Close to 900 submissions on waste incineration proposal

Waipā District Council has received close to 900 submissions on the proposal to build a waste incineration plant in Te Awamutu.

Submissions closed on Friday and are still being processed. Of those processed so far, the vast majority oppose the plant.

The application to build the plant in Racecourse Road has been filed by Global Contracting Solutions. The company wants to incinerate 150,000 tonnes of rubbish annually, burning the rubbish to generate steam to turn into electric power. To fuel the plant, rubbish would need to be trucked in from outside the district.

Council’s district growth and regulatory services group manager Wayne Allan said by law, Council could not just say yes or no to the proposal.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Under the Resource Management Act (RMA), we have a legal obligation to process any resource consent application if it meets certain minimum requirements.”

Allan said the number of submissions was “far and away” the biggest number ever received by Council in response to any resource consent application. The applicant had originally sought a non-notified resource consent, which would not have required public input. But Council rejected that application.

“The level of public interest vindicates our decision to make it a publicly notified consent process.”

Allan said he anticipated all submissions would be up on Council’s website by the end of this week.

Council was already working with Waikato Regional Council to appoint joint independent hearing commissioners to assess the proposal and consider public submissions. Waipā District Councillors would not be involved in the decision about whether or not the plant would be approved, Allan said.

The resource consent hearing is unlikely to be held until early 2024. Details of the resource consent application are available here on Council’s website.