Source: Radio New Zealand
Dome Valley. The Wireless / Luke McPake
Legal action over a controversial mega-dump in Auckland’s Dome Valley is continuing, with Forest and Bird granted leave to appeal part of the decision to approve the landfill.
Forest and Bird will appeal the Environment Court’s 2023 decision to allow the landfill to go ahead, focusing on river protections.
The proposed landfill is 80 hectares and would collect around half of Auckland’s annual waste – but about 12 kilometres of streams in the valley would be destroyed within its footprint.
Forest and Bird senior environmental lawyer May Downing said the case raises critical questions about how rivers are protected across the country.
“These aren’t just a river that’s nice to look at they’re essential habitat for indigenous fresh water species,” she said.
“The concern really is the normalisation of river loss when it’s something that should be stopped, not normalised especially for this type of development.”
Dome Valley is five kilometres from Warkworth and home to Hochstetter’s frogs, freshwater species, pekapeka-tou-roa long-tailed bats and diverse birdlife.
Downing said the landfill’s approval also raised questions about whether riparian planting elsewhere can really mitigate the loss of rivers destroyed by a landfill.
Timeline of events:
- 2021: Landfill given conditional approval by Auckland Council’s independent commissioner panel
- 2023: Environment Court provisionally granted consent after iwi and community groups appealed council’s decision
- 2024: High Court dismissed two appeals of Environment Court decision
- 2025: Forest and Bird asked for leave to appeal High Court decision, in Court of Appeal
- 2026: Court of Appeal grants leave in part for Forest and Bird to appeal
As part of the consenting process, developers can often offset the loss of a stream by agreeing to undertake stream protection work elsewhere – sometimes in different regions.
In this case, Waste Management proposed a general mitigation, offset and compensation package to address the stream loss, including riparian planting of up to 60km of streams elsewhere – likely in the Hoteo catchment of the Kaipara Harbour.
It alternatively offered to pay $10 million for these works to be done – these will be considered in the ongoing Environment Court process.
Forest and Bird’s appeal relates to the interpretation of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and whether it allows streams to be removed to make way for a landfill.
When Waste Management lodged plans for the dump, it was strongly opposed by iwi and community groups due to cultural and environmental concerns.
Waste Management has said the landfill was needed to cater for Auckland’s growth.
It opposed Forest and Bird’s application for leave to appeal the decision, as did interested parties Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Maia and Environ Holdings.
Auckland Council declined to comment on the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow an appeal in part.
A hearing date for the appeal is still to be confirmed.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand