Bay Harbour: June 15, 2022

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Petitions against cattle feed
barns to be presented to ECan
RESIDENTS near a 2000-cattle
feed barn planned for Kaituna
Valley by Lake Ellesmere Te
Waihora will present two
petitions to Environment
Canterbury tomorrow, calling
for the proposal to be publicly
notified so community concerns
can be heard.
The twin petitions, which
have gathered 1650 and 1585
signatures, call for the feed
barns to be stopped. ECan
councillors will be invited to
receive the petitions on the steps
of its offices before a deputation
is made to the council
meeting.
The farmer, Wongan Hills,
proposed in April 2022 four
large composting barns for the
banks of the Kaituna Stream
and three kilometres from the
lake. The barns would house
2200 cattle on a floor made of
sawdust or straw, designed to
create compost at a high enough
temperature that all the liquid
in the effluent would evaporate.
The beef would be destined for
the Japanese wagyu market.
ECan has yet to make a
decision on whether to refuse
the application, to grant it
FEED BARNS: Opponents say the environment risk to the
Kaituna Valley is too great.
PHOTO: GETTY
without notification, or to notify
residents or the general public.
The campaigners, including
Kaituna residents and the
Little River Eco-Collective, are
concerned about the major risk
from leaching and flooding
events of more nitrates into
an already degraded lake, the
increase in greenhouse gas
emissions, and the impact of
industrial farming on a beautiful
valley, including trucks. They
are also concerned about the
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stench of ammonia and the
visual impact, and the threat to
animal health from living on a
composting floor 24 hours a day.
Green MP Eugenie Sage will
attend the event and Labour MP
Tracey McLellan plans to attend.
The residents say the
composting barns pose a
major risk to the environment.
Spokesperson Donald Matheson
said this kind of industrial
operation was the wrong
farming in the wrong place.
“This could set back the health
of Te Waihora by a generation.
Wongan Farms hasn’t shown
in its consent application that
the system can work and has
not shown it can be a good
environmental steward.
“The barns are being planned
in an area that already floods
and is likely to flood more
regularly as the climate changes.
“We are also deeply concerned
about the risk of nitrate leaching
into the water table, as has
happened in mid-Canterbury
after conversion to dairy and
beef farming.”
The group is calling on ECan
to notify the consent application
so that the community and
independent scientists can
scrutinise it and those affected
can have their say.
Manawhenua and residents
need to be heard and
independent scientists need
to be able to analyse the risks
involved, Matheson said.
Wongan Farms received city
council consent for the buildings
in February. Residents are
calling for that consent to be
reconsidered as “major changes”
have been made to the plans.
Wednesday June 15 2022 Bay Harbour News
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NEWS 3
Chlorine for
Little River
water supply
THE LITTLE River water supply
will be temporarily chlorinated
after regular testing has revealed
the ongoing presence of a small
number of total coliforms,
an indicator of bacterial
contamination.
The city council says indicator
bacteria aren’t harmful, but
their presence shows there
is a pathway for potentially
dangerous contaminants, such
as E. coli, to get into the water
supply.
City council head of three
waters Helen Beaumont said
temporary chlorination will
ensure the water supply is safe
while work to resolve the issue
continues.
“Regular testing has been done
to make sure the water supply is
safe. Extensive cleaning, maintenance
and exploratory work
has also been carried out and we
will continue working towards
sorting the problem.
“People living in Little River
may smell or taste chlorine
in their water. The chlorine is
harmless but if residents are
concerned about the taste, they
can keep drinking water in a jug
in the fridge. The chlorine taste
will dissipate naturally over a
few hours.”
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