Environmental Effects
Environmental Effects: Resources Consent
Overview
The proposed quarry site is situated in an environmentally rich location. Exotic mature trees that are not native to its current ecosystem basically surround it; therefore, it was planted in the area to grow as newly adapting tree specie. In addition, sheep’s that are thriving in the grass growing in the Kanuka Hill presently grazes the land. Small bodies of water are presently home to small animals like small fish, birds and frogs at the surrounding wetlands and Kanuka stream. Furthermore, high concentration of vegetation and other plants are present in the location, which contributes to the high diversity of life in the area. The small town just east of the proposed location is comprised of about 300 people that depend on the Kanuka stream for water supply. In general, significant natural resources and a small population of people that rely on the existing natural resources surrounding the area. The case file signifies an environmental dilemma in which the establishment of a quarry would significantly affect the surrounding environment. The paper encompasses an assessment to the described issue and determines the relevant actions that need to be considered before executing the quarry project.
Needed Resource Consents
Staring the quarry project will require obtainment of necessary resource consents. It is an authorization sought under the Resource Management Act of 1991. Activities that are perceived to entail environmental effects including but not limited to land use in relation to the filling of worked out quarries, sale of aggregate materials from other site and other associated activities in relation to noise standards. In addition, land use consent to undertake sediment control and earthworks is also necessary along with discharge permit allowing the quarry to discharge contaminants into land from the clean fill (Aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, N.D.).
For the proposed quarry site, the project management is required to get resource consent from the Auckland Council and the District Council. In the Regional Council, resource consent is needed to authorize activities such as discharge or sediment and water, air discharge and dust, taking water from Kanuka stream, diverting Kanuka stream and depositing of materials. In the District Council, resource consent is required to authorize excavation and extraction, vegetation removal, structure building, movements and vehicle entranceways, handling of hazardous substances, noise and advertising signs (Ministry for the Environment, 2002). Acquiring resource consent starts with scheduled talks to the District and Regional Council to explain the basic details of the project such as the extraction area, method, timing and rate. In addition, talks to the council staff will enable the project management to find out other related consents needed to get authorization, codes and guidelines. It is necessary to review the proposal and make adjustments in compliance to the rules and guidelines set by the Regional and District council.
The Impact of Proposed Quarry to the Surrounding Environment
Given that the proposed project is quarrying, it is expected that there would a significant implications to the surrounding environment. This is why quarry operators are required to exercise all reasonable measures to minimize the environmental impacts of the quarrying activities within the site and in its surroundings. There are potential environmental impacts, depending on the type of rock to be acquired in the quarry. If the quarry operators are targeting to extract carbonate rocks, there are available methods and technology that can minimize environmental impacts (Ministry for the Environment, 2001). In general quarrying assimilates engineering impacts that result to loss of natural habitats, ground vibration and erosion leading to flashfloods during rainy season that might affect low-lying areas since the quarry site is elevated from the surrounding farmlands. In addition, change in geomorphology and conversion of land use is associated to aesthetical deterioration (Langer, 2001). Chemical and toxic fillings leaking from the site is possible to contaminate the waters of the nearby wetlands that could cause the animals thriving in the wetlands to perish. Furthermore, chemicals leaking into the Kanuka Stream will contaminate the water that people in Inanga Township is using as a primary source.
On the other hand, sedimentation will cause the Kanuka stream to shallow and eventually stop flowing. Since the Kanuka stream flows to the Waitoitoi River. Sediments, chemicals and fillings picked up by the Kanuka water down to Waitoitoi River implicate the same deteriorating effect. Construction of quarry infrastructures, vehicle traffic to and from the Pa Road going to SH 1 main highway and quarrying activities itself will potentially cause unbearable noise to the residents of the Inanga Township including immense dust blown by air towards the town and nearby farmlands. Clouds of dust coming from the quarry and those picked up by the trucks from the quarry will deteriorate the quality of air in the area and will eventually cause poor growth of the crops and farm animals.
Advantage and Disadvantages
In determining the advantage and disadvantages of operating a quarry in the proposed location, economic, environment and social factors comes into consideration. Quarrying is largely attributed to environmental degradation, thus the disadvantages linked to quarrying vary on how the activities affect the surrounding environment. The scale of activities also determine the amount of destruction to the environment, for instance, a small scale quarry would affect the scenic view of the location, quality of water in the stream and reduction of grasslands that sheep’s and other farm animals thrive from. Large scale quarrying on the other hand extends its impact up to the nearby town of Inagga, surrounding farmlands and down to the Waitoitoi River. Air and noise pollution adds up to the degree of destruction that the quarry may cause to the environment, which encompasses the disadvantages that quarrying have in the area. Despite the disadvantages, there are potential advantages that quarry operations may have in terms social and economic aspects.
When it comes to advantages, it is apparent that the quarry project is potentially source of revenue for the District as new business encompasses new tax source. In addition, it was mentioned in the case file that the population of Inanga Township has above average unemployment rate. Given that there are only 300 people in the town and assuming that 50% of that population encompasses its labor force, the 150 individuals are potential source of labor power for the quarry operators. Given that 75% of the assumed labor force is unemployed, the quarry operators would be able to offer jobs to an estimated 113 people. This number of people getting employed in the quarry will boost the economic condition of the District including social growth in Inanga Township.
Who needs to be consulted?
It was discussed earlier that quarrying operations is likely to have negative implications to its surrounding. Therefore, stakeholders needs to be consulted in order to gain approval of the community that is likely to be affected and apart from the authorization provided by the District and Regional Council. The Resource Management Act of 1991 stipulates that acquiring resource consent requires prior consultation with the nearby neighbors. Consulting with neighbors mean knocking on their doors and getting their approval to the proposed project. However, this includes thoroughly explaining the activities involve in the said project and ensure that the neighbors understand the concept of the project. Furthermore, consultation also involves taking into consideration of the parties concerned in an anticipated environmental impact. This is because even if the neighbors agree environmental conservatives might also challenge the project.
Environmental Conservatives – It may not be necessary under the Resource Management Act to seek consent from environmentalists for authorization to operate, but it is safe to assume that given the expectations of environmental degradation that quarrying might bring, consulting with environmental concern citizens would be a good step to defeat future challenges. The increasing global environmental activism makes it difficult for businesses such as mining, quarrying and logging to concentrate on their business due to claims and interferences of environmental organizations. Consultation is not necessarily to gain the approval of environmental concern citizens because most likely, they would oppose the idea. However, consulting only serves the purpose of information dissemination and presentation of future initiatives to minimize environmental impact. Letting the concerned organizations to know about the future plans will somehow provides confidence on their part that the quarrying operation will comply with the necessary measure to minimize quarrying operation’s environmental impact.
Farm owners – The location map of the proposed quarry site shows that there are grasslands used for herding, therefore, farmers raising livestock actually depends on the grassland within the area for their herd’s sustenance. Putting up a quarry around a collective number of dairy farms insinuates a possible reduction of related resources for the dairy farm. As a result, the impact that the quarry operations have on the surrounding dairy farm signifies a reduction of income for the dairy farmers. Adjacent from Inanga Township and Southeast of the quarry site is a large section of Maize cropping. Farmers relying on the produce from the Maize farm will also be affected by the environmental implications of the quarry operations. Farmers too should be acquainted with the plans regarding the project because although the Maize farm is not directly close to the perimeters of the quarry site, dust and tailing from the quarrying activities might affect the farm. This is because the water from the Kanuka Stream might bring harmful substances and sediments down the Waitoitoi River where the water for the Maize cropping appears to be coming from.
Local residents - The Inanga Township and other household surrounding the quarry site rely on the Kanuka Stream for water supply. Having the quarry activities happening in the way of the town’s water supply, there is a significant threat on the deterioration of the water quality up to its total loss due to sedimentation at the streambed. The dust, noise and loss of the wetlands in the area will significantly reduce the natural habitats of the small fish and other animals thriving at the wetlands, which are possibly the town’s alternative food source. On the other hand, employment opportunities offered by the quarry operations may sustain the temporary loss of natural resources in the area, but only for the short-term. This is because as soon the quarry has exhausted its priced resources in the area, the operations will cease and the people will be back to unemployment again. However, at that time the natural resources that were once there will take time to go back to its former state. In worst-case scenario, the area’s former environmental state will no longer be revived. This is the reason that the neighbors of the quarry operations should consult everyone in the affected community and make assurance that the quarry project management will do its best to minimize the environmental impact of the project and make an effort to revive the location after the operation had ceased.
Mitigation and Impact Remedies
It is expected that quarry operations at some level will impact the surrounding environment of the site. However, certain steps and best practices can be done by the operators minimize if not to totally avoid the effects of project. In addition, mitigation processes and remedies should be in place for the project management to deal with the issues that may arise during the operations. The Resource Management Act outlines the basic mitigation processes that quarry operators can initiate in order to deal with the impacts of the project. Effects such as smell and noise are indicators that will trigger the neighboring community’s sensitivity. Once the people in the community perceived constant noise coming from blasting and other activities, there is a possibility of wide complaints about the quarry operations. The residents from their tap water for example can perceive smell since the Kanuka Stream is where the town is getting water from and the quarry site is sitting right next to the Kanuka Stream. Indications of foul smell in the water caused by chemical contamination from the quarry site will trigger the same sensitivity among the people.
In order to mitigate issues that may arise during the operations, the quarry operators should appoint a public relations officer among its staff that will receive complaints and make constructive and prompt respond. Employees and contractors should be educated about the contents of the consent conditions and ensure that their actions are close complying with the guidelines of the consent. Any issues accorded to an accidental violation of the consent conditions should be addressed by the management and take measures to avoid recurrences of any violations. Effective and regular monitoring of the environmental condition would enable the operators to determine the extent of destruction that the operations are implicating on the environment. Having a key-performance matrix ready and disseminated among the key people in the project will enable the operations to conduct activities that are within the targets of the performance matrix and falling behind the target performance should also be immediately addressed. Performance matrix applied to measure the state of environmental condition in the area constitutes a barrier on how far the quarry project should go. Being aware of the potential conflicts, well informed in terms of land use will keep a close and productive relationship between the quarry project management and its neighbors.
References
Aucklandcouncil.govt.nz (n.d.). Resource consent. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/ratesbuildingproperty/ResourceConsents/Pages/Home.aspx
Langer, W. H. (2001). Potential environmental impacts of quarrying stone in Karst: A literature review. Open-File Report U.S. Geological Survey, 1(048). Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0484/ofr-01-0484so.pdf
Ministry for the Environment (2001). Good practice guide for assessing and managing the environmental effects of dust emissions. Resource Guide. Retrieved from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/air/dust-guide-sep01.pdf
Ministry for the Environment (2002). Quarrying and the resource management act. Resource Management Publication ME451. Retrieved from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/quarry-and-rma-jun02.pdf
