My Account
Land near the proposed landfill site in Wayby Valley is so unstable that even large animals get lost and die in sinkholes that suddenly appear, the Environment Court heard earlier this month.
Spindler Road resident Tracy Wood said she was still haunted after her 16-hand horse fell into a tomo, as the sinkholes are known.
“Two days prior I saw a little indentation in the ground, 20 to 30cm,” she said. “I went off the farm and came back that afternoon. I came back and all I found was a horse with her head and neck sticking out of a tomo, and she was dead. The land literally opened up.”
Wood was speaking along with other witnesses for Fight the Tip: Tiaki Te Whenua during an online session of the appeal against Waste Management NZ’s (WM) consent to develop a new landfill between the Dome and Wayby Valleys, on August 11.
She said she had also lost a cattle beast and a baby goat in tomos when the Hoteo River was in flood.
“They are terrifying. When you have heavy rains, the land is just full of springs, you can see water pouring out from wherever you can imagine,” she said.
Another Spindler Road resident, Lee Laughton, said he had found sheep that had fallen into tomos on his land on several occasions.
The area’s propensity for excessive flooding was also cited by former Spindler and Wayby Access Road resident, and Fight the Tip executive member, Michelle Carmichael.
She said there were times when the whole valley flooded and, despite WM’s faith in its landfill liner and stormwater pond system, even the slightest risk was too high.
“Failure is not an option,” she said. “There are no guarantees in life, and that’s what we have to prepare for.”
Following questions from WM counsel Bal Matheson, both Carmichael and another Fight the Tip executive, Sue Crockett, said there were no conditions that could address their concerns, and they could not support a landfill anywhere in the Hoteo or Kaipara catchments.
“Any risk is too great,” Crockett said. “Every waterway is important; we can’t live without water and if water is contaminated, it destroys the whole natural environment. It’s a precious taonga, it affects everything that we do.”
Carmichael agreed, saying water was too precious.
“The waste industry needs to up its game. There are other alternatives, look at what is out there. This is a symptom of a failing waste industry – what are we coming to?” she said. “I believe we should do it differently and better.
“We need to protect this important Wayby and Dome Valley environment because of its high rainfall, waterways, high ecological values, wetlands, extensive aquifer and connection to the Hoteo and to the mighty Kaipara Harbour.”
The court also heard from Hira Henapou of Dairy Flat, who said landfills affected bird habits including migration, as sites were a source of abundant food, causing birds to land and nest there. She also branded WM’s plans to mitigate against environmental and ecological effects of the landfill as cosmetic and a travesty.
“The removal of forest, native species, wildlife – completely unacceptable,” she said. “We have a responsibility to protect our papatūānuku (mother earth).
“This would be a travesty, in direct violation of aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi. What you are proposing is wrong.”
The case was due to continue on August 22, but was adjourned at the request of one of the parties. It will now resume on September 5.
