Latest developments on the Hastings wastewater treatment plant.

No … it’s not fixed. [Read Kathy Webb’s Stinkin’ Pipes article for Baybuzz Digest if you need the history on this.]

Instead, the Hastings Council has filed a motion with the District Court to block enforcement of the Regional Council’s odour abatement notice, which requires HDC to have come up with an acceptable solution for the odour problem by May 17, or to install lids on its two bio-trickle filtering tanks by August 17 … at a potential cost of $3 million.

What does this filing mean?

BayBuzz has officially requested copies of the HDC papers filed with the Court.

But most likely, that Hastings staff and consultants have not yet found a solution … and are pessimistic that they will in time to comply without a huge expenditure.

HDC’s legal action is probably intended to buy some time, as conventional practice would be for the Court to expect that the two Councils should now engage in some official mediation — tick, tick, tick goes the clock — which would precede setting a Court hearing date should mediation fail.

You know how busy Councils’ staffs are … it make take awhile to get mediation underway! And then there’s the Court’s crammed schedule.

I can see the handwriting on the wall. The Hastings Council, ultimately faced with a stubborn odour problem and an impending compliance deadline, will award an “emergency” lid installation contract without competitive tender … but receive a six-figure “donation” to the sports park in exchange.

Another of those “win win” deals the Mayor is so fond of.

East Clive residents … hold on to your nose clips.

Tom Belford

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3 Comments

  1. Quite simply it should be shut down … if this 'functioning as prescribed' cesspool simply constitues an odour problem then I would gladly supply mayor lawrence the trunks in which to swim laps and show this to be the case.

  2. HDC's action is correct because lids will not solve the problem completely. Odourous gas will still escape into the atmosphere via openings in the system. HDC needs to consider some form of treatment of discharged air. The odorous substance/s should be identified first, followed by pilot plant testing to determine which odour control processes can be considered. These substances probably include mercaptans (carbo-hydro-sulphides) as well as hydrogen sulphide. Finally, atmospheric dispersion modelling techniques need to be employed in order to arrive at allowable discharge limits of the offending substances at source of discharge (if HRC does not already have such limits).

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