Council must fix issues with Shotover wastewater plant - court

The Environment Court has ruled the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) must fix issues with its troubled Shotover wastewater treatment plant.

In January, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) sought an enforcement order from the Environment Court to address current compliance issues at the treatment plant.

Mediation was the next step in deliberations, and the court released its decision on Monday.

It came after two abatement notices and 10 infringement notices were issued since early 2024, many over the discharge of treated wastewater to land on the Shotover Delta.

Otago Regional Council chief executive Richard Saunders said the court's enforcement orders would help mitigate adverse environmental effects caused by the plant, and paved the way "to begin a plan of action so QLDC is able to meet its consent obligations and achieve compliance against the court's orders".

"The decision and enforcement orders give a clear indication of what's required to operate, remedy and upgrade the wastewater plant, while maintaining transparency with ongoing monitoring of these processes."

The decision outlined seven pages of separate enforcement orders, including upgrades, contingency measures, timeframes and milestones to be met.

They included an operations and management manual, staff training, sampling and monitoring, repairs and improvements to the wastewater plant, upgrades to the plant and a new disposal field solution. The latter required a consent application be made for a new disposal system by May 2026, which must be implemented by December 2030.

Saunders said the regional council had taken several steps since problems arose with the plant's operations, dating back to 2021.

He said the council would continue to closely monitor the treatment plant site and undertake its regulatory role.

The Environment Court's decision is separate to QLDC making an emergency/retrospective consent application in early May for earlier works at the Shotover site.

The emergency works enacted by the district council were to bypass the problematic (soak) disposal field and to discharge treated wastewater directly into the Shotover River.

The council was still assessing the application, with a date for public notification yet to be set.