In a scathing Environment Court decision, the Environmental Protection Authority has been ordered to pay $110,000 to an oil and gas company it prevented from disconnecting a floating production station from the Tui Oil Field off the coast of Taranaki.
Tamarind Resources FPSO Umuroa off the Taranaki coast.
Photo: Tamarind Resources
The EPA issued abatement notices to stop BW Offshore removing the Umuroa from the field early last year, saying the company could not rely on a 2017 EPA ruling allowing them to do so.
The regulator was concerned unplugging flowlines connecting the vessel to Tui risked spilling oil into the ocean.
EPA ordered to pay oil and gas company BW Offshore $110,000 nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Silverlight Studios Limited applied to Ministry for the Environment to build the facilities including a film school and theatre off The Wanaka Luggate Highway.
The company is owned by production designer Ra Vincent, director Mike Wallis and film accountant Jonathan Harding - all originally from Southland.
A spokeswoman said the development would be in a large undulation in the middle of a 322 hectare site with the balance being maintained as open paddocks. The park will include four purpose built sound stages, VFX stages, workshops and unique features such as a replica portion of Central Park, New York - of one of the most used film locations in the world.
March 11 2021, 9:48 am | BY Ricki Green | 8 Comments
The NSW Government’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has launched a song via Paper Moose, aiming to change littering behaviours.
In a move away from more traditional government communications, Paper Moose created the band, Rage Against the Polystyrene, which released its first single, Creature Warfare on 5 March 2021.
The song and music video show the impact of our carelessness through the eyes of the animals that are impacted, and the tossers who cause them pain.
The song is part of the wider ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ campaign, with this sub project focussed on preventing litter washing from our streets into rivers and marine environments.
“Having helped to lead the campaign against seabed mining with my iwi, both in the courts and on the streets, I’ve always said that this would be one of my top priorities as a Te Paati Māori MP,” she said in a post on Tuesday morning. “Deep sea mining is a risky, new mining practice. Mining up to 50 million tonnes of ironsand every year for 35 years would be an absolute environmental disaster. It would destroy entire ecosystems and damage our coastlines for generations to come. “There is a growing global movement to end seabed mining – this would be a win-win opportunity for the Government to support our people and protect our moana for future generations.”