The launch of a single regional landfill arrangement between Nelson and Tasman has been delayed from its proposed 1 July start.
The proposal was for the Nelson-owned York Valley facility to be used as a regional landfill until 2030 when it is expected to be full. The Eves Valley facility in Tasman would be redeveloped for a similar use beyond that time.
“The benefits to the region of a shared landfill have been clearly identified and remain the foundation for our continued commitment to this initiative. It’s a condition of the two council’s shared services memorandum of understanding (MOU) that neither party be disadvantaged, so we are working with NCC to jointly commission independent advice to review the options to ensure the whole region benefits,” says Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne.
“The stumbling block has been the lack of agreement on funding future capital costs for the redevelopment of the landfill at Eves Valley to receive Nelson waste. This would be disadvantageous to Tasman ratepayers.”
“We remain committed to inter-Council collaboration and will continue to work on regional landfill options with Nelson.
“We have an agreed MOU and Tasman has worked in the spirit of that agreement; we will continue to do so in an effort to find solutions to ensure the benefits of the Joint Waste Minimisation and Management Plan are achieved”, Richard says.
“It will be business as usual now at Eves Valley landfill and at Tasman’s resource recovery centres until a mutually beneficial alternative arrangement is agreed. Eves Valley will remain Tasman District’s landfill for the next year to provide confidence to our customers and contractors and independent commercial operators. It is essential to provide a smooth transition for our solid waste customers in the event we reach an agreement with Nelson to establish a single regional landfill.”
We are especially grateful for the support of our contractors and customers and for their understanding in this time of change.”
“The Council’s Long Term Plan will provide for the single regional landfill arrangement beyond year one. Our 2015-16 budgets remain largely unaffected as the proposed benefits to Tasman ratepayers were a few years out from now.”
