Forest & Bird freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen said all New Zealanders wanted to see their local rivers flourishing with life, “full of native fish and insects, and surrounded by bush and birdsong”. “We urge the Government to accept the scientific consensus that ecosystem health is not possible if nitrate pollution in waterways exceeds 1 milligram per litre. “This is a conservative standard of freshwater quality, despite what the agri-industry would have New Zealand believe.”
RNZ
Environment Minister David Parker told Morning Report there are no plans to immediately reduce the New Zealand standard for nitrates in drinking water . (First published February 23, 2021) Marnie Prickett, of Choose Clean Water, said the groups were united in backing the science, which was clear and robust.
Enviro-NGOs Call For under One Nitrate Pollution Limit For Water scoop.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scoop.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.