Latest news with #DarrylSycamore
Otago Daily Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Lead-soil rule review idea nixed
An independent review of Dunedin's contentious rules for lead-soil testing requirements is the only "credible" way forward, a critic says. However, the Dunedin City Council yesterday rejected his idea. Terramark resource management planner Darryl Sycamore used yesterday's public forum to call on the council to end its "overly conservative" approach towards potential lead contamination in soil surrounding the city's older housing stock. To redevelop older properties where lead paint has possibly been used, a new soil-testing process is required, and properties can be permanently added to the Hazardous Activities and Industries List (Hail) register. Developers have railed against the requirement, saying the council's "misinterpretation" of national standards and its resulting policy was adding $15,000 to $30,000 to the cost of every new home in Dunedin that required resource consent. Speaking on behalf of Terramark, engineering, surveying and planning firm Patersons Dunedin, TL Survey Services, and the Otago Property Investors Association, Mr Sycamore told councillors he had approached 50 councils and heard from 36 — and the Dunedin City Council was an outlier in this case. "There is no doubt the DCC is applying the NESCS [National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil to Protect Human Health] in a different way to other councils. "The implications of a residential property being identified as contaminated land cannot be overstated. "The approach of council is contrary to the advice of [Ministry for the Environment] who wrote the NESCS, and inconsistent with Health NZ guidance. "We respectfully ask that councillors direct city planning to cease this overly conservative approach and follow the approach of other councils throughout the country. "We also request that city planning commission an independent report on the issue, using a party agreed to by both parties." The council was often told the cost to build was too high in Dunedin, "and that the council is perceived as anti-development". Its rules in this instance was evidence of that. An independent review was required to determine if Dunedin developers and home buyers were indeed "at a disadvantage compared to every other district", Mr Sycamore said. "I think that's the only credible way through." A council spokesman yesterday said the council disagreed with Mr Sycamore's assessments. "We have already sought independent professional advice and are not planning to change our approach or commission a further independent review," the spokesman said. Only a small number of properties which had pre-1945 painted wooden or roughcast houses were covered by the new requirements and the council said the impact of its interpretation of the national standards was "minor". "We also reject any suggestion the DCC is anti-development." He said the council's approach "responds to the regulations and the findings of an independent review by Stantec". The spokesman noted the Otago Daily Times last year reported Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Southern medical officer of health Dr John Eastwood applauded the council's approach to the issue.
Otago Daily Times
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Guardians approve lake drawdown changes
Approved changes to operating guidelines for hydro-electricity generation at Lake Manapouri will not cause unnatural variations of lake levels, the Guardians of Lakes Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau say. Fears have been raised that using too much water when lake levels are low could cause permanent damage to the lake's shoreline. However, Guardians chairman Darryl Sycamore said the approved changes to the "drawdown rate" only applied to the upper range of low lake levels. Critically, the changes the Guardians had approved mimicked drops in lake levels previously observed in the natural record. "The Guardians have considered a range of proposals from Meridian Energy and have agreed to some amendments which mimic variations in the natural record of lake level prior to the establishment of the Manapouri hydro-scheme," Mr Sycamore said. "These amendments will enable additional energy generation and provide resilience of our electricity network." The Guardians were mandated in the Conservation Act to have particular regard to the effects of the operation of the hydro scheme on social, conservation, recreation and tourism values, he said. "We have carefully considered the proposed amendments on the values prescribed in the Act and have only provided our support to those which will likely result in less than minor effects," he said. If further changes were sought, unless Meridian could provide robust scientific reasoning to adopt the changes, they would not have the Guardians' support. Lake Manapōuri and Lake Te Anau had "given enough to NZ Inc" and any additional energy would have to be produced elsewhere, he said. Energy Minister Simon Watts heralded the changes as a "boost" to New Zealand's hydro generation and energy security. They would allow an extra 45GWh of energy to be produced by the Manapōuri Power Scheme each year — enough energy to power about 6000 homes, Mr Watts said. "Last winter, New Zealand faced an energy shortage that led to significant price increases for consumers, in part due to low hydro lake levels," he said. "This government will not accept a repeat of last winter and is working at pace to ensure we have a reliable and affordable energy supply. "Lake Manapōuri and Lake Te Anau are not only environmentally and culturally significant, but they are also essential to New Zealand's energy system." The changes balanced the needs of New Zealand's electricity system with the environmental impact on the lakes and their surrounding areas, he said. Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark, of Dunedin, the first chairman of the Guardians, said changes to the low operating range risked damage to shorelines, or the loss of beaches that had taken "eons" to develop. "They're not going to be replaced if they're lost," Sir Alan said. When lake levels were lowered to unnatural levels in 1972 — the year before the Guardians were established — several beaches were lost forever, Sir Alan said. Decades of daily lake level data was used to establish the guidelines more than 50 years ago and they had since "proved to be extremely successful" in retaining the lakes' beaches in their natural state, he said. Meridian manages about half of New Zealand's total hydro storage and uses Lakes Pūkaki, Ōhau, Aviemore, Waitaki, Benmore, Manapōuri and Te Anau to generate energy. Previously, a Meridian spokesman said the government "has been very clear in its desire to ensure there's enough electricity for all New Zealand homes and businesses this winter, and Manapōuri Power Station has an important role to play in that". Changes to the operating guidelines include changing the drawdown rates, reducing duration requirements on how long the lakes can stay within the first band of low operating ranges, and removing equinoctial requirements, which set additional limits on how hydro generation could affect the lakes twice a year during windier periods.
