Environment Minister
Nick Smith today launched the environmental
recovery plan, to address the long term
effects of the Rena disaster on the wider
Bay of Plenty region.
“This plan is needed to bring together a
wide range of central, regional and local
government organisations as well as iwi
to ensure the long-term clean-up job is
well coordinated,” Dr Smith says.
“The grounding of the Rena was New Zealand’s
worst maritime environmental disaster. This
plan has been developed to co-ordinate the
long-term recovery and restoration of the
Bay of Plenty environment. Our goal is to
restore the Bay of Plenty environment to
as close as is possible to it’s pre-Rena
state,” said Dr Smith.
Following the ship’s grounding on 5 October,
the appointed salvors have prevented further
significant oil spills and removed some
containers from the vessel. This and the
work of Maritime New Zealand, iwi, community
volunteers, New Zealand Defence Force, DoC
and the Wildlife Recovery Team, have provided
an effective emergency response.
“This plan identifies the environmental
issues for the beaches, seabed, water, fisheries,
wildlife and management of waste and sets
out who is responsible for the recovery
and monitoring of each. A governance group
has been established to oversee the implementation
of the plan and to make sure everything
possible can be done to restore the environment,”
Dr Smith says.
Dr Smith also announced that Catherine Taylor,
formerly Maritime New Zealand’s Chief Executive
has been appointed as the Rena Recovery
Manager.
“We are very fortunate to get someone who
has been so intimately involved in the everyday
response to the Rena grounding to lead the
coordination and implementation of the long
term recovery plan. Ms Taylor’s appointment
will mean a seamless transition from incident
management to recovery implementation.
“Disasters can bring out the best in people
and so, it has been here. I want to acknowledge
the contributions of iwi and Councils to
this plan and commit to working with them
to restore the Bay of Plenty environment,”
says Dr Smith.
+ More
Funding for red zone
household hazardous waste disposal
Nick Smith - 23 January,
2012 - The Government will provide $509,000
from the Waste Minimisation Fund to help
residents in Canterbury’s red zone to dispose
of their hazardous household waste safely,
Environment Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith announced
today.
“With more than 6000 properties identified
in the red zone in suburban Christchurch,
it’s important that any hazardous household
materials such as cleaning products, paint,
LPG, and garden sprays are dealt with in
a safe and environmentally-sound way,” Dr
Smith says.
“Christchurch City Council is partnering
with Waimakariri District Council and Environment
Canterbury to provide a free drop off service
for residents. A mobile service will collect
waste from those unable to bring it in themselves
and properties will also be swept for any
remaining hazardous waste prior to demolition.
“We don’t want to see these hazardous materials
being tipped down drains or buried just
to create a future environmental and health
risks. This initiative means that residential
red zone homeowners can easily and safely
dispose of hazardous waste from their properties.”
The initiative was proposed by Christchurch
City Council, which in conjunction with
Waimakariri District Council and Environment
Canterbury, are providing a further $260,000
towards the collection and disposal of the
waste.
“The earthquakes in Canterbury have caused
an unprecedented amount of waste. This project
joins a number of other government supported
initiatives to help Canterbury deal with
this waste and help the region get back
on its feet,” says Dr Smith.
