July 21, 2022
Superphos plant consent irks iwi
A Ngāti Kahungunu environmental scientist says Ravensdown’s giant superphosphate manufacturing plant in Napier is an ongoing threat to the people and environment of Ahuriri.
The company is seeking further 35-year resource consent for the plant on the north side of the culturally and environmentally significant Waitangi Regional Park.
Shade Smith says it was a gathering site for chiefs and an important food source.
He says the company hasn’t been able to control run-off from its site, and it failed to secure the support of mana whenua for the proposed consent conditions before it lodged the application.
“Under the current Resource Management Act, activity is able to have a negative effect on the environment as long as it is less than minor so over many years it may be less than minor but it still accumulates to a point where it is breaching relevant national water quality or sediment quality guidelines,” Mr Smithsays.
Among other impacts, the plant has degraded whitebait spawning areas.